Putin elevates family members to key roles amid Kremlin instability fears

Russian President Vladimir Putin is tightening his grip on power by elevating younger loyalists amid growing instability inside the Kremlin as he ages, according to reports.

On Sunday, The Telegraph reported that Putin, 73, who has ruled Russia for more than two decades, is “running out of cards to play” as pressure mounts both domestically and abroad. 

The Federal Security Service (FSB) also opened a criminal case against exiled businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky and 22 members of the Anti-War Committee of Russia, accusing them of plotting a seizure of power, per reports. Khodorkovsky spent a decade in a Siberian prison before founding the Anti-War Committee in 2022.

John Herbst, Senior Director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council and former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told the U.K. outlet that “the Kremlin is falling into paranoia.”

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“All the people around him have started thinking about a world beyond Putin, so he has arranged his own elite in a really careful way, so there are no clear seams along which it would kind of rip apart,” Henry Hale, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital. 

“He also has members of his own family now that are starting to rise in the ranks. One of the ones that has gotten the most attention is Anna Evgenievna Tsivilyova, née Putina,” Hale said. 

Tsivilyova, 52, is Putin’s first cousin once removed and currently heads the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation, a state-run organization that supports Russian soldiers and veterans. 

She has also served as chair of the board of the Kolmar Group, one of Russia’s largest coal companies.

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“The younger people are being brought up by the older generation integrated seamlessly into the power pyramid,” Hale said.

“Putin is worried about what happens as he ages, and if you don’t provide some opportunity for younger people to rise up, you know, then the regime might come under some pressure.”

“These people can be trusted because they’re related to people close to Putin, and they can also be young and energetic. The younger people are being brought up by the older generation, integrated seamlessly into the power pyramid,” Hale added.

In 2023, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin staged a brief mutiny, sending his fighters toward Moscow before abruptly standing down only to die weeks later in a plane crash. 

Now, the Kremlin’s focus has shifted to silencing opposition abroad. 

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“Tensions remain within the elite and Putin wants to get rid of any possible risks,” Hale said. “The 2023 incident was a warning from Putin to his own elite, his own inner circle, not to dare try anything. Putin and his people are watching each other carefully and so don’t try anything funny,” Hale added.

Recently, western sanctions, less oil revenue, and war costs could push Russia toward recession.  

The Treasury Department under President Donald Trump sanctioned Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, escalating pressure on the Kremlin to end its war in Ukraine. 

According to reports, the Russian government could raise taxes and increase domestic borrowing to close the gap.

“Putin has weathered the main crisis that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine brought Russia, which was the initial shock of the invasion and its failure to take Ukraine in a matter of days,” Hale added. 

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“But war brings uncertainty and there’s a risk of disastrous defeat, underperforming expectations. All the people around him start thinking about a world beyond Putin.”

“That said, well, I think Putin’s regime is fairly stable at the moment,” Hale concluded.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Kremlin for comment.