Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can “imagine a future without him” — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets

Russians are starting to acknowledge that President Vladimir Putin has led the country to a dead end and can’t shape its future, according to a former senior official in the Kremlin.

In a recent Economist op-ed authored anonymously, the former official pointed out that fellow government peers in Moscow, regional governors and businessmen have stopped using the first person plural when describing Putin’s actions.

In other words, Russia’s elites found a subtle way to no longer express solidarity with Putin, describing what “he” does rather than what “we” do.

That shift took place last spring, but does not signal a rebellion is imminent, the former official added, as the state still controls key levers of repression and fear.

At the same time, the regime has stopped bothering to sell a narrative of national restoration or modernization to the rest of the country, which is losing enormous amounts of blood and treasure in the battlefields of Ukraine.

“The irony is that Mr. Putin started the war to preserve power and the system he has created,” the official wrote. “Now, for the first time since the conflict began, Russians are starting to imagine a future without him.”

Read more [paywall removed for Redditors]: [https://fortune.com/2026/05/16/russian-regime-economy-putin-future-inflation-ukraine-war-oligarchs-asset-seizures/?utm_source=reddit/](https://fortune.com/2026/05/16/russian-regime-economy-putin-future-inflation-ukraine-war-oligarchs-asset-seizures/?utm_source=reddit/)

Funny, innit. The Russian people were fine with all the pointless slaughter but then they lost internet access. A step too far.

I watched all the videos of the Muscovites watching Ukranian drones fly over their homes. I watched them freaking the fuck out. They didn’t give a single shit until it was them. A whole country of human beings without an ounce of compassion between them.

Edit: Apologies: Many, brave, Russians did care. They’re in jail or fell out of a window.

I do hope that those which would have stood behind genocide dont get a free pass just because its not going how they planned and now all of a sudden they act like they arent a part of it.