Former Russian government minister Vladimir Milov is now using his knowledge of the regime to bring down Vladimir Putin.
Former Russian government deputy energy minister Vladimir Milov, 50, now describes Vladimir Putin as “a murderer,” “a person who enjoys killing people, which is what he’s been doing all his life.”
Now in exile in Vilnius (Lithuania), Vladimir Milov confided in the Australian medium ABC. in exile. A rich interview to understand what is at stake in Russian society.
Milov left the government 20 years ago when Vladimir Putin opposed Gazprom’s dissolution and has since denounced the corruption plaguing the Russian state. He is an economic adviser to opponent Alexei Navalny and says he hastily left Russia in 2021, targeted by Putin’s regime.
“Do Putin as much damage as possible”
Vladimir Milow’s goal from now on is “to cause Putin as much damage as possible”. What he makes of Lithuania.
For him, Putin has been “definitely not safe” since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “After suffering the first blow with military defeats in Ukraine, sanctions and unprecedented international isolation, he tried to keep a straight face, as if everything was fine.”
But “it will soon be clear to everyone in Russia, in the elites, in the TV propagandists, in society at large, that he is not maintaining this situation and that we have very, very big problems.”
For Milov, the change dates back to the liberation of Kherson by the Ukrainian army last November. “There was this huge outcry on Russian propaganda television. They accused everyone, like generals, ministers, traitors. They stopped just a millimeter before mentioning Putin by name. Next time they will.”
“The figures of the Russian economy are manipulated or misleading”
And Vladimir Milov, to draw a parallel with the fall of the Soviet empire. “Once the authority of those in power begins to crumble, it is a process akin to a flood. You can’t stop him.”
The devastating wave could come from within. “The FSB (Russia’s secret service) has taken control” and specifically used the police “for the purpose of political repression, not crime-fighting”. And according to Milov, “at the moment, the police are deeply unhappy.”
The elites could also defect from Putin. “They are pure opportunists. They have no ideology,” and what they really care about is “a portrait of Benjamin Franklin on a bill.”
And this is where economic sanctions could finally come into play, even if the IMF still forecasts growth for the Russian economy in 2023. For Milov, “the figures on GDP, the exchange rate, inflation and unemployment” are “either manipulated or misleading and do not present a complex picture of the whole”.
“Millions of Russians will eventually stand up”
For ABC, Milov explains what he knows about the Russian economy. “This year there’s going to be a very deep fiscal crisis, a drop in oil and gas revenues and a surge in spending to finance the war and everything that’s only going to get worse.”
Finally, the former Putin minister suggests that there are “30 or 40 million Russians” who might be sensitive to the “anti-Putin and anti-war” discourse. “Putin scares them with these long prison sentences.” “But eventually they will get up,” he said.