Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans for 2022 apparently did not go as he expected and the year ended with even more setbacks for the leader.
One example is the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in late November, which brought together six former Soviet states. Armenia acted as host of the meeting and the country’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan openly criticized the CSTO and refused to sign a summit declaration.
Various media outlets also noted that Pashinyan appeared to distance himself from Putin during a group photo of CSTO leaders. (This week, Pashinyan attended another gathering of former Soviet republics — the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) — in St. Petersburg that was said to have been more cordial.)
This potential rift with an ally comes as more people in Russia are reportedly questioning the war in Ukraine.
When Putin launched his invasion in late February, many analysts expected his forces to win a quick victory over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s defenses. However, with the help of Western supplies, Ukraine surprised Russia with its military and handed Putin several defeats on the battlefield.
Towards the end of the year, Putin gave another possible sign of how bad the war is going for Russia when he canceled his annual year-end press conference. The cancellation of the event – the first time Putin has canceled it in a decade – led to speculation that the chairman did not want to be faced with reporters’ questions about Ukraine.
The main photo shows Russian President Vladimir Putin during the informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States December 26 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The smaller picture shows a Ukrainian flag on November 17 in Lviv, Ukraine. The war in Ukraine triggered a series of unfavorable events for Putin in 2022. Photos by Les Kasyanov/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images
On Friday, the Washington Post ran a lengthy article detailing the discord Putin faces within Russia.
History has it that Putin “appears more isolated than ever” as many members of Russia’s elite are unhappy about the direction of the war. The elite are said to have split between those who support an escalation against Ukraine and those who would prefer Putin to end the attack.
The Post also said that there is a growing feeling in Russia that the war in Ukraine has set the country back in terms of financial partnerships. The newspaper noted that Mikhail Zadornov, the chairman of one of Russia’s largest banks, spoke to the Moscow-based RBK Daily last week and said that “mutual economic ties” in the West that had been developing since the Soviet era are now “shattered ” be for the next decades.”
While Putin still enjoys support from Belarus and Iran, other leaders who have traditionally worked with Russia have expressed displeasure at the war.
Earlier this month, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote an op-ed for the Russian newspaper Kommersant calling for an end to the wars. Although Modi did not name Putin or Russia in the story, he primarily criticized the struggle for “territories or resources”.
China’s head of state Xi Jinping also said in September that he had “questions and concerns” about the war. During a virtual meeting with Putin on Friday, Xi said China and Russia should “strengthen strategic coordination,” but specifically made no mention of Ukraine.
“China will not stick its neck out. They won’t do much to help Russia with sanctions or military supplies,” Michael Kimmage, a history professor at Catholic University of America and a former member of the Secretary of State’s policy planning staff, told Newsweek.
Kimmage added: “But at the same time, they don’t like China about this war. I think there are many ways he can disrupt China’s economic plans.”
Nevertheless, despite his current problems, Putin still retains a lot of power, Kimmage said.
“Russian people are largely pro-war, and Russia is muddying the waters economically,” he said. “Putin doesn’t know how to win a war, but he certainly knows how to stay in control of Moscow.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.