Does Putin have new “enemies” at home? A few months ago a new political group formed called “Angry Patriotsi» (Furious Patriots, ed.). The socio-political movement started by the military blogger Igor Girkin The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said it was trying to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian defense establishment. Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkovis a Russian nationalist and was involved in the 2014 war in Ukraine’s Donbass region.
He has openly criticized Putin’s commanders and the president himself for the way Moscow is conducting the war in Ukraine. In March, he co-founded the Angry Patriots Club with Russian politician Pavel Gubarev and political activist Vladimir Kucherenko, also known as Maxim Kalashnikov.
The group expressed fears that Russia would lose in Ukraine, which could lead to a pro-Western coup and a Russian civil war unless Moscow’s front-line efforts improve. On Sunday, the group announced the formation of regional branches and invited Russian politicians, opinion leaders and heads of organizations to participate. The group is also planning a press conference in Moscow in June at which “He will talk about how Russia can win the war in Ukrainesaid the think tank.
The group “continues efforts to expand its presence and influence public discourse,” the ISW said in its Sunday update. Last week, Girkin predicted that Ukraine would invade regions of Russia bordering Ukraine, such as Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk.
Who is Igor Girkin?
Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin — also known by his alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov — is a Russian Army veteran and former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who played a key role in the Russian Federation’s annexation of Crimea and later as an organizer of the war in the Donbass militant Groups in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Girkin regained attention as a milblogger. He held strong pro-war stances, but heavily criticized the Russian military for what he saw as incompetence and “inadequacy.” In October 2022, Girkin joined a volunteer unit fighting against Ukrainian forces. In April 2023, Girkin, along with other Russian nationalists, founded the Angry Patriots Club, a hardline social movement calling for tougher wartime measures by the Russian government.
Pro-war Russian nationalists, led by Igor Girkin, said on Friday a new group they have formed is getting into politics to save Russia, which they say has been hurt by military failures in the war in the Ukraine is shaken.
Almost 15 months after President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine, as he put it:a special military operation» Moscow says it has yet to achieve all goals as its forces prepare for Ukraine’s counteroffensive with support from the US and the NATO military alliance.
Known as the “Club of Angry Patriots,” the group said it entered politics as an opposition party without any formal or informal direction from the Kremlin, but said it regards Putin as the only real guarantor of stability in modern Russia.
The association was founded on March 17th
Girkin, a nationalist and former Federal Security Service (FSB) official who helped Russia annex Crimea in 2014 and then organized pro-Russian militias in eastern Ukraine, said the group hopes to prevent Russia’s collapse.
“A systemic crisis is brewing in Russia – or is already in the midst of one – while hot tempers in society are rising,” Girkin told Portal. “We are facing very serious domestic political changes of a catastrophic nature. “All reasonable forces must create organizations to engage in the inevitable political struggle – and it has already begun,” he said.
There was no immediate comment on Girkin’s move from the Kremlin, saying that despite attempts from outside to destabilize Russia, the situation in Russia remains stable and that his military campaign will ultimately achieve all goals in Ukraine. When asked if he was naive to think he could announce a political movement in Putin’s Russia without the Kremlin’s approval, he replied: “I hope you don’t call me naive.”
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