The former head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency predicted that Vladimir Putin’s rule over Russia would end either because of his health or the intervention of another Russian group.
Ex-MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove spoke about the longtime Russian leader in an episode of the One Decision podcast released on Thursday. He stressed that he did not believe Putin could leave the presidency and ultimately enjoy a “luxurious retirement,” despite the vast wealth some believe he has amassed.
Bill Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, told the US Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017 that he believed the Russian president was worth $200 billion.
“Like many great dictators, I just wonder if he will ever reap the benefits or the fruits of his ill-gotten gains… He made a terrible mistake in Ukraine. It is difficult to predict what the outcome of this will be, but it is coming to an unpleasant end,” Dearlove said of Putin.
The former head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency MI6 predicted that Vladimir Putin’s rule over Russia would end either because of his health or the intervention of another Russian group. Above is Putin during the Navy Day parade in Saint Petersburg, Russia on July 31, 2022. Contributor/Getty Images
Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, rumors have been rife that Putin was suffering from ill health, although the Kremlin has repeatedly denied such suggestions. There was also debate on social media and among pundits about a possible successor to Putin, while Ukrainian intelligence claimed in March that Russian elites were planning to remove him from power and replace him with the director of Russia’s Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov.
In a previous episode of the One Decision podcast released in July, Dearlove said that he believes that if Putin’s health failed, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev would succeed him.
“I would go as far as to say that at the moment it would almost certainly be Patrushev,” Dearlove said. “Whether this number will hold up politically in the long term is a completely different question.”
Dearlove also predicted in another episode released in May that Putin will no longer be Russia’s president by 2023 because of his alleged health problems.
“I think he’ll be gone by 2023, but probably to the sanatorium,” Dearlove said. He added that once Putin leaves the facility, he will not emerge as “the leader of Russia.”
“It’s a way to move things forward without a coup,” Dearlove said.
Still, 69-year-old Putin doesn’t appear ready to voluntarily end his presidency any time soon. Putin signed legislation in 2021 that would allow him to seek two more six-year terms after his current term, potentially allowing him to stay in office until 2036.
Newsweek has reached out to the Kremlin for comment.