According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the Kremlin is already looking for a successor to Vladimir Putin. This process is handled by the Russian Federal Security Service.

Political scientist Oleksandr Antonyuk told Channel 24 about this. According to him, the search for someone who could replace Putin intensified after the decision of the International Criminal Court on a warrant for the arrest of the dictator.

Antonyuk noted that Ukraine is daily approaching the day when power will change in Russia. The political scientist added that it is too early to talk about the timing. This can happen very quickly or take a little longer.

“However, the processes of formation of the transit of power in Russia are really taking place . They have been going on for several months. It's just that this has not yet become an open trend,” Antonyuk said.

FSB is testing options for the transit of power

According to him, for several months the Federal Security Service has been testing several formats for the transit of power.

In particular, the former vice-president of Russia Alexander Rutskoi unexpectedly appeared in the information field. Rutskoi is now 75 years old. This person has disappeared from Russian politics for some time since about the end of the 1990s.

Now Rutskoi has begun to appear at a series of meetings with entrepreneurs, on various forums, as well as on several YouTube channels supervised by the FSB. Moreover, he expresses narratives for which you can go to jail in Russia,” Antonyuk said.

All this indicates that the FSB returned Rutskoi to the information space of Russia for a reason. Probably, the Russian special services use his person in preparation for the change of power in the country.

Alexander Antonyuk told how Russia is looking for Putin's successor: watch the video

Likely candidate to replace Putin

The political scientist noted that the Russian FSB may be preparing several projects for the transit of power. They will be launched under favorable conditions.

By the time we de-occupy most of our territories, the situation in Russia will be even more shaky. With elites owning private armies, the situation could spiral out of control. Therefore, now they are preparing someone to make this transit of power,” Antonyuk said.

He suggested that former Russian vice president Alexander Rutskoi could be one of those who would take power after Putin.

• Firstly, Rutskoi is already at a venerable age.
• Secondly, there are no claims against him in terms of negativity towards the West and Ukraine.

Antonyuk stressed that Rutskoi is only one of the likely candidates that the FSB may be preparing to replace Putin . However, it is possible that the 75-year-old politician can only be used to spread the necessary narratives, and someone else can take Putin's place.

FSB may use Alexander Rutskoy / Photo by Russian media

The main task of the FSB

As the political scientist explained, the Federal Security Service is trying to calculate the options in order to maintain stability in Russia.

The task of the FSB is to maintain its influence and the territory that belonged to them, at least according to the agreements that were in 1991. And Vladimir Putin is the personification of evil,” Antonyuk said.

The political scientist added that this is precisely why the process of transferring power is handled by the institution, and not by someone personally.

“Putin is a product of the FSB, which has been formed since the 1990s. In fact, for totalitarian regimes, the change of leaders, with proper moderation, does not matter,” Antonyuk said.

He added that China today claims to take Russia under its protectorate. The political scientist suggested that the Chinese intelligence services can help their Russian counterparts in establishing certain processes.

What is known about Alexander Rutskoi

• Alexander Rutskoy – retired Major General of Aviation, participated in the hostilities of the USSR in Afghanistan.
• In 1991-1993 he served as Vice President of Russia. During his tenure in this position, he had sharp conflicts with the then President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. From 1996 to 2000 he was the governor of the Kursk region.
• Recently, Rutskoi began to openly criticize the actions of the Russian leadership, in particular, on the war in Ukraine. In particular, the general said that the so-called “special operation” in Ukraine is a tragedy for Russia. According to him, Russian troops are led by incompetent people who send Russians to a senseless death.