Russian political scientist comments on what Russian security forces think of Putin

Commenting on the recent interview with former Federal Guard Service (FSO) officer Gleb Karakulov, who fled Russia, Preobrazhensky said that it was a symptom of the fact that "not all security officials adore Putin".

"This is absolutely obvious," the political analyst noted.

“It's just that most security officials have neither the ability nor the willingness to leave the country. Especially since we know that, for example, one of the colleagues of this FSO officer tried to leave the country through Kazakhstan in the same way. And Kazakhstan eventually extradited him back to the Russian Federation, where, as far as I remember, he has already been imprisoned, or at least sentenced.”

Read also: FSO officer defects, condemns Putin’s war, and spills some secrets about the dictator

He noted that it is problematic for security officials to flee Russia, as they cannot leave legally.

"Therefore, it is understandable, given where and how they work, that even in informal conversations with colleagues, most of them will not express their dissatisfaction in any way," Preobrazhensky explained.

He said that several security officials that he personally knows consider what is happening "madness, or savagery at the very least ".

"I think that now, when asked whether they support Vladimir Putin, whether they support what is called in Russia a 'special military operation', of course, they will answer any person, even their closest friends, that they do," he added.

“Who among them wants to go to jail for treason if they have not left the country?”

Gleb Karakulov fled Kazakhstan in October, while attending a summit in Astana with Putin. On Oct. 14, the last day of his official trip, Karakulov left his colleagues and flew to Istanbul with his wife and daughter.

The Dossier Centre spent more than 10 hours talking to the officer and found out why he decided to leave the FSO and Russia. Karakulov is the highest-ranking intelligence officer to flee the country and condemn the war since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

In Russia, Karakulov is wanted, and a criminal case on desertion has been opened against him (Article 338(3) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The Dossier Centre's interview with him was recorded in late 2022 and published on April 4, 2023.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine