Sunday 22 May 2022 03:34 PM 'Putin will be gone by 2023': Ex MI6 chief says the Russian president will be ... trends now
Warmongering Russian president Vladimir Putin will be shipped off to a sanatorium by the end of the year, a former MI6 chief predicts.
With persistent rumours of serious ill health for the Russian strongman, one method of 'moving things on' without need for a violent coup would be to place him in a long term hospital for the incurably unwell, suggested Richard Dearlove.
The various Russian systems of governance over the centuries have always been autocratic and have never been designed with transitions of power in mind.
But now, with Russia facing military humiliation and economic catastrophe, and led by a leader who is rumoured to be afflicted with a variety of life-threatening diseases, thoughts are turning inwardly in the Kremlin as to how to replace the man in power.
These are the thoughts of Dearlove, who was speaking on the One Decision podcast which he co-hosts.
'I think he'll be gone by 2023 - but probably into the sanatorium, from which he will not emerge as the leader of Russia.'
'I'm not saying he won't emerge from the sanatorium, but he won't emerge as the leader of Russia any longer.
'That's a way to sort of move things on without a coup,' he concluded.
Sir Dearlove told the One Decision podcast: 'I think he'll be gone by 2023 - but probably into the sanatorium, from which he will not emerge as the leader of Russia'
With Russia facing military humiliation and economic catastrophe, and led by a leader (Putin, pictured) who is rumoured to be afflicted with a variety of life-threatening diseases, thoughts are turning inwardly in the Kremlin as to how to replace the man in power
File photo of a health institution. With persistent rumours of serious ill health for Vladimir Putin (pictured), one method of 'moving things on' without need for a violent coup would be to place him in a long term hospital for the incurably unwell, suggested Richard Dearlove
Rumours have been circling for years that Putin (pictured gripping table during a meeting last month) has health problems, and they have intensified since he launched invasion of Ukraine
Putin gripped the armrest of his chair during a meeting with Alexander Lukashenko earlier this year, after footage showed his arm shaking
In April it was reported that Putin was suffering from thyroid cancer and was followed 24 hours a day by a specialist doctor.
The discovery, by investigative media Project (or Proekt) media - blocked in Russia and now functioning from abroad - backs recent theories that Putin declared war when he was suffering medical problems hidden from the Russian people.
One version is that he has been treated with steroids, leading to a bloated look around the face and neck.
And the claim was supported by Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone, who revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has had cancer and that he believed he had overcome it.
Dearlove fingered Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the National Security Council and one of Putin's favoured 'siloviki' - security officers - as the likely stand in should Putin be ferreted away into a sanatorium.
The clip, taken as Putin met with his counterpart from Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, showed the Russian leader's left foot repeatedly raising and lowering as his knee collapsed inward
'The stand in in this scenario probably becomes permanent,' he added. 'There is no succession plan in the Russian leadership.'
He speculated that we are reaching 'the end of this regime in Russia' but 'that doesn't mean it is going to disappear.'
'What I'm saying over the next year, 18 months maybe something, it is going to break apart.
'There is no question that this Ukrainian venture is a catastrophe,' he added.
'The economy is in a mess, the sanctions are really going to start biting over the next three to six months, there will be very high inflation and over and above that, militarily it is a complete fiasco.'
On top of reports of throat cancer, there is heavy speculation that Putin may be suffering from Parkinson's, having been filmed meeting with other world leaders shaking hands and feet uncontrollably.
A clip of Putin bizarrely twisting his foot and seemingly struggling with jerky leg movements as he met with his counterpart from Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, came out last week, with even the Tajik leader noting the movements.
Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone has revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has had cancer. Pictured: Oliver Stone on the Lex Fridman Podcast where he made the comments
Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone has been granted unprecedented access to the Russian President in the past. Pictured: Stone speaks with President Vladimir Putin in June, 2019
Christopher Steele (pictured), who once operated in Russia as an MI6 agent, said Putin, 69, is having to take regular breaks to receive medical treatments and that there was effectively 'no clear political leadership' in Moscow
ENT surgeon Alexey Shcheglov (marked) is seen by Vladimir Putin's side during 2014 Sochi Olympics
Yesterday, former MI6 spy Christopher Steele claimed Putin is losing his grip on power due to his
