“The devil sits on Putin’s shoulder”

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He is powerful, traveling the world in a key role and drawing attention with diatribes of anger against the West. But nobody really knows him in this country. We are talking about Nikolai Patrushev (71), the Russian security adviser and longtime confidant of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin (70).

According to the German news portal “Welt”, the expert on Russia’s domestic policy at the American think tank Carnegie, Andrei Kolesnikov, says: “Patruschev is the one who gets to explain Putin’s thoughts.” Unlike Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (72), who has to speculate about Putin’s wishes because he is unaware. What is special is that Lavrov is known all over the world. “Diplomats don’t know what Putin wants, unlike Patrushev,” Kolesnikov said.

He plays with the resentment of postcolonial states

The British Russia expert Mark Galeotti (58) calls Patrushev a “devil who sits on Putin’s shoulder and spits poison”. This poison should be taken symbolically: just a few days ago, during a visit to North African Algeria, he announced that the West was resorting to “old colonial methods” when it strangled “unpleasant states”. And it was precisely this West that collapsed thanks to the efforts of the Soviet Union. That is, Patrushev skillfully plays with the resentment of the postcolonial states.

Such statements are not uncommon. Over the years, he has consistently dug into this story at press conferences and in newspaper interviews – most recently while visiting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (60). Patrushev thus pursues a kind of parallel foreign policy. Not unimportant, since Lavrov’s foreign policy has been seen as a kind of facade since the war in Ukraine. Especially relevant at a time when many states are wavering between solidarity with Ukraine and sympathy for Russia.

What makes Nikolai Patrushev so dangerous is that he meets the expectations of the global southern community: he gives them an insight into Russian power politics and anti-Western, especially anti-American, sentiments. However, he does so convincingly that he has even been traded as Putin’s successor or his representative in case of illness. (two)

Source: Blick