Russian hardliner speaks of civil war China defends military spending before People’s Congress and plans to rebuild government

One of the harshest critics of the Russian military leadership has come up with the idea of ​​a civil war – apparently against the background of a possible Russian defeat in the war in Ukraine. Igor Girkin sees the self-arming of cities as a possible basis for this. “The idea is in the room. To protect against terrorist attacks and air strikes in every city, they should create their own army, as the national army is not doing its job,” former commander Igor Girkin wrote on Telegram.

Earlier, Russian general Andrey Kartapolov suggested that domestic companies buy anti-aircraft systems to protect themselves from attacks. The former deputy defense minister admitted that anti-aircraft systems can only protect military and key government facilities.

That cities and regions arm themselves is not new in Russia. “It happened before, in the civil war,” wrote the pre-war Girkin. Hundreds of self-defense units and gangs fought against each other and with states that came and went during the war. “Can we repeat that?”

Warning already in January

Girkin did not elaborate on what such a civil war might look like in Russia and whether it could be the result of Russian failures and mounting pressure on the Kremlin. The nationalist has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Kremlin’s military strategy in recent months, but is behind the invasion of Ukraine. In January, he already warned of a civil war that could kill millions in Russia.

In 1917, the Russian Civil War broke out between the communist Bolsheviks (the Red Army) and moderate nationalists and democrats (the White Army). It took the lives of 10 million people and ended in 1922 with the establishment of the Soviet Union.

In an interview with US magazine Newsweek, lawyer Mark Feygin, who also represented the punk band Pussy Riot, also warned of a civil war in Russia if Putin lost the war in Ukraine. In the event of defeat, there are two options: the Russian elite expels Putin from the Kremlin and negotiates with the West. A second scenario paints a rather gloomy picture. «Russian elites are breaking up into different factions within themselves; one supports Putin, the other does not support him and tries to overthrow him,” he said. “It could lead to civil war.”

The Netherlands convicted Girkin for downing MH17

Igor Girkin was one of the military leaders in the Russian invasion of Crimea. He later led a group of separatists and was temporarily appointed defense minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. Girkin was released after the downing of flight MH17 and sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia in the Netherlands in November for the murder of 298 people. He is wanted in Ukraine on terrorism charges. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he has been a military blogger and has repeatedly criticized the Russian leadership.

In October 2022, he reportedly volunteered and went to battle. Girkin publicly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s State of the Union address. “Nothing was said for 40 minutes,” he wrote on Telegram. There were complaints about partners for more than a quarter of an hour. Girkin noted that Putin had “not said a single word” about how Russia would respond to Western sanctions.