The next conflict in the Kremlin: Hardliner Girkin demands a change in leadership

Russian military blogger and hardliner Igor Girkin has fueled speculation in a report that there are serious divisions in Russian warfare. In a sarcastically worded 12-point post on Telegram, Girkin addresses the Russian government, intelligence agencies and military leaders. They all displayed “blatant incompetence” and “completely unprofessional behavior,” says Girkin.

The “cadres” would “completely ignore” the real conditions in the combat zones and conduct combat operations to “not win,” he writes. Personnel and equipment would be burned. It is remarkable that Girkin is not only arguing for a change of leadership at the political and military level, for example at defense and foreign ministries and at the general staff of the Russian armed forces. He also demands the same for the domestic secret service, and more specifically in the so-called 5th service of the FSB.

This 5th Department is a separate but subordinate unit of the FSB that provides intelligence to Russia’s post-Soviet neighbors. It was also the department that, just before the start of the offensive war against the whole of Ukraine, compiled the secret service file on the neighboring country and thus formed the basis for the decision to start the full-scale war.

The American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) sees the fact that Girkin explicitly addresses this service – and not the entire FSB with its head Alexander Bortnikov – as an indication that “Girkin sees the FSB as something other than the failing Russian army intelligence and security apparatus.”

This could indicate that there are considerable tensions between the Russian military leadership and the FSB, but also within the FSB itself, the ISW writes on Sunday. “Girkin’s scathing remarks continue to shed light on the growing friction within the inner circle.”

In the twelve points, Girkin also discusses Russian foreign policy with a view to China, and the governing United Russia party, which he also believes is in urgent need of renewal, Girkin believes that nothing is moving at all in Russia. “Our old cadres, tried and tested for decades, are the key to our military defeat. The time-tested thieves and corrupt, bureaucrats and idlers in every minor position are our solid backbone.” Girking has also often criticized Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin in the past, whom he considers too weak.

Former intelligence officer Girkin, who publishes online under the pseudonym “Igor Ivanovich Strelkov”, helped spark the war in Donbass in 2014. Girkin is a convicted war criminal: he was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in the Netherlands in connection with the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. He is wanted on the basis of an international arrest warrant.

Girkin has also made fun of the head of the notorious mercenary group “Wagner”, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in the past. Among other things, because Prigozhin awards medals for capturing a “big village”. In his 12-point contribution, Girkin now criticizes that too many independent Russian troops would cause bloody chaos because they disobey army orders and instead refer to their own leaders.