Putin is said to trust very few advisers. But those advisors are the only ones who just say yes to their yes. Whatever Putin has decided, he is called good-natured.
Russia has vowed to destroy Ukraine. The Russian army has completely broken down on Ukraine and the attacks are continuing. Due to the Russian attack, Kharkiv, a city with a population of 1.5 million, has been devastated. Ukraine says more than 2000 innocent civilians have been killed in the first seven days as a result of the Russian attack. However, no one has the exact figure yet.
According to a report, Russia is spending about one lakh crore rupees every day on this war, which may affect the economic conditions of Russia. Russian President Baldimir Putin has posed a risk to his country’s economic condition, yet he is not ready to stop this war. In such a situation, questions arise as to who are Putin’s advisers and who are those who are in this whole war. playing an important role in strategy formulation.
Just a week before Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian TV broadcast a session of President Putin’s 30-member Security Council, which showed Putin sitting far away with his closest advisers. In this meeting, he was taking his advisers’ opinion before recognizing the two Russian-backed separatist provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent countries.
Sergei Shoigu: Minister of Defense
Shoigu has long been Putin’s confidant. Russian security expert and author Andrei Solatov believes the defense minister is still the most influential voice the president listens to. According to media reports, he continues to advise Putin to protect Russia from the so-called military threat of the West.
He is credited with the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014. He was also in charge of the GRU military intelligence agency, which is accused of poisoning two agents, the deadly attack in Salisbury in Britain in 2018 and the deadly attack on the opposition leader of Siberia, Alexei Navalny, in 2020. “Shoigu has to go to Kyiv, he is defense minister and he has to win it,” said Vera Mironova, an expert on armed conflict.
Valery Gerasimov: Deputy Defense Minister
The task of Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, was to invade Ukraine and complete this task expeditiously. He has been a prominent face of Vladimir Putin’s military campaigns since taking command of the army in the 1999 Chechen War. He was also at the forefront of military planning for Ukraine, overseeing military exercises in Belarus last month. According to Russian expert Mark Gelotti, General Gerasimov also played an important role in the military campaign to annex Crimea.
Some reports suggest that they are now sidelined due to reports of Russian forces not dominating Ukraine at the very beginning of the invasion of Ukraine and poor morale of troops. But Russian security expert and author Andrei Solatov believes that Putin cannot control every battalion, but it is Gerasimov’s job.
Sergei Naryshkin: head of the Foreign Intelligence Service
Sergei Naryshkin has been with the president for most of his career. He was with Putin in St Petersburg in the 1990s. Then in 2004 he became President of Putin’s office and finally the Speaker of Parliament. He is also the head of the Russian Historical Society and continues to give ideological advice to the President.
General Nikolay Petrushev: Secretary of the Security Council
He is one of Putin’s loyalists, having worked with him in St. Petersburg since the 1970s. He is also counted among the advisors to the President. Ben Noble, associate professor of Russian politics at University College London, says Patrushev is like the fastest eagle and sees the West as the enemy of Russia.
Media reports said that during a meeting of Russia’s Security Council three days before the invasion of Ukraine, Petrushev said America’s “main goal” was the breakup of Russia. According to Ben Noble, ‘Petrushev is the one who always talks about war and it is a spirit in which Putin has risen to his extreme position.’
Alexander Bortnikov: Director Federal Security Service
Bortnikov is one of Putin’s loyalists. He is considered very close to the President. Many reports have suggested that Putin trusts information from security services more than any other source, and that is why Alexander Bortnikov is considered Putin’s special. He took over the leadership of the FSB after the departure of Nikolai Petrushev. The FSB has considerable influence over other law enforcement services and even has its own special forces.
Valentina Matvienko: Head of the Senate
She is the only woman in Putin’s team. She is a Putin loyalist from Petersburg. He is also believed to have played a role in the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Although he is not considered the primary decision-maker, his role, like every other member of Russia’s Security Council, is to participate in collective discussions and voice his opinion. Recently he said that Moscow would respond to sanctions imposed by the US and its allies on Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
Viktor Zolotov: Director of the National Guard Service
He is a former bodyguard of the president and now runs Rosgvardia, Russia’s national guard. Which was built six years ago by President Putin as a personal army in the style of the Praetorian Guard like the Roman Empire. Their loyalty is ensured by choosing a personal security guard. Victor has increased its number to 400,000.
Putin and whom do you listen to?
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s main task is to save the country’s economy, but his direct intervention in the matter of war is minimal. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Rosneft’s head of state oil giant Igor Sechin are also close to the president, according to political analyst Yevgeny Minchenko. The billionaire brothers Boris and Arkady Rotenberg, who are childhood friends of the president and longtime confidants of Putin.
Expansion
Russia has vowed to destroy Ukraine. The Russian army has completely broken down on Ukraine and the attacks are continuing. Due to the Russian attack, Kharkiv, a city with a population of 1.5 million, has been devastated. Ukraine says more than 2000 innocent civilians have been killed in the first seven days as a result of the Russian attack. However, no one has the exact figure yet.
According to a report, Russia is spending about one lakh crore rupees every day on this war, which may affect the economic conditions of Russia. Russian President Baldimir Putin has posed a risk to his country’s economic condition, yet he is not ready to stop this war. In such a situation, questions arise as to who are Putin’s advisers and who are those who are in this whole war. playing an important role in strategy formulation.
Just a week before Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian TV broadcast a session of President Putin’s 30-member Security Council, which showed Putin sitting far away with his closest advisers. In this meeting, he was taking his advisers’ opinion before recognizing the two Russian-backed separatist provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent countries.