Putin fears assassination and coup, struggle intensifies between security forces — intelligence

Vladimir Putin. Photo: AP Photo / Julia Demaree Nikhinson

The concerns, according to the report, have led to an unprecedented strengthening of security measures.

The Federal Protective Service (FSO) has effectively placed the President of the Russian Federation in a state of complete isolation: he has stopped visiting his usual residences in the Moscow region and Valdai, spending most of his time in modernized bunkers, including in the Krasnodar Krai.

Employees working near Putin are now forbidden from using the internet and public transport, and surveillance systems have been installed in their homes.

Moreover, the FSO now completely controls all media publications involving Putin, and communication networks are periodically shut down in Moscow to prevent drone attacks.

The figure of Sergei Shoigu causes particular concern in the Kremlin. The former Minister of Defense is seen as a potential destabilizing factor, as he retains significant influence in the army.

The arrest of his former deputy Ruslan Tsalikov this March is interpreted as the destruction of an unwritten agreement on elite security, making Shoigu himself a probable target for criminal prosecution.

The document also reveals a deep split between various security structures.

Following a series of attacks on high-ranking officers in Moscow, a sharp quarrel broke out between the head of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, FSB director Alexander Bortnikov, and Rosgvardia head Viktor Zolotov. The security officials blamed each other for the inability to protect the command from attacks by Ukrainian special services.

Rosgvardia Director Viktor Zolotov argued that available resources could not be allocated for the protection of Ministry of Defense officers.

As a result, Gerasimov managed to secure Putin's approval for an expansion of FSO operations: now, in addition to the head of the General Staff himself, ten other key generals, including the heads of the GRU and the Main Operational Directorate, have been placed under enhanced protection by this agency.

Journalists from "Important Stories" were able to independently confirm several facts from the report.

Sources within the FSB report that almost all special eavesdropping equipment has now been redirected from criminal cases to monitoring the activities of the government itself. As indirect proof of the extreme degree of paranoia, the fact is cited that in 2026, not a single State Duma deputy was invited to the Victory Parade on Red Square.

Roman Anin, founder of "Important Stories", commented on the publication, calling the European intelligence report one of the most significant news of recent times. In his opinion, Russia has entered a phase where the war of power clans for the table of a weakened dictator has become inevitable.

Anin outlines two main scenarios for Russia in the near future.

The Iranian path, where Putin tries to create an analogue of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps based on the FSO and Rosgvardia. This would be a 'new Oprichnina' with unlimited powers, Anin suggests.

Unprecedented repressions will affect even those previously considered untouchable. The country faces complete isolation from the internet and the outside world to eradicate any criticism.

The second scenario is another time of troubles.

"Putin himself built this system and fully understands what awaits him. Hence the increased paranoia, and isolation from the people and his own entourage," Anin notes.

He believes that both scenarios currently have a high degree of probability.

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