Putin's inner circle narrows: Close allies take key positions

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, after his army's defeat at Kursk caused by the Armed Forces' invasion, continues to narrow his "inner circle" of decision influencers and places them in key positions as "personal guards," writes Bloomberg.

According to three agency sources, Putin is becoming increasingly isolated, and access to him is increasingly difficult. The publication cites the example of the new Deputy Defense Minister and the president's niece, Anna Tsivileva, who was promoted to state secretary last week.

Bloomberg sources report that she is influential enough to hold face-to-face working meetings with Putin and close enough to see him at informal events and receptions.

The 52-year-old Tsivileva now has direct access to Putin, which even her boss at the Ministry of Defense, Andrei Belousov, did not have.

In conducting the military conflict, Putin currently relies on old, trusted advisors. He instructed his former personal bodyguard, State Council Secretary Alexei Dyumin, to be his "eyes and ears" in monitoring operations aimed at "expelling the Ukrainian military from Kursk Oblast."

After the debacle at Kursk, Putin no longer trusts the General Staff. In a crisis situation, he will rely solely on those personally loyal to him, claims a source in the Russian Ministry of Defense, as reported by the "Ważne Istorje" portal.

Following the former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, trust was also lost in the former Security Council Chief Nikolai Patrushev. His old guard at the FSB has already started to be removed. Most likely, a key general from Patrushev's team and the entire FSB—the head of the Constitutional Order Protection Service, Alexei Sedov, responsible for prosecuting Putin's political opponents—will leave his position soon.

Patrushev was transferred to the position of presidential advisor on the shipbuilding industry.