Vladimir Putin: Ex-speechwriter criticises Russian President, revealing 'why he needed escalation'

Abbas Gallyamov, a former speechwriter for Vladimir Putin, has slammed the Russian President and revealed what he believes to be his motive for starting the war. Today, Friday 24 February, marks the one year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin is 'trapped now'

Gallyamov, who worked as Putin's speechwriter for three years after he was first elected in 2001, told Radio National Australia that the Putin he knew two decades ago is the complete opposite of who he is today. Gallyamov said:

He is not a politician; mentally he is still a KGB agent and these guys, they're not setting the goals...When the threat appears, he starts fighting this threat.

That's why he's always reacting to external threats which are appearing and solving those problems, and when there are no problems he's just drifting along, just allowing the river to take him away. He's not a strategist at all, that's why he's trapped now.

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Vladimir Putin 'needed escalation'

Gallyamov described Putin as a 'chameleon' who, when he first came into power, was more self-confident and didn't need to be aggressive to exert his authority—unlike former Soviet leaders like Joseph Stalin, who 'enjoyed torturing people.'

Gallyamov said that this began to change around 2016, as Russians started to focus more on domestic issues instead of foreign policy involving the US, Ukraine or NATO. These included concerns about a declining quality of life, a poor economy, degrading social systems like healthcare, and corruption. Gallyamov continued:

He was really losing legitimacy and he needed to change the context of perception of Russian politics. He needed to get people to start thinking about foreign policy and foreign enemies.

That is why he needed escalation. I'm absolutely sure if there had been no Ukraine and no NATO, he would have found some other enemy he needed to consolidate [his] nation around him.

He added that Putin has evolved from leading an authoritarian regime to a totalitarian state, describing the ex-KGB agent as 'a brilliant tactician but poor strategist', like Adolf Hitler.

Gallyamov told German media outlet Deutsche Welle (DW) on Wednesday 22 February that Putin 'doesn't have a plan B' even as '100% of Russian elites and half of the Russian general population...understand in general that the situation is going in the wrong direction'. He added:

The Russian military, who theoretically can arrange this through the Russian special services, they are ruined, literally—their identity is ruined, their self-esteem is ruined by the Ukrainians, by the Ukrainian army.

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It comes as on Thursday 23 February, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to approve a resolution calling for Russia to 'immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine'.

In the emergency session, the resolution passed with 141 nations voting in favour, six countries joining Russia in voting against it and 32 countries abstaining. The six countries to vote against the resolution were Belarus, North Korea, Syria, Eritrea, Mali, and Nicaragua.

Sources used:

Newsweek: 'Putin's 'Trapped' as Military Fails in Ukraine War: Former Speechwriter'

The Hill: 'These 6 countries sided with Russia in UN vote on Ukraine war