Chechen rebel warns Putin’s defeat in Ukraine will plunge Russia into civil war

Russia’s defeat in Ukraine will spark vicious infighting between Kremlin elites that will plunge Russia into a new civil war, according to a Chechen rebel leader. He also predicted that Chechens would rise up and overthrow their brutal President Ramzan Kadyrov and a new state unifying all the peoples of the Caucasus would emerge from the revolutionary ashes.

Over the past four days, anti-Putin activists have been attending the third session of the Congress of People’s Deputies in Warsaw, Poland.

Delegates continued their deliberations over a new Constitution for a democratic and free Russia, as well as furthering their plans to overthrow Putin and his regime.

Ilya Ponomarev, one of the founding members of the Congress who sits on its Executive Council, told the Express that while the “terrorist Putin” was still alive, there could be no peaceful or diplomatic solutions to the current crisis.

He said the only way to stop the “nightmare” was to deliver a decisive military defeat against Putin.

The Congress was addressed by a number of guest speakers, which included Ruslan Kutaev – a veteran Chechen politician who served as a minister under President Dzhokar Dudayev and then as a deputy prime minister under his eventual successor Aslan Maskhadov after the country had declared its independence from Russia at the beginning of the 1990s.

He is currently the President of the Assembly of the People of the Caucasus, an organisation committed to creating an independent state that incorporates all the different nationalities of the region.

Mr Kutaev told Express.co.uk that Russia was heading for defeat in Ukraine – a scenario that would lead to Putin’s removal and an almighty scramble among Kremlin elites to secure their financial assets.

The rebel leader pointed to the creation of private militias by Russian oligarchs as evidence that Kremlin elites were preparing for political turmoil and conflict.

He said: “I think it’s unlikely they can avoid a civil war. Why was there no civil war in 1991? Because in 1991 there were no rich people.

“No one had anything to lose. But today they do.

“Gazprom has created its own army and according to the latest information, between 30-50 oligarchs have created private militias.

“Why have they created these armies? They created their armies to protect their wealth.

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“It’s known as a conflict of interests – they will definitely fight each other.

“There’s no escape from it – there will be no power structure strong enough to control them.”

One of Putin’s roles has been to manage the competition between elites for state resources – something at which he has proven particularly adroit.

That competition over the years has intensified considerably as resources become increasingly scarce.

Many political analysts believe that once Putin goes, elite competition will spiral out of control – leading to infighting and political anarchy.

Mr Kutaev, who was imprisoned for four years in 2014 and tortured during his incarceration, said that Putin’s fall from power would inevitably weaken Kadyrov and allow rebels to retake power in Chechnya.

He claimed that ninety percent of Kadyrov’s supporters would desert him and join the rebel side, once they realised the game was up.

He said: “We are getting ready, putting the framework for change in place.

“We know every district and how many people we can count on. We say to our followers – ‘be patient, don’t rush things, don’t let them imprison you or kill you – hold your fire. The time for change is coming.’

“When we resolve the situation with Russia, we won’t have any problems in retaking our country.”