--- Thomas Graham, distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former national security adviser on Russia to the Bush White House, quoted in After Wagner Revolt, Questions of Blame in Vladimir Putin’s Inner Circle, WSJ, 28 Jun 2023
In context
For now, the power brokers whom Putin installed in the Kremlin are rallying around him, closing fissures opened by the debacle. But long-simmering resentment about the war in Ukraine, along with rounds of finger-pointing and recriminations inside the Kremlin, could open a power vacuum that disgruntled advisers could exploit, Russia experts say.
“Any Russian leader must be able to do three things to keep the confidence of the elites—protect them from external enemies, protect them from the Russian people, and protect them from each other,” said Thomas Graham, a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former national security adviser on Russia to the Bush White House.
“He’s not performing two of these tasks well—they’re not doing well against the external enemy of Ukraine, and he’s not handling competition in the elites,” Graham said. “He’s not forcefully resolving things.”
