Russian President Vladimir Putin is tightening his grip on power by elevating younger loyalists amid growing instability within the Kremlin as he ages, reports suggest.
On Sunday, The Telegraph reported that the 73-year-old Putin, who has ruled Russia for more than two decades, has “no more cards to play” as pressure mounts both at home and abroad.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) also opened a criminal case against exiled businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky and 22 members of Russia’s Anti-War Committee, accusing them of plotting a power grab. Khodorkovsky spent ten years in a Siberian prison before founding the Anti-War Committee in 2022.
John Herbst, senior director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council and former US ambassador to Ukraine, told the British newspaper that “the Kremlin is descending into paranoia.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, August 18, 2025. ((Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP))
“He now also has members of his own family starting to rise in the ranks. One of those who has received the most attention is Anna Evgenievna Tsivilyova, née Putina,” Hale said.
Tsivilyova, 52, is Putin’s cousin after he was ousted and currently heads the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation, a state organization that supports Russian soldiers and veterans.
She was also chairman of the board of directors of the Kolmar Group, one of Russia’s largest coal companies.
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Vladimir Putin is tightening his grip on power by promoting family members and younger allies to his inner circle. (Masim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“The younger people are being raised by the older generation, seamlessly integrated into the power pyramid,” Hale said.
“Putin is worried about what will happen when he gets older, And if you don’t give younger people the opportunity to rise up, then the regime may come under some pressure.”
“These people can be trusted because they are related to people close to Putin, and they can also be young and energetic. The younger people are raised by the older generation, seamlessly integrated into the power pyramid,” Hale added.
In 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner group, staged a brief mutiny, sending his fighters into Moscow before abruptly withdrawing only to die in a plane crash weeks later.
Now the Kremlin’s focus has shifted to silencing the opposition abroad.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to the Moscow-appointed head of Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Zaporizhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, November 18, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
“Tensions within the elite remain and Putin wants to eliminate all possible risks,” Hale said. “The 2023 incident was a warning from Putin to his own elite, his own inner circle, not to dare try anything. Putin and his people watch each other closely and so don’t try anything funny,” Hale added.
Recently, Western sanctions, lower oil revenues and war costs could push Russia towards a recession.
The Ministry of Finance under President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, escalating pressure on the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine.
According to reports, the Russian government could raise taxes and increase domestic borrowing to close the gap.
“Putin has endured the greatest crisis that Russia has caused by the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which was the initial shock of the invasion and the inability to take Ukraine in a few days,” Hale added.
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“But war brings uncertainty and there is a risk of disastrous defeat, which will not exceed expectations. All the people around him are starting to think about a world beyond Putin.”
“That said, I think Putin’s regime is quite stable right now,” Hale concluded.
