A political communications expert has reported to Express that Vladimir Putin’s body language shows he doesn’t believe his own propaganda. This comes days after the same expert, Dr Colin Alexander, suggested that Russia has started looking for the best person to replace Putin.
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Vladimir Putin’s aim to ‘denazify’ Ukraine
Russia’s president has long defended his invasion of Ukraine by claiming it serves to protect Ukrainians from Nazis. Ukraine does have an issue with neo-Nazism, but it is nowhere near as wide-spread as Putin would have you believe.
His accusations are often based on the actions of the Azov Brigade, which is an ultranationalist militia organisation in Ukraine that reportedly invites neo-Nazis to join its ranks and uses symbols linked to Nazisim. The group, Express explains, is small: it has only 900 - 2,500 members and its values are certainly not representative of the entire country of Ukraine.
Putin 'knows he's lying' about Ukraine as key body language sign picked up onhttps://t.co/yEM35Kdhke
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) August 15, 2023
Read more:Vladimir Putin could face another coup from Wagner chief within six months, expert predicts
The irony of this rhetoric is that Putin is ‘fighting a war the way that actual Nazis did’, as the historian Timothy Snyder explained in an interview with The Washington Post. This is something that Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s President, has not shied away from confirming. In a tweet posted early in 2022, he wrote that Russia had attacked Ukraine in the same way ‘as Nazi Germany did’.
Putin can’t even fool himself
As reported by Express on Tuesday 15 August, Putin’s body language seems to give away a lack of faith in his own words. Dr Colin Alexander told the publication that ‘on the denazifying Ukraine in particular, he knows he’s lying’. The expert explained that the Russian President’s body language is uncertain, unconvincing and - most importantly - gives away his lack of conviction in his own claims.
Putin’s messengers can’t keep up the act
Dr Alexander reports that he was recently on a TV station with a Russian representative who, when talking about the denazification of Ukraine 'actually had a nervous laugh’:
It was obvious: they knew they were lying
Putin’s replacement
Days before Express published Dr Alexander’s body language comments, the publication looked into the people ‘being sized up to replace Vladimir Putin’.
Putin has been ruling Russia, as either prime minister or president, since 1999. However, in recent years, rumours have circulated about his failing health. He reportedly uses a body double to avoid these stories of physical weakness from gaining traction.
Putin is now 70, and Dr Alexander suggested to Express that Russia is starting to look for his replacement:
He isn't exactly getting any younger, and so I believe in the next few years we will see the emergence of key people in line to that position of Russian President
Expresslists the potential candidates:
Dmitry Medvedev
Russia’s president between 2008 and 2012, Medvedev is Putin’s long-standing ally. He has taken an aggressive stance on the Ukraine conflict and has frightening views on nuclear strikes: he reckons they could be necessary as retaliation if Ukraine tries to get their own nuclear weapons. That being said, experts believe he is a servile character and would still answer to Putin if he ever did replace him.
Alexei Dyumin
This one is surprising: in the 90s, Dyumin was Putin’s bodyguard. He has since been rewarded with various roles within the Russian government, including leader of the Russian military’s Special Operations Forces. He oversaw the 2014 annexation of Crimea in this role.
Nikolai Patrushev
Patrushev is the secretary of Russia’s Security Council. He is a former KGB agent and has been vocal about his distrust of the West. However, at 71 years old, he might not be the ideal candidate to replace Putin.
Sergei Kiriyenko
In the 90s, Kiriyenko was Russia’s prime minister. During this time, he made Putin head of the FSB, successor to the KGB, and is still believed to be a part of the Russian President’s inner circle.
Mikhail Mishustin
The current prime minister could become president, and he may be the most predictable candidate. There is a silver lining: though Mishustin has not been vocal about the Ukrainian invasion, he is rumoured to be against it.
Read more:
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⋙ Russia's humiliation as own military officers reveal the country is failing
Sources used:
Express: Putin 'knows he's lying' about Ukraine as key body language sign picked up on
Express: Putin's replacement floated as 'key people emerging' in Russia to take the top job
The Washington Post: Putin says he will ‘denazify’ Ukraine. Here’s the history behind that claim
