In an interview with Radio Svoboda, political analyst and publicist Stanislav Belkovsky laid out his interpretation of Russia's political system. Responding to Sergei Medvedev's question about Sam Greene and Graeme Robertson's book Putin v. the People, he stated that to a certain extent both are true: that this is "Putin's Russia" and that this is "Russia's Putin." According to Belkovsky, Putin does not consider the Russian people the source of his legitimacy, and his power, in the analyst's view, is dynastic in nature.
A de facto monarchy
Belkovsky argued that Russia's political system, since the transfer of power from Boris Yeltsin to Vladimir Putin, has been a hereditary monarchy with features of an absolute one. He identified three elements of the monarchical ritual: the monarch's infallibility, his exclusivity, and his position above the law. In Belkovsky's assessment, Putin lacks charismatic legitimacy and is restoring traditional monarchical legitimacy. The transfer of power, he believes, will occur by inheritance—whether to a blood relative or a "psychological heir," such as Dmitry Medvedev.
Fear of death and the "main national project"
Belkovsky's central thesis is that Putin has ontologically identified himself with Russia and is projecting his own fear of death. He recalled the formula "no Putin—no Russia," attributed to State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, and linked it to the question "Why do we need a world if there is no Russia in it?" According to Belkovsky, for Putin the main enemy is physical death, and therefore Russia's main national project is the "prolongation of life and health." He also claimed that in his interview with Tucker Carlson, Putin "openly admitted that he is not a Christian."
War, security, and calculation
Speaking about the war with Ukraine, Belkovsky stated that its goal has not changed—to bring Ukraine under control, but not through occupation, rather through a change of power in Kyiv. In his opinion, Putin is counting on Ukraine's war fatigue and on the arrival of a "compromise team" ready for a kind of Brest Peace. Belkovsky believes that Putin is consistently rational in his decisions, and that his main resource is time. He also characterized Putin as a person with an anxious temperament according to the classification of German psychiatrist Karl Leonhard, whose main motive is fear.
Responding to a question about Putin's place in history, Belkovsky suggested that he "must bring to its logical conclusion the task of discrediting Russian authoritarianism, imperialism, and militarism." These assessments and predictions were voiced in the conversation and are the personal opinion of the interlocutor.
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