Putin on brink as furious Russian elites revolt against China policy and ‘colonisation’ | World | News
Vladimir Putin is facing a furious backlash from Kremlin clans over his China policy, which could exacerbate Russia‘s economic crisis.
Since Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have sought closer political and economic ties.
Last year, trade between the two countries reached a record high of $244.8 billion (£197 billion).
China, in particular, has profited from Western sanctions to snap up Russian oil at discounted rates, importing 2.17 million barrels a day last year.
Russian elites are growing increasingly concerned about the dominance of a pro-China clan within the Kremlin and Beijing’s “colonial” attitude towards Moscow.
They fear that China is turning Russia into its colony for raw materials and that Moscow is becoming increasingly subservient to Beijing.
The Kremlin elites believe that Putin’s current China policy does not serve the national interest nor their financial wellbeing.
They fear that they are losing the battle to influence the Kremlin boss and are considering moving their money out of Russia—a move that could intensify the country’s banking and economic crises.
The Telegram Channel VChK-OGPU, which is believed to have close ties to Russia‘s security agencies, wrote: “The rest of the elites are increasingly aware of the ‘colonial’ nature of relations with China – supplying the bulk of extracted resources to China at cost price and imports from China at a 2-3 times inflated price.
“In fact, the entire population and business of the Russian Federation is now working to support the military operation and fuel China’s economy – 50×50%, all profits from Russian resources are generated in the Chinese economy.
“If the population can still be sold a story about national interests while at the same time turning the country into a raw material colony, increasingly restricting the rights of citizens and reducing their level of consumption, this mechanism does not work with the elites.
“Paying lip service to the decisions made, representatives of even the most patriotic but non-Chinese groups, since the beginning of the year, have become clearly aware of their prospects – the inevitable loss of influence and assets inside the country in the next 2 years.
“After the US sanctions strikes on the Russian oil sector and the loss of hope for a way out of the conflict in January 2025, corridor discussions about the withdrawal of large amounts of funds from the Russian Federation (primarily to Asia, Singapore, DBS Bank) have intensified.
“This may provoke an acceleration of the banking crisis and devaluation in the Russian Federation.”
Putin and Xi Jinping have been keen to talk up their ever closer cooperation, with the Chinese President saying that the friendship between the two countries had “no limits”.
In a new year message to Putin, he also noted that the two countries “have consistently moved forward hand-in-hand along the correct path of non-alignment.”
