Behind Putin’s divide-and-rule system, the forces built to protect his rule are increasingly colliding as old rivalries break into open defiance. Ramzan Kadyrov is again challenging powerful military figures while senior officers fight to protect their own influence and access to power. Generals have already blocked Alexander Lapin from a major defense role, exposing how personal feuds are shaping decisions at the top.

With money, authority, and military prestige growing scarcer, every gain by one faction threatens the position of another. Each failure creates another opening for the FSB, military leaders, regional power brokers, or Kadyrov’s network to punish rivals and seize influence. Putin once kept these groups divided so none could become powerful enough to threaten him, but that same system now forces him to balance forces he cannot afford to lose.

Across the power structure, commanders, propagandists, regional bosses, and security officials are increasingly settling scores in public instead of behind closed doors. Political appointments, military contracts, armed units, and personal vendettas have become weapons in a struggle over who controls what comes next. That leaves Putin facing the danger built into his own system: choosing one side risks turning another into an enemy.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro: Russia’s Security Factions Turn on Each Other
01:03 - Chechen Formations Defy Kremlin Military Commands
02:29 - Internal Power Feuds Block Failed Generals
06:28 - State Media Blames Generals to Protect Putin
07:28 - Kadyrov Amasses Power Despite Military Failures
08:18 - The Secret Leverage Chechnya Holds Over Putin
09:21 - Rival Agencies Battle Over Defense Contracts
11:39 - How Russian Elites Profit From Mobilization
12:57 - Internal Warring Leaves Putin’s Regime Weakened

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Dr. Jason Jay Smart, also known as Jason Smart and Jason J Smart, is a political adviser who has lived and worked in Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Latin America. In 2010, he was banned for life by the Kremlin for supporting Russia’s democratic opposition to Vladimir Putin.

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