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Former Russian insider says fear pushed elites to embrace Putin war
Prokopenko says officials and businesspeople feared surveillance and retaliation, and many privately opposed the war but would not say so publicly.
- Former Russian central bank official Alexandra Prokopenko reveals in her new book how pervasive fear and surveillance have reshaped the Russian elite since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.
- Fear and distrust took hold in Moscow soon after the invasion, forcing officials to hide smartwatches or sit on phones during meetings to avoid surveillance by security services.
- Prokopenko quotes one source calling the 73-year-old Kremlin chief the "old man," while detailing a deputy minister who hid his phone under his backside to avoid detection during a meeting.
- Although "everyone very much wants the war to end," Prokopenko notes that none risk saying so publicly, leading Moscow to label her a "foreign agent" in 2025 for her critical coverage.
- While elites feared for their interests during Evgeny Prigozhin's 2023 mutiny, many also viewed it as a potential opportunity for change, according to the upcoming English-language edition of her work.
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Aleksandra Prokopenko, sociologist and former adviser to the Central Bank of Russia between 2017 and 2022, explained in an interview given France Presse how the Russian elites united, "for fear, to the war launched by President Vladimir Putin in...
·Romania
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Some officials and businessmen, fearing possible surveillance or eavesdropping by security services, have begun taking off their smartwatches or leaving their mobile phones in their briefcases before sensitive meetings.
·Vilnius, Lithuania
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources17
Leaning Left1Leaning Right3Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution60% Center
Bias Distribution
- 60% of the sources are Center
60% Center
C 60%
R 30%
Factuality
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