Ilya Remeslo, a 42-year-old lawyer and former pro-Kremlin loyalist, has publicly turned against President Vladimir Putin in a rare and dramatic outburst. In a Telegram post to his 90,000 followers titled 'Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin', Remeslo accused the Russian leader of waging a 'failing war' in Ukraine, causing millions of casualties and wrecking the economy. He called Putin 'illegitimate' and argued that 'absolute power corrupts', urging him to step aside.
In an interview with the Guardian from his flat in St Petersburg, Remeslo went further, stating: 'Vladimir Putin should resign and be put on trial as a war criminal. His personalised, corrupt system is doomed to collapse.' He criticised the war's progress, saying the army is not advancing and that Russia is fighting over 'tiny territories that will ultimately give Russia nothing'. Remeslo also condemned Putin's authoritarian rule, the state of the economy, and recent moves to shut down internet access, claiming Putin 'has destroyed everything he could lay his hands on'.
Remeslo's reversal marks a significant breach of taboos in Russia, where even pro-war 'Z-bloggers' rarely challenge Putin directly. Ivan Philippov, a researcher of the pro-war movement, described the outburst as 'unprecedented' and struggled to make sense of it. Speculation initially ranged from a hacked account to a staged provocation, but Remeslo dismissed these theories, insisting his criticism is genuine.
Remeslo, a former member of the Kremlin-controlled public chamber, had long targeted critics of the regime, including the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. He claimed his decision to speak out developed gradually, adding that many others in the pro-Kremlin community 'thought the same way'. He said he had received frantic calls from security services urging him to remove the posts, which he interpreted as a sign of panic within the system.
Leonid Volkov, a close ally of Navalny and a long-time target of Remeslo, initially suspected the episode was staged but later changed his mind, noting that Remeslo's remarks 'cross every red line' and go far beyond what the Kremlin would sanction. However, Volkov added that it was 'hard to believe this was an act of personal courage or initiative'. The outburst comes at a politically sensitive time for Moscow, as the war in Ukraine continues to face setbacks.
