Podoliak: Russia’s elite shuns publicity while the regions conceal military mobilisation

Saturday, 26 March 2022, 15:36

Denis Karlovskyi — Saturday, 26 March 2022, 16:36

Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the Head of the President’s Office, claims that Russia's governing elites are avoiding publicity and have been trying to conduct covert mobilisation in the regions.

Source: Podoliak’s Telegram channel

Quote from Podoliak: "First of all, there has been an attempt at partial mobilisation in some regions of the Russian Federation – the quietest, most depressed regions. However, panic broke out even there.

Secondly, the governing elite is desperately trying to avoid all publicity. They have totally stopped commenting on anything. So the people now coming to the fore are either pure propagandists, or people who had already been written off and packed off to a well-deserved retirement on the Security Council.

The best example of this is Dmitry Medvedev. The fact that he is appearing in public is a direct indication that the real ruling elite is abandoning public loyalty and looking for an opportunity to escape from the ‘Russian warship’ in one way or another."

Details: Podoliak is convinced that the real ruling elite are seeking to avoid responsibility and escape.

Background:

On 23 March, Russian opposition journalists noted that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was hiding from journalists and the public. On 24 March, Russian media reported that the defence minister had taken part in a meeting of the Russian Security Council with Putin, but the video of that meeting looked extremely strange.
Mediazona suggested that a video of Shoigu had been embedded, using footage from a previous security meeting.
On 26 March, the Russian state television channel Zvezda broadcast an alleged video of a meeting of high-ranking ministry officials, including Shoigu. But it is unclear whether the video was made several months ago.
Former president and ex-prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, who now holds a ceremonial position on Russia’s Security Council, has become more active in the media in recent days. He is mostly given the task of voicing threats regarding the use of nuclear weapons.
On 26 March, the Russian Ministry of Defence released a statement alleging that the call-up of Russians to enlistment offices in some regions was "a provocation by the Ukrainian special services". According to information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for 24 March, the invaders are calling up reserve officers as well as privates and NCOs from among those not exempted from conscription.