Paranoia or a Real Scenario: After Maduro’s Capture, the Kremlin Is Looking for Traitors Close to Putin
7 January 15:46
РОЗБІР ВІД 
The Kremlin is once again on the hunt for traitors, while pro-Kremlin Telegram channels are warning of a “Venezuelan scenario”—claiming that Vladimir Putin could be “betrayed by his own people.” Parallels with the fall of Nicolás Maduro’s regime are presented as a real threat, and the rhetoric is growing increasingly harsh. But is Russia truly on the brink of an internal coup—or is this merely media hysteria and an attempt to intimidate the elite? Is betrayal possible within Putin’s inner circle?
The Telegram channel “Kremlin Snuffbox, ” which claims to have sources in the Kremlin, reported on alleged preparations for investigations into Russian President Putin’s inner circle due to fears of internal betrayal. According to the channel’s sources, the current period in the Kremlin is considered “particularly difficult” and fraught with risks for the current regime.
“It’s probably no secret to anyone that there are very influential people in Russia who want our country to stop fighting for ‘Victory’ so that it would be easier for them to make money. These citizens are ready to do anything for their own benefit—even betrayal and threats against the president,”—the Telegram channel “Kremlin Snuffbox”
The channel’s authors link these fears to events in Venezuela, where, they claim, Nicolás Maduro’s power was undermined by internal betrayal. Now, they say, there is a real threat to Putin.
Another source, whom the channel also identifies as part of the dictator’s inner circle, stated the need for an immediate “purge” of the president’s entourage.
“We must do several things now. We must search for traitors, first and foremost among Vladimir Vladimirovich’s inner circle. So that, God forbid, it doesn’t end up like with Maduro, who was betrayed by traitors,” sources from the “Kremlin Snuffbox” channel
The article concludes with direct threats against potential “traitors,” particularly those close to the Russian president. They promise that traitors simply will not survive in the coming months.
There is no official confirmation of this information from the Kremlin. At the same time, such rhetoric may indicate an intensification of internal strife among the Russian elite and preparations for a new wave of repression.
The Venezuelan scenario with Putin: myth or reality?
Commenting on the events surrounding Nicolás Maduro, Sergey Yagodzinsky, vice rector of the European University, Doctor of Science, and professor, drewattention in a comment to "Komersant Ukrainian" to the role of internal factors, particularly the security forces.
“As for Maduro himself, pay attention to how he was captured. It seems that his own security detail turned him in,” Yagodzinsky noted.
According to him, the theory of internal betrayal is entirely plausible.
“Maduro’s abduction likely did not happen without this,” concluded Yagodzinsky.
At the same time, a scenario in which Russian President Vladimir Putin could lose power by analogy with the events in Venezuela is unlikely and belongs more to the realm of fantasy.
“What happened with Maduro will obviously not happen with Putin. We need to forget about that. These are fantasies; we’d like to joke about it,” Yagodzinsky noted.
Thus, the expert believes that despite rumors and disinformation on pro-Russian Telegram channels, directly applying the Venezuelan scenario to Russian realities is incorrect and does not correspond to political reality.
