Vladimir Putin faces at least mild opposition at home over his actions in Ukraine.Image: keystone
analysis
The document, which deals with Russia’s way out of the Ukraine war, continues to generate hype. A classification of what the “peace plan” and the circumstances of its spread mean.
May 20, 2026, 05:50May 20, 2026, 05:50
Ivan Ruslyannikov / ch media
Resistance in Parliament
Russia’s elite is worried about the economy. This will not be able to cope with a long continuation of the war in Ukraine, which is why “an end to the fighting as quickly as possible is necessary,” explained the Duma deputy of the Communist Party, Renat Suleimanov. Russian parliamentarians typically do not deviate from the Kremlin’s line on issues related to the war in Ukraine. Such a statement from a member of parliament was unprecedented.
“Officially, 40 percent of the federal budget goes to defense and security. What development, investments or capital investments can we talk about?” asks Suleimanov. Neither tanks nor grenades have any consumer value. “Yes, they secure employment and wages in the defense industry and act as a kind of growth engine. At the same time, however, they lead to inflation and cuts in other spending,” complains the MP.
Suleimanov knows, however, that Russia’s problems will by no means disappear after the end of the war: “What will happen to the people who work in the arms industry? With those who are currently on the front lines?”
From the MP’s statements it is clear that the Russian parliament is thinking about the future after the war. Voices had already been heard among circles loyal to Putin that the Russian president had long stopped caring about domestic politics and improving living conditions in the country.
More about the leaked document:
The people are becoming more dissatisfied
The latest surveys show: For the first time since the beginning of the war, Ukrainian attacks are affecting Russians more than the situation at the front. 18 percent of Russians are worried about Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory, while only 16 percent are even interested in the war itself. This development shows a significant increase – in 2023, drone attacks from Ukraine only worried eight percent of the population.
In this context, those who assumed that the Russians would only change their stance on the war against Ukraine when the war comes to their home appear to have been right. A coffin containing the body of a fallen soldier transported from the frontline to a small town could still evoke feelings of revenge or even pride in patriotic-minded Russians. However, the increasing attacks on regions far from the Ukrainian border are depriving Russians of what Vladimir Putin had promised them above all: a feeling of security. 20 percent of Russians believe protests against falling living standards are possible.
The power circle plans for the time after the war
The negative development is apparently also noticed in the presidential administration. Recently, the Russian opposition media “Center Dossier” published a copy of a document from the presidential administration intended “for internal use only” that contained a “Plan for peaceful life» contains after the war. Apparently it is not unreasonable to assume that a war that has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens could be negatively received by Russian society without any visible success.
The most problematic target group is the so-called Z community. The war bloggers, some of whom have millions of followers, are to be disempowered and their presence reduced. The presidential administration also plans to organize lectures about the positive future of Russia after the “victory” and to fill the media space with success stories of Russian companies that were able to open up new markets thanks to the sanctions. There are also plans to partially relax censorship in film and literature.
Of course, this is not the “beautiful future of Russia” that Alexei Navalny once had in mind, because the Kremlin is still sticking to its military goals: the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are to be fully integrated into the Russian state, and the occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions are to be established along the current front line.
Officials must ultimately present this plan to return to a peaceful life to Vladimir Putin. Given that the Russian president has so far taken no steps to end the conflict, he is likely to view this plan with contempt. Therefore, the hope for change ultimately lies in the hands of the Russians themselves, whose dissatisfaction is slowly but steadily building up. (aargauerzeitung.ch)
More about the war in Ukraine: