(CNN) — This just does not happen in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The one deceit he maintained was to suggest Russia’s top brass was behind the invasion plan, and not Putin himself. This is now an existential choice for Russia’s elite – between the president’s faltering regime, and the dark, mercenary Frankenstein it created to do its dirty work, which has turned on its masters. Among the Russian rich, Friday’s events will remove any question about whether they should doubt Putin’s grip on power. "Putin is at risk of losing his iron grip on power.

Source: CNN June 24, 2023 16:10 UTC