Russia Is Quietly Preparing Its Citizens for Something Terrifying

The Kremlin’s Sons Are Hiding, the Air Defenses Are Crumbling — and the People Are Starting to Notice

russia-radio-blackout-preparation-dark-room AI-generated image (DALL·E)

There was a time when Putin was seen as a kind of ‘Superman’ who was the protector of Russian citizens’ interests.

But today, he is appearing as a leader who is afraid of drones, gets nervous about the internet, and has even lost confidence among his ruling elite.

Amid the ongoing military conflict (SVO) in Russia, a big question is arising: where are the children of the people sitting in power?

Activist Sergei Krupenko from Novosibirsk directly raised questions about the role of Putin’s daughters and Dmitry Peskov’s (Putin’s spokesman) son during a public rally.

He asked, “Where is Medvedev’s son? He is making a political career inside United Russia.

Where is Kiriyenko’s son? He is siphoning off billions of rupees from the budget on VKontakte.

Where is Peskov’s son? Where are Solovyov’s sons? And finally, where are Putin’s daughters? Are they serving as nurses on the front?”

When he mentioned the families of Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Sergey Kiriyenko, and Dmitry Peskov, the real question was not just “where are their children,” but “who is bearing the burden of sacrifice and risk?”

This is a moral question that arises in any society when a war or crisis drags on for a long time.

During the Second World War, the sons of the top leaders of the Soviet Union (such as Nikita Khrushchev) themselves fought on the front lines and were even martyred.

It was not just a question of military role, but a symbolic message — that risk and responsibility are shared.

Today, the children of Putin and his associates are either in business or sitting in safe positions.

The public is clearly seeing this difference and feeling that the ‘patriotism’ being called for is only for the children of ordinary people.

And this thing is not happening only in Russia today, but in many countries, where the ruling parties spread hatred among common people in the name of religion and patriotism, while their own children are busy studying abroad or in business.

This patriotism, as if the country is in danger, religion is in danger, this medicine is only given to the poor and middle class. The rich remain engrossed in their businesses.

The most worrying thing for Putin is that voices of opposition are rising even from within his own party, United Russia.

Popular political streamer Vladislav Zamelevsky, who is a member of this party, launched a sharp attack on Putin during a live stream.

Zamelevsky took a revolutionary step by trying to separate his party (United Russia) from Putin.

He said that there are good people in the party, but Putin is creating such a situation that after his death, people will regret why he did not die earlier.

This is an unprecedented event in Russian politics, where a member of the ruling party wants to distance himself from Putin’s name.

Putin’s own behavior is also responsible for damaging his public image. When the country is in crisis, Putin is often seen as busy with unnecessary things.

When the Russian front was collapsing in the Kharkiv region, Putin was inaugurating a ‘Ferris wheel’ in Moscow. When Ukrainian forces captured parts of the Kursk region, Putin was inspecting a garden.

Recently, when black smoke clouds hung over Russian cities, Putin was discussing the benefits of ‘sauerkraut’ and its recipe on television.

The social and digital situation inside Russia is becoming even stranger. Russian state company Rostec has launched a radio receiver named “Sever” in the market. And its advertisement clearly says — “If the internet shuts down, then radio will be the only source of information.”

That is, the government itself is admitting that the internet can be shut down. And the public is being prepared for it.

People are calling it preparation to take Russia towards the “Stone Age” — when TV, newspapers, and radio used to be the only means of information, and everything was in the hands of the government.

The Fall of Russia’s Air Defense Shield

In the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, one thing is often repeated — Ukraine has a severe shortage of air defense systems.

Especially the shortage of Patriot missiles, which are essential to stop Russia’s deadly ballistic missiles.

Indeed, the uncertainty of allies like America and the extremely high cost of these missiles have put Ukraine in a difficult situation.

The truth is that even though Ukraine is facing defensive challenges, the cracks inside Russia’s air defense system have now turned into a huge gap.

Ukraine is no longer just defending itself, but is penetrating Russian airspace and striking at the roots of its war capability.

In the last few years, we have seen that the front lines of the war have become almost stable. Neither side is able to make big gains on the ground.

In such a situation, the decision of this war in the coming time may be in the sky.

The side that is better at stopping enemy air attacks and carrying out its own precise strikes will decide the direction of this war.

Ukraine has made unprecedented improvements in its defensive and offensive techniques in the last 4 years.

Today, the situation is that Ukraine’s interception rate (the rate of shooting down attacks in the air) is continuously increasing, while the effectiveness of Russian air defense systems is decreasing with every passing day.

There is one reason behind this, and that is Russia’s vast geography, which has been its biggest strength.

During the Second World War, this same strategic depth had helped Russia tire out and defeat its enemies.

But in the modern drone and missile era, this same vastness has become a curse for Russia.

Russia’s area is so large that it needs thousands of air defense systems to protect every important infrastructure.

Since air defense systems are a limited resource, Russia cannot be present everywhere.

Ukraine is now identifying small ‘gaps’ in Russia’s air defense and reaching through them to areas that are completely unprotected.

In contrast, Ukraine’s small size gives it the advantage of concentrating its limited air defense around primary targets.

Along with this, it gets external support and a layered mix of different systems, which can improve its interception capability over many cities/sites.

But there is also a price for small size — less depth means that the impact of any successful attack can be seen quickly and directly.

The air defense crisis for Russia has now turned into a self-feeding cycle of destruction. As Ukraine destroys more Russian radars and missile launchers, more holes are created in Russian airspace.

Because of these holes, it becomes easier for Ukraine to reach those Russian factories that make parts for air defense systems.

Russia now has so few systems left that it has to make choices. It can either protect its front-line military bases or the homes of its powerful politicians sitting in Moscow.

You can guess this from the fact that to avoid any possible disruption during the Victory Day Parade on 9 May, the Putin administration has removed air defense systems from Russia’s far-flung areas, even from cities like Kazan and Grozny, and redirected them towards Moscow.

Nearly 280 air defense assets (including S-400, Pantsir, and Tor systems) have been deployed around Moscow and even on the roofs of buildings.

As I had said earlier in my article, the parade would either not happen or would be in a small form, and that is exactly what happened. Due to security concerns, the scale of the parade has been kept small this time.

The column of heavy military vehicles has been reduced. Notably, Putin had requested a ceasefire during the parade, but no clear consent has been received from Ukraine.

On the other hand, recently, the Pentagon has warned that due to the ongoing war with Iran, America’s own weapons stockpiles (Arsenal) are depleting rapidly.

Over the last two months, the United States alone fired over 3000 missiles (Patriot missiles, Tomahawks, etc.). As such, this will directly affect weapons supplies to Ukraine, Poland, and the three Baltic nations.

Delays are possible with the delivery of critical military equipment, such as HIMARS and NASAMS, that would ultimately determine whether or not Ukraine can remain secure.