Vladimir Putin will be 'silenced' before war crimes trial
Vladimir Putin will be "taken out and silenced" before appearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, an expert on Russia has suggested.
Vladimir Putin will be "taken out and silenced" before appearing in court for war crimes.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian tyrant earlier this month but an expert has claimed that steps will be taken to remove Putin to prevent him from appearing at The Hague.
Vlad Mykhnenko, an Oxford University expert in the post-communist transformation of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, told Newsweek: "Given Putin's extensive connections across Europe and what he could potentially tell the judges about corruption and dodgy dealings between Moscow and major Western capitals, there will be a lot of incentive to silence him before The Hague."
Mykhnenko explained that a Silovik - a Russian term for a person from the army taking control - could arrest Putin in order "to get rid of him".
He said: "A substitute could be easily conjured up, who could even promise 'to avenge' the loss of the dear leader, but just for a show."
It has been rumoured that former president Dmitry Medvedev could replace Putin but Mykhnenko claims that he would be even worse than the current despot.
The expert explained: "He's jumped in to claim to be 'holier than the Pope', to be more Z warmonger than Putin himself, as if indicating - whatever happens to Putin - I could return to be number one, you can trust me, the ultra-patriot, I will show them."
