AS the dust settles in Moscow following reports of Vladimir Putin’s right-hand man falling out of favour, someone may already be eyeing their seat at the Kremlin high table.
Russia’s veteran foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was reportedly frozen out of top-level meetings, sparking speculations about whether he had been ousted.
The Kremlin on Friday was forced to dismiss speculation that Lavrov had fallen out of favour with Putin after the collapse of the Budapest summit.
But top sources inside Moscow claim Putin’s second daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, 39, is seeking to topple Lavrov to claim her spot inside the Kremlin.
Putin’s former speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov said “serious sources” told him that Katerina was seeking to sink Lavrov, as her political circle manoeuvres to bring the war to a close.
He told Zhivoy Gvozd media outlet: “Rumours about Lavrov were already circulating six months ago.
NUKE ALERT
Putin risks nuclear chaos after striking TWO substations at Ukraine nuke plants
FRANKEN-BOMBS
Putin bolts JET ENGINES onto Soviet-era bombs to strike deeper into Ukraine
“Serious sources said that Katerina Tikhonova had supposedly spoken to Putin repeatedly, saying that Lavrov was making things worse.”
Former acrobatic dancer Katerina told Putin that Lavrov was “too aggressive” and his “hawkish screeching” hindered the achievement in the Ukraine war.
Gallyamov said: “Perhaps Putin finally listened to his daughter? And besides, she’s got a point.
“Lavrov is a foreign minister for times when you’re winning.He is the perfect diplomat to bluster when you have won a war.
“But when you can’t win, you need to become more reasonable.
“And Lavrov is no longer capable of such reasonableness. He should have been replaced long ago.”
Lavrov is Russia’s hardline diplomat, earning the nickname “Dr No” for his relentless obstructions and refusal to compromise with the West.
He has been at the helm of maintaining Russia’s foreign relations for 21 years.
However, Putin’s top ally was missing from the table when the Russian Security Council session announced that Moscow may resume testing nuclear weapons last week.
The meeting was a major moment for Putin, seen as a response to President Donald Trump’s nuclear sabre-rattling.
And on an occasion like this, Lavrov’s absence was too huge to go unnoticed.
A source told pro-Kremlin Russian daily Kommersant that Lavrov had been “absent by agreement” without providing details.
The Moscow Times reported that Putin has sidelined Lavrov.
“Putin sent Lavrov into disgrace after the Trump summit collapse,” the media outlet wrote.
Rumours further snowballed when Lavrov was stripped of his long-held role leading the Russian delegation to this month’s G20 summit in South Africa.
It is a role that the Kremlin sees him best fit to fill since Putin cannot attend the G20 himself due to an international arrest warrant.
A slew of Russian media reports claimed Lavrov disappeared from the public eye after the US abruptly cancelled a proposed Budapest summit with Russia last month.
The blame stems from what insiders labelled “a disastrous call” Lavrov held with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on October 21.
Financial Times cited a source as suggesting that Lavrov’s conversation with Rubio had put Washington off.
It reportedly soured Washington’s mood and prompted Trump to call off the summit – mainly because of Russia’s uncompromising posture.
Rumours swirled that Putin made Lavrov a “scapegoat” to justify Russia’s failure to win international support in the Ukraine war.
Lavrov has now said he was ready to meet Rubio, but that Russia’s interests would have to be taken into account for there to be peace in Ukraine.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication,” he said.
Turning the tables
A new row conflict is seen as swirling over Katerina’s favourite Kirill Dmitriev, who is married to her best friend and business partner.
Dmitriev heads the Russian sovereign wealth fund and has been used by Putin as a back channel to the Trump administration, where he has his contacts.
But this has upset Lavrov, who once personally removed a chair intended for Dmitriev ahead of US talks to get him out of the way, according to accounts in Moscow.
“Lavrov has come to be associated with a hardline course,” said Gallyamov.
“He has long since become a kind of hawk who exacerbates conflicts rather than softens them.
“And of course, in the current situation — when Putin has problems up to his ears and Trump is furious — Lavrov is out of the picture.
“He’s not particularly needed.”
Lavrov reappeared on Sunday after days out of the limelight to accuse the US of reneging on promises made when Putin met Trump in Alaska.
The war hawk told a state media outlet: “At that time, the Americans assured us that they would ensure that Volodymyr Zelensky would not obstruct the attainment of peace.
“Apparently, certain difficulties have arisen in this matter.
“In addition, to our knowledge, Brussels and London are trying to persuade Washington to abandon the intention of resolving the crisis politically-diplomatically and to engage fully in efforts to apply military pressure on Russia.”
Putin’s new right-hand
If the claim about Katerina is true, it shows she is growing in sway behind the scenes in Russia.
Gallyamov has previously claimed Putin could even groom Katerina – the second of his three known daughters – as his eventual successor.
She is also said to be backed Mikhail Kovalchuk, another close ally of Putin.
Tikhonova, head of the Innopraktika Institute in Moscow, has started making conference and TV appearances.
She is seen as an unofficial integrator of all high-tech companies in Russia, and plays a role in sanctions-busting on behalf of her father’s regime.
“The circle around the president’s daughter, Katerina Tikhonova has every chance, given time, to seize power in the country,” said Gallyamov earlier this year.
“It’s not the worst-case scenario, though, of course, things could shift.
“They are not war enthusiasts, although it’s clear they don’t openly criticise it.
‘MY TRUTH’
TikTok star Brittany Miller breaks silence in tearful video after faking cancer
STREET SMART
The high street job which pays £120k a year – with £1.5k worth of discounts
“[Their] idea is that Russia should advance its interests through soft power rather than by waging wars.”
Earlier she was married to Russia’s youngest billionaire Kirill Shamalov, now 43, son of a close Putin crony.