Vladimir Putin is a “dwarf” and a “wimp” who is ruining his country, according to a leaked phone conversation between two members of the Russian elite.
The unusually frank discussion purportedly between Iosif Prigozhin, a music producer, and Farkhad Akhmedov, an Azerbaijani-born energy billionaire, offers a glimpse of the anger about the Kremlin’s war.
In the 35-minute conversation, Mr Akhmedov calls Putin “Satan”, a “wimp” and a “dwarf” who “doesn’t give a damn about anything and doesn’t give a f*** about the people”.
“They f****d us over, f****d over children, their future, do you get it?” he adds. Mr Prigozhin replies: “They’re criminals, to be honest, criminals of the worst kind. [Putin] squandered the country away ... There won’t be any future for us.”
Mr Akhmedov later adds: “He [Putin] has buried the entire Russian nation ... How are we going to wash this off? This is a war between f*****g brothers.
“There will be fascism there, that’s what’s going to happen ... a military dictatorship. You will see – it’s going to end like this.”
Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. Photo: Getty Images
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Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. Photo: Getty Images
The call was leaked by a Ukrainian YouTube channel earlier this month but has made the headlines only in the past few days.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, who is not related to the music producer, has suggested the wire-tappers may have been trying to target him but got the wrong Prigozhin.
If the call is genuine, it suggests a deep sense of frustration and anger among those in the Russian elite who are ostensibly pro-Kremlin.
Mr Prigozhin has been a long-time public supporter of Putin. He campaigned for him in the 2018 elections and called on the Kremlin to go after anti-war musicians who fled the country following the invasion of Ukraine. Valeria, his pop star wife, has also sung at concerts celebrating the illegal annexation of Crimea.
Mr Akhmedov made his money in Siberia’s gas industry in the 1990s. The 67-year-old served as a Russian senator between 2004 and 2009 and is estimated to be worth about €1.5bn.
He made news in 2020 after he was forced to pay out €500m to his ex-wife following a protracted legal battle at the High Court that was Britain’s most expensive family feud. Although he has never publicly opposed the war, sanctions were imposed on him by the UK and the EU after the invasion of Ukraine – measures he has unsuccessfully tried to overturn.
Tatiana Akhmedova was embroiled in a divorce battle with Farkhad Akhmedov. Photo: Rick Findler/PA
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Tatiana Akhmedova was embroiled in a divorce battle with Farkhad Akhmedov. Photo: Rick Findler/PA
Mr Prigozhin lives in Moscow while Mr Akhmedov has properties in Azerbaijan and Russia.
The audio recording has given voice to widespread sentiment among the establishment that “Putin has let his country down”, said Tatyana Stanovaya, a Russian political scientist.
The Kremlin and mainstream state media – which typically clamour for revenge against “traitors” – have been noticeably quiet about the call.
Mr Prigozhin said the audio recording was faked but did not reiterate his support for Putin in his denials.
“Everyone is aware of my political stance, which is evidenced in all of my interviews and public [comments].
“But you know, while I was listening to the audio, I almost believed it was me,” he told the Fontanka website on Monday. “There are definitely some real things here.”
Residents carry their belongings as they leave their home destroyed in a Russian rocket attack in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine. Photo: Andriy Andriyenko/AP
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Residents carry their belongings as they leave their home destroyed in a Russian rocket attack in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine. Photo: Andriy Andriyenko/AP
Russian opposition figures have urged Mr Prigozhin to flee the country for his own safety. However, Kremlin watchers do not expect the government to go after him because criminal charges would only confirm that the conversation was genuine and that public support for Putin was waning.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has struck a railway depot with rockets and knocked out power supplies in a Russian-occupied city deep behind the front line in what appears to be preparation for a counter-offensive.
Melitopol, captured by Russia in the first days of the invasion, is the base of Russian-controlled administration of Zaporizhzhya region and a key logistics hub for Russian forces.
The strike may have been designed to disrupt Russian lines of communication ahead of a counter-offensive.
Russian Telegram channels shared images of smoke over the rail depot and the wreckage of electrical equipment at a substation after the strike on the city, which about is 85km behind Russian lines.