Igor Volobuev

An underground Russian resistance movement has declared that Vladimir Putin can only be removed by force, openly calling for sabotage, armed resistance and the collapse of what it describes as Russia’s “imperial system”.

The group, known as Black Spark, claims it is quietly building a covert anti-Kremlin network inside Russia made up of professionals, former military personnel, business figures and anti-war activists. Its emergence comes as pressure mounts on Moscow over the grinding war in Ukraine and deepening economic strain at home.

From Kremlin Banker to Armed Defector

The movement’s public face is Igor Volobuev, a former vice-president at Kremlin-linked Gazprombank who defected to Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion and later joined Ukrainian territorial defence forces.

Volobuev claims disillusionment with Putin is spreading even among Russia’s elite. “Everyone sees it,” he said. “He cannot hit any target anymore.”

The former banking executive insists influential figures inside Russia have already lost confidence in the Kremlin leader, although there is no independent verification of Black Spark’s claims about its reach or membership.

‘Molotov Cocktails, Not Dialogue’

Black Spark’s manifesto leaves little room for ambiguity. The group says peaceful opposition inside Russia is dead and argues armed struggle is now the only path forward.

“Putin’s terror killed our belief in dialogue,” the statement reads. “Under a dictatorship, justice is forced to stand with Molotov cocktails.”

The movement also condemns the invasion of Ukraine as “our shame and our crime” and argues that removing Putin alone would not solve Russia’s deeper political crisis.

Oil Industry in the Crosshairs

The group says its primary target is Russia’s energy sector — the financial engine behind the Kremlin’s war machine. Black Spark openly talks about sabotaging the oil industry, calling it the regime’s “lifeblood”.

Volobuev claims the organisation includes engineers, IT specialists and insiders linked to major state-connected institutions, including Gazprom. He also suggested some members have access to offices “within power structures” inside Russia.

Ukraine has not formally commented on the group, though Kyiv has increasingly targeted Russian oil facilities with long-range drone strikes in recent months.

Kremlin Faces Growing Internal Pressure

Despite Black Spark’s small online following, its rhetoric reflects a darker shift within parts of the Russian opposition. Exile activists once focused on protest and political pressure. Some are now openly discussing insurgency.

For the Kremlin, that raises a dangerous new threat. Not mass uprising, but scattered sabotage, elite discontent and a war that continues draining Russia militarily, economically and psychologically.

“There is no scenario where Putin simply leaves,” Volobuev said. “He can only be overthrown by force.”

Russia’s anti-Putin underground movement vows to overthrow dictator by force

Too bad they dont have a 2nd Amendment

Will the call be repeated in the USA?

Putin’s Elite Too Terrified to Oust Him, Kremlin Insider Warns

Speculation about a palace coup inside the Kremlin refuses to die. But behind the rumours, analysts say Vladimir Putin’s inner circle is paralysed by fear, money and the threat of violent retribution if the war in Ukraine ends badly for Russia.

Russian economist Igor Lipsits has poured cold water on claims that Moscow’s elites are preparing to move against the Kremlin leader, arguing the system is now too tightly bound together — and too dangerous to escape.

‘They Fear Losing Their Heads’

Speaking in a recent YouTube interview reported by regional outlets, Lipsits said Russia’s ruling class understands that ending the war could unleash a brutal reckoning inside the country.

“Not only property, but also one’s head can be lost,” he warned, describing a political culture driven less by loyalty than survival.

According to Lipsits, senior figures around Putin fear that a ceasefire or military defeat would trigger demands for accountability over Russia’s economic collapse, battlefield losses and international isolation.

War Becomes the Kremlin’s Shield

The analyst argued the conflict itself now acts as political cover for the Russian elite. As long as the war continues, blame can be redirected outward and emergency controls maintained.

Peace, however, would force uncomfortable questions onto the domestic agenda: who caused the crisis, who profited from it and who should pay the price.

“That settling of accounts could become fatal,” Lipsits suggested, adding that many insiders see prolonging the war as safer than confronting the aftermath.

No Sign of a Real Split

Western governments and intelligence observers have repeatedly searched for cracks inside Putin’s power structure. Lipsits said those hopes are likely misplaced.

He claimed the Kremlin elite remain deeply interconnected through business ties, personal relationships and shared exposure to sanctions and corruption allegations.

“They are all very closely related,” he said, dismissing talk of imminent rebellion as either wishful thinking or deliberate disinformation designed to create panic.

The Stalin Comparison That Chills Moscow

Lipsits ended with a stark historical parallel. He compared Putin’s Russia to Stalin’s Soviet Union, where senior officials privately despised the dictator but feared acting against him.

“Until he himself fell, no one dared to do anything,” he said.

The message was blunt: inside modern Russia, fear still outweighs ambition — and for now, Putin’s system remains locked in place by the very people trapped within it.

Putin's inner circle scared to topple him: "Not only property, but also one's head can be lost"

Sabotage and guerrilla warfare. Pretty good strategy.

Well 2026 the year of the despot downfall !!

On 5/26/2026 at 9:10 AM, unblocktheplanet said:

Sabotage and guerrilla warfare. Pretty good strategy.

Piss poor and naive. Modern Russian has a huge internal security apparatus, extensive surveillance capabilities, dense urban populations, and a state that already treats dissent as a security threat. Small-scale sabotage would probably be infiltrated quickly, crushed harshly, and used to justify even wider repression. The Russian state has long portrayed opposition movements as extremists, terrorists, or foreign-backed destabilizers. If opposition groups moved from protest, journalism, and civil resistance into bombings or sabotage, the government could claim vindication. Putin has form in staging fake terrorist attacks to rally people to the flag.

All you do is strengthen Putin's grip. Maybe that's something you want, given your politics.

On 5/26/2026 at 12:56 AM, bannork said:

Putin’s Elite Too Terrified to Oust Him, Kremlin Insider Warns

Speculation about a palace coup inside the Kremlin refuses to die. But behind the rumours, analysts say Vladimir Putin’s inner circle is paralysed by fear, money and the threat of violent retribution if the war in Ukraine ends badly for Russia.

Russian economist Igor Lipsits has poured cold water on claims that Moscow’s elites are preparing to move against the Kremlin leader, arguing the system is now too tightly bound together — and too dangerous to escape.

‘They Fear Losing Their Heads’

Speaking in a recent YouTube interview reported by regional outlets, Lipsits said Russia’s ruling class understands that ending the war could unleash a brutal reckoning inside the country.

“Not only property, but also one’s head can be lost,” he warned, describing a political culture driven less by loyalty than survival.

According to Lipsits, senior figures around Putin fear that a ceasefire or military defeat would trigger demands for accountability over Russia’s economic collapse, battlefield losses and international isolation.

War Becomes the Kremlin’s Shield

The analyst argued the conflict itself now acts as political cover for the Russian elite. As long as the war continues, blame can be redirected outward and emergency controls maintained.

Peace, however, would force uncomfortable questions onto the domestic agenda: who caused the crisis, who profited from it and who should pay the price.

“That settling of accounts could become fatal,” Lipsits suggested, adding that many insiders see prolonging the war as safer than confronting the aftermath.

No Sign of a Real Split

Western governments and intelligence observers have repeatedly searched for cracks inside Putin’s power structure. Lipsits said those hopes are likely misplaced.

He claimed the Kremlin elite remain deeply interconnected through business ties, personal relationships and shared exposure to sanctions and corruption allegations.

“They are all very closely related,” he said, dismissing talk of imminent rebellion as either wishful thinking or deliberate disinformation designed to create panic.

The Stalin Comparison That Chills Moscow

Lipsits ended with a stark historical parallel. He compared Putin’s Russia to Stalin’s Soviet Union, where senior officials privately despised the dictator but feared acting against him.

“Until he himself fell, no one dared to do anything,” he said.

The message was blunt: inside modern Russia, fear still outweighs ambition — and for now, Putin’s system remains locked in place by the very people trapped within it.

Putin's inner circle scared to topple him: "Not only property, but also one's head can be lost"

That information is likely quite close to the truth as Putin has had a long time to fortify his defenses and put a lot of insulation and fortification into position.

However a coup is likely the only way Putin could ever be toppled as he seems to be hell-bent on being dictator for life and there is no chance of a free and fair election in Russia at this point. One can only hope that these rumors are true as this man is incredibly toxic, and it's been many decades since Russia has contributed anything positive to the world.

8 hours ago, Roadsternut said:

Piss poor and naive. Modern Russian has a huge internal security apparatus, extensive surveillance capabilities, dense urban populations, and a state that already treats dissent as a security threat. Small-scale sabotage would probably be infiltrated quickly, crushed harshly, and used to justify even wider repression. The Russian state has long portrayed opposition movements as extremists, terrorists, or foreign-backed destabilizers. If opposition groups moved from protest, journalism, and civil resistance into bombings or sabotage, the government could claim vindication. Putin has form in staging fake terrorist attacks to rally people to the flag.

All you do is strengthen Putin's grip. Maybe that's something you want, given your politics.

Nah, that's not how guerrillas win. They win by capturing the hearts and minds of the oppressed. I bet it's hard to find a family in Russia who hasn't had a son killed or wounded. You really think ordinary Russians are going to back Putin? Nonsense!

4 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

You really think ordinary Russians are going to back Putin? Nonsense!

Try it out in one of the many Nightmarkets full of Russians. Go and yell Fuxx Putin and other 4 letter words about him. Best have somebody take a video. Then come back and tell us how it went, if you still can.

Putin changed the way the world is looking at Russia. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia was looked at as a weak country without much power. That did change in the last years under Putin. Many Russian are now proud again to be Russians.

1 hour ago, Cenovis said:

Try it out in one of the many Nightmarkets full of Russians. Go and yell Fuxx Putin and other 4 letter words about him. Best have somebody take a video. Then come back and tell us how it went, if you still can.

Putin changed the way the world is looking at Russia. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia was looked at as a weak country without much power. That did change in the last years under Putin. Many Russian are now proud again to be Russians.

I've asked many Russian tourists how they felt about the war and conscription, though not specifically about Putin. I received the same sensible replies we feel.

Igor Volobuev will probably blow himself up while playing with hand grenades like Yevgeny Prigozhin. Of course, Russians are on the verge of toppling the Putin Empire, the ruble is rubble, the grocery stores are bare, and Ruskies are taking to the streets. Well, Putin is dying anyway and he'll probably die as Ukrainian troops are storming Moscow seeing that most demoralized Russian soldiers are now deserting enmass considering they only have slingshots and pepper-spray as weapons. They are long out of the remaining inventory of missiles made up of North Korean washing machines. Russia's days are numbered as a NATO-backed Ukraine will soon invade and break-up the Soviet Empire of Bad Vlad.

Have you ever noticed that all non-Western countries are dictatorships which do not have democratic elections. Only the West have true "Democracy" with a capital "D". So all non-Western non-Democracies must be overthrown by violent force supported by the West for the world to be Free^TM.

Edited May 29May 29 by connda

3 minutes ago, connda said:

Have you ever noticed that all non-Western countries are dictatorships?

Here are some non-Western democracies:

• Japan

• South Korea

• India

• Taiwan

• Botswana

• Indonesia

• Mongolia

• Costa Rica

• Chile

• Uruguay

Who would have thought 100 years ago that so many dictatorships would persist?

8 minutes ago, Effective altruism said:

Here are some non-Western democracies:

• Japan

• South Korea

• India

• Taiwan

• Botswana

• Indonesia

• Mongolia

• Costa Rica

• Chile

• Uruguay

Who would have thought 100 years ago that so many dictatorships would persist?

Don't be a moron.

13 minutes ago, connda said:

Don't be a moron.

Explain yourself.

38 minutes ago, connda said:

Have you ever noticed that all non-Western countries are dictatorships which do not have democratic elections. Only the West have true "Democracy" with a capital "D". So all non-Western non-Democracies must be overthrown by violent force supported by the West for the world to be Free^TM.

Have you ever noticed how all the eastern European countries once behind the Iron Curtain, raced to join the EU and NATO once free of Russian tyranny?

Putin cornered? Kremlin strongman faces crisis

Jamison Firestone

Vladimir Putin has “never been so vulnerable” after four brutal years of war in Ukraine, according to a long-time opponent of the Russian leader. The explosive claim comes from a man who says he has spent 25 years fighting Putin’s system — and now believes the Kremlin strongman faces impossible choices that could threaten both his grip on power and even his life.

The article paints Putin as a hardened bully who only picks fights he thinks he can win. But it also describes him as deeply fearful, obsessed with protecting himself and terrified of unrest inside Russia itself.

The writer points to Putin’s behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic as evidence of that fear. He recalls the Russian president isolating for two years and famously sitting at an enormous table far away from French President Emmanuel Macron during talks.

According to the article, Putin now spends much of his time in bunkers while worrying about threats from both the West and his own population. The author argues that Putin’s nightmare has always been a popular uprising similar to the violent overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The writer then details his own extraordinary background growing up among criminals in New York before later moving to Moscow in 1991 to establish Russia’s first independent foreign law firm. He describes navigating the lawless chaos of post-Soviet Russia and battling corruption tied to organised crime and state power.

That fight escalated dramatically after the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. Magnitsky exposed a £170 million fraud involving Russian officials and criminals before being arrested and dying in custody.

The author explains that he later fled to Britain and joined forces with financier Bill Browder and opposition figure Alexei Navalny to expose corruption inside Putin’s system. Their investigations and online videos reportedly became hugely popular in Russia, targeting officials accused of enriching themselves through abuse of power.

The article claims those efforts eventually led to Magnitsky sanctions being adopted by countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union and Australia. Those sanctions targeted officials linked to corruption and human rights abuses.

But the war in Ukraine, the author argues, has now become the real turning point. Putin reportedly believed Russia would crush Ukraine within days, only for the conflict to drag into a devastating years-long struggle fuelled by Western military support.

The article says sanctions, war costs and Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure have battered Russia’s finances. At the same time, manpower shortages are growing more severe.

According to the writer, hundreds of thousands of skilled Russians fled after military drafts began. Russia later turned to prison recruits and offered massive financial incentives to attract soldiers, but recruitment is now reportedly failing to keep pace with battlefield losses.

That leaves Putin facing what the article describes as a dangerous crossroads. He could fully militarise the economy, tighten restrictions on Russians and demand even greater sacrifices from the public — or attempt to declare victory and halt the conflict before unrest grows worse.

“The old man in the bunker doesn’t want to die,” the author declares in one of the article’s most dramatic lines.

The piece argues Western governments should now increase pressure by continuing to fund Ukraine and using frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv. The author claims Russia cannot outlast the combined economic power of Europe and Britain if support for Ukraine continues.

As the war grinds on, the article predicts Putin’s position will only become more unstable. And with casualties mounting, economic strain worsening and pressure building inside Russia, the Kremlin leader may soon face the biggest gamble of his rule.

Jamison Firestone is an attorney who lived in Russia for 18 years. He co-founded the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign. His book, Rule of Lies: My Wild Ride through Chaos, Corruption and Murder in Putin’s Russia, published on 4 June, tells his personal story interwoven with Russia’s descent into dictatorship

I’ve fought against Putin for 25 years. He’s never been so vulnerable

On 5/26/2026 at 7:18 AM, bannork said:

An underground Russian resistance movement has declared that Vladimir Putin can only be removed by force, openly calling for sabotage, armed resistance and the collapse of what it describes as Russia’s “imperial system”.

When they're finished in Russia please send them to Australia to remove Albo.

Surprised he hasn't been overthrown already causing the death of hundreds of thousands of Russians

18 hours ago, Effective altruism said:

Here are some non-Western democracies:

• Japan

• South Korea

• India

• Taiwan

• Botswana

• Indonesia

• Mongolia

• Costa Rica

• Chile

• Uruguay

Who would have thought 100 years ago that so many dictatorships would persist?

Ukraine 🇺🇦 Oh wait. The most Democratic country in all of Europe refuses to have elections as the dictator, Zelensky, knows he'll lose the election. So instead - declare martial law is stopping elections and maintain a dictatorship. 'Eh?

Russia: a constitutionally a democratic federative law-based state with a republican form of government.

Anti-Russia AN members: DICTATORS

Iran: theocratic republic with elected president and parliament

Anti-Iranian AN members: DICTATORS

Venezuela: Federal presidential republic featuring a directly elected president as both head of state and government, with a unicameral National Assembly.

Anti-Venezuela AN members: DICTATORS

Any country that pro-Western, AN members don't like: DICTATORS

But ignore the likes of KSA: Dictatorship of the Saud family

Pro-Western, AN members: KSA is a thriving bastion of liberty

UAE: Dictatorship of ruling Arab families

Pro-Western, AN members: UAE is a thriving bastion of liberty

Bottom line: For pro-Western ideologues, any country that isn't a vassal-state in submission to the US are DICTATORSHIP.
In the age of information wars (propaganda), few people can see the realities or explore the nature of the propaganda coming from all sides.

By the way, if the US didn't have the 22nd Amendment, US presidents would control the White House for decades too. And then when they finally leave, billions of dollars would go into campaigns to elect the President's son or daughter into the White House too and maintain family dynasties. Then look at the people who have been in Congress for decades - that is also what I'd call Dictatorship. America is not immune. The term "dictator" and "dictatorship" are pejoratives for positions of power which American politicians themselves covet and would grasp in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the Constitutional constrains.

7 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Surprised he hasn't been overthrown already causing the death of hundreds of thousands of Russians

SAme for jewish Zelensky ethnically cleansing white Ukrainian men.
Mind you, he has the MIC backing him as well as MI6 bodyguards

17 hours ago, connda said:

Russia: a constitutionally a democratic federative law-based state with a republican form of government.

Anti-Russia AN members: DICTATORS

Iran: theocratic republic with elected president and parliament

Anti-Iranian AN members: DICTATORS

Venezuela: Federal presidential republic featuring a directly elected president as both head of state and government, with a unicameral National Assembly.

Anti-Venezuela AN members: DICTATORS

It’s heartening to see that the AN members are correct.