An opposition MP has warned Vladimir Putin that Russia is on the “brink of a social explosion” as the war in Ukraine grinds on – with the first soldier born in 2008 among the latest to die.
Vyacheslav Markhayev, a Communist Party deputy in the State Duma, demanded the Kremlin publish a “clear, public plan to end the special military operation, based on Russia’s national interests”.
“Russian MP Vyacheslav Markhayev warns Putin that the country is on the brink of a social explosion as the war in Ukraine continues.”
“The time for illusions has passed,” he said in a lengthy tirade. “The country is on the brink of a social explosion, and full responsibility for this will lie with the irremovable authorities.”
The warning came as the death was announced of Alisher Svirin, an 18-year-old from the Moscow region who was only 14 when the conflict began. Markhayev accused Putin of throwing young Russian men “to their deaths” because of an “obsession” with the war.
In a biting attack, the former police general compared the president to a foreign invader. “What would an external enemy do if it captured Russia? It would seize resources, loot industry, drive up tariffs and build mansions for itself. But no invasion took place — the authorities managed to do all this themselves, more effectively than any aggressor.”
Markhayev pointed to corruption among the elite while ordinary Russians struggle. He said pensioners are forced to spend 55% of their meagre £52-a-week allowances on utility bills. Meanwhile, “the number of Russian billionaires has reached a record 155, with their combined wealth amounting to almost $700 billion — one and a half times the federal budget”.
“Multi-billion-rouble thefts, arrests of officials at all levels, the seizure of assets worth a trillion roubles a year — this is the real picture.”
Markhayev was one of the few MPs to vote against dismembering invaded regions of Ukraine in 2022. He joins a growing list of public figures breaking ranks. Late last month, fellow Communist deputy Renat Suleymanov called for the “earliest possible end” to the war, saying the economy could not “withstand” its continuation. In March, former Kremlin loyalist Ilya Remeslo turned on Putin, branding him “a war criminal and a thief”.
Discontent has simmered alongside sweeping internet outages, sluggish battlefield progress and Ukrainian drone strikes that have penetrated deep into Moscow and St Petersburg. The state-controlled Russian Public Opinion Research Centre stopped publishing Putin’s “open” trust rating after it plummeted to 29.5% in early April – the lowest since the invasion began.
Economic strains are mounting. According to Dr Janis Kluge, an economist at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, military spending increased by more than 30% in early 2026 compared with the previous year, reaching 46% of total budget spending – meaning almost every second rouble from the federal budget is now allocated to the military.
“If the situation persists, social unrest and chaos will become more likely,” Markhayev warned. “The West will inevitably exploit this to destroy the remnants of Russian statehood.”