Putin Finds His Pawn in Political Struggle With Hardliners

Vladimir Putin's reported appointment of a previously prominent Russian commander in Ukraine is part of a complex political game, Newsweek has been told, as the Russian leader attempts to maintain control over hawkish Kremlin factions.

On Tuesday, state news agency TASS reported that Colonel General Alexander Lapin had been appointed as chief of the Russian Army Main Staff, quoting a "source" at the outlet.

Another source reportedly told TASS that Lapin's appointment had been made before the end of last year.

After this initial report was published, a second article appeared on TASS in which Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he could neither "confirm nor deny" the appointment.

Peskov was quoted by the state news agency as saying to the media on Tuesday that "there are public presidential decrees and there are also classified ones", but "there has been no such decree among the public ones yet."

Lapin would be a controversial choice for the position, despite becoming a "Hero of Russia" on July 4, 2022, for his "courage and heroism" during the ongoing Ukraine war after leading the Central Military District.

He ultimately took the blame for the Russian retreat from the Donetsk city of Lyman that followed in the fall, and was reported to have been dismissed from his post in October 2022.

Two of the most prominent voices associated with his demotion last year were Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Both "widely criticized" his "poor performance" in Kharkiv and Lyman, according to the British Ministry of Defense, which was echoed by the thoughts of Russian hard-liners and war bloggers, military expert Dr Marina Miron of King's College London told Newsweek.

"For Prigozhin, it was essential to show that Lapin and the Russian military are inferior to his own elite forces, which, according to Prigozhin, are indispensable for pursuing Russia's foreign policy inside Ukraine and beyond it. Prigozhin's political traction allowed him to influence Putin's actions and openly criticize the special military operation," Miron argued.

Putin therefore "had to do something to appease the hard-liners" in dismissing Lapin last year, she continued, but his alleged new appointment "could be considered as Putin's move to counterbalance Prigozhin's influence."

"It is a political game," she explained, in which "Putin does not want to bend to anyone's will."

Lapin is likely "being used as a pawn in a more significant political struggle that is taking place between Putin and his hard-liners," Miron contended.

Retired British Army Lieutenant Colonel Glen Grant, who is now a defense analyst for the Baltic Security Foundation, told Newsweek that Lapin's posting "is as much political as military."

He suggested the appointment may be a "reward for loyalty, not performance," although it is unclear whether the job description will be largely administrative or working directly under General Sergey Surovikin, who is heading up Russia's forces in Ukraine, on the front lines.