Putin Was Betrayed By His "most Trusted" Allies

• Abbas Gallyamov
• 15.09.2026, 8:40

The "patriots" turned out to be a hoax.

It used to be very easy to be a “patriot”; it didn’t require enduring any personal hardships. Now, however, thanks to the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and sanctions, it turns out that “patriotism” comes at a price—and the longer this goes on, the higher that price gets. This is exactly where Russians start scratching their heads.

We need to be honest here: our people—for the most part—are a cynical bunch. They’re used to surviving, and surviving means adapting to circumstances. There’s no room for ideals here.

I’ll repeat the question I’ve asked many times before: Where have all those crowds of “patriots” decked out in St. George’s ribbons gone—the ones who used to swarm the streets of Russian cities every May 9, scaring passersby with cries of “We can do it again”? As soon as it came down to it, they immediately vanished and don’t want to repeat anything.

Putin likes to complain that the West has abandoned him, but strictly speaking, it was his own social base that abandoned him. When he looked at those costumed figures, he thought, “We can go to war—look at the army of patriots I have.” He started the war, and the patriots turned out to be a sham. What else could this be but a betrayal? I think thoughts like this pop into Putin’s head from time to time.

Actually, it’s hilariously absurd: to believe in a myth he himself fabricated about some nonexistent “patriotism” among Russians. I don’t remember who said it, but someone very accurately pointed out that propaganda differs from all other products created by humanity in that, sooner or later, the producer begins to consume it himself.

Truly.

Abbas Galliamov, “Telegram”