Former Kremlin advisor Sergei Guriev has warned that Russia could become like “North Korea on steroids” after President Vladimir Putin is replaced by a new leader. In an interview with CNBC on Friday, Guriev said that Vladimir Putin is in complete control of his country and its government, but should he ever be replaced, the frail political system he helped construct could catastrophically collapse. Guirev’s comments come ahead of the funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union.
Guriev, a liberal-minded economist, fled Russia in 2013 amid a mounting Kremlin investigation. Guirev says Russia’s government has become more insulated and fragile, largely owing to the nature of Putin’s rule.
“Regimes like this change in very unpredictable ways,” Guriev said in an interview with CNBC. He said it is very hard to predict what will come after Putin because he has built his regime in a way that nobody can replace him.
Putin, who paid his respects to Mikhail Gorbachev at the Moscow hospital where the 91-year-old died on Tuesday, might not attend the service. He is known to have had a strained relationship with Gorbachev, who brought reforms that ultimately led to the fall of the Soviet Union.
Guirev says it could be months or several years before Russia becomes like North Korea on steroids after Putin. It could be also a situation where the political system collapses and somebody comes forward to rebuild the economy and reaches out to the West.
