Volkov, 43, was a close associated of Alexei Navalny, who last month died in captivity in Russia.

Volkov gained futher international prominence following a recent attack near his home in Vilnius which left him with visible injuries. Volkov says he has no doubt that Putin was behind the assault.

Now the re-election of Putin to another five-year term as president means the continuation of the war of aggression in Ukraine and with a renewed vigor, war-weariness among the bulk of the Russian populace notwithstanding.

Volkov believes that, unfortunately, most ordinary Russians have been dazzled by Putin's "light," leaving them uncomprehending of the true causes of the full-scale invasion, now into its third year.

Reflecting on the early electoral results and speaking in German, Volkov said: "It is a tragedy that many fellow Russians cannot make the connection between Putin and the war."

Kyiv journalist Galyna Ostapovets also talked to AK, saying: "In my view, we can now expect some form of escalation in Ukraine, but there is nothing new in this for the Ukrainian people because we know that Putin's goal is to completely destroy our country."

Leonid Volkov, who has visited Tallinn in recent years for instance to attend the annual Lennart Meri security conference, says he is pessimistic about the prospects of democracy in Russia, adding he sees no reason to believe that it will be realistic to dislodge Putin from power anytime soon.

He said: "Most likely, we will not have any kind of revolution, because a bloody dictator is in power. This is easy when you grasp that Putin has 1.4 million police officers inside Russia and who are not being deployed to Ukraine, but are used to quash any domestic protests inside Russia."

According to Volkov, the only hope for Russia now lies with Alexei Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya, who, however, lives in Germany, meaning her messages get little to no airing with the Russian public at all.

Leonid Volkov served as the chief of staff for opposition figure Alexei Navalny's campaign during the 2018 presidential election and chaired the Anti-Corruption Foundation until 2023. He is a former a deputy of the Yekaterinburg City Duma. He is one of the founders of the Russia of the Future party.

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