Hvostov said that generals are falling like autumn leaves in the Russian army lately, which could reflect Putin's desire to suppress any ambition they might have.

"The alternative version is that there is an anti-corruption initiative happening, but because Putin's whole system rests on corrupt relationships, the possibility of it being sincere and serious needs to be left aside. In order to render the war more effective, it is now considered necessary in Russia for people in high places to also do something useful in addition to stealing."

Hvostov noted that while it is difficult to tell what exactly is happening in the Kremlin, looking at past experience, there is very likely clan warfare. He drew a parallel with Hitler's Germany where the fuehrer played agencies off against one another to make sure none would get too much power and threaten the dictator's own position.

"The term 'collective Putin' is also used, meaning that the dictator does not make every decision by himself but rather has a clan. We may not know who really holds the reins there, they may be someone who is not in the limelight at all. For example, the presidential administration is headed by Anton Vaino who has a Tallinn background."

The historian suggested that Putin's long-time ally Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was replaced as punishment for messing up the planning in the first phase of the war.

"In a country like Russia, the question of who is to blame inevitably comes up. At first, it seemed that the army was responsible as the operation was theirs to carry out. But military leaders found that the fault lied with the FSB that messed up its analysis before the war, and the Russian army entered Ukraine based on completely misguided expectations."

That Russian generals have come under fire shows, according to Hvostov, that the FSB has come out on top in its power struggle with the army and the process of finding a scapegoat.

"They seem to be exonerated, while the army is being severely punished."

Hvostov said that Putin is a coldly calculating person, and talking about the removal of generals, Yevgeni Prigozhin's mutiny and the previous summer's events must not be overlooked.

"His [Prigozhin's] main message was that while the Tzar was good, he had poor advisers, referring mainly to the defense minister and the chief of the general staff. And the slogan of removing incompetent officials proved popular in Russia, Putin knows the people's mood because he has a system of sociologists working for the Kremlin. Had he given in to Prigozhin's demands right away, he would have appeared manipulated and weak. Instead, he waited for eight months before repressing the Ministry of Defense and high-ranking military figures," the historian noted.

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