Vladimir Putin's Former Confidante And 'Top Chef' Rumored To Be Planning Coup: 'This Is Uncharted Territory'
Dec. 18 2022, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
As reports of Vladimir Putin's steadily failing health continue to pour in, it's been rumored a former confidante of the controversial Russian president may be plotting to take him down.
Christo Grozev, who works for the Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group, responded to the rumors that Yevgeny Progozhin may be organizing a coup, noting it would be "uncharted territory" for Putin.
The restauranteur, who once earned the nickname "Putin's Chief" after his catering businesses hosted many upscale events attended by the politician, not only built a career serving food to high profile figures, but he is also believed to have a private army of mercenaries at his disposal.
"Prigozhin has 20,000 bloodthirsty, armed and aggressive men," Grozev explained at the time. "They’re telling me, ‘We’re wondering if we should just lay down our arms because we’ve been turned into cannon fodder and go to Moscow?’ That’s in their thought process already."
The investigator also noted that if there is indeed a plot, the coup could happen as soon as the new year. "This pressure cooker has to explode in one direction or another," he added. "Either it will be a bloody revolution or something else."
This speculation comes as Putin's health is said to be rapidly deteriorating by the day with rumors swirling he is dying of colon cancer. As Radar previously reported, the politician recently missed Night Hockey League — an amateur ice hockey game that he created back in 2011 — marking his very first absence from the annual event.
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Earlier this month, it was also reported Putin had stumbled and fallen down his stairs, resulting in him soiling himself. Bodyguards allegedly "escorted the president to the bathroom and helped to clean up" following the incident. However, the Kremlin denied the embarrassing accident occurred.
Aside from colon cancer, it's been rumored that Putin is suffering from pancreatic cancer and Parkinson's disease, with sources noting he has "no more than two to three years to stay alive."
DailyStar reported Grozev's opinions on a coup being potentially led by Progozhin.