The ruble is slumping, the shock of a failed mutiny has yet to fade and the war in Ukraine has crossed the 18-month mark with no end in sight.
Yet preparations are already underway for Vladimir Putin to secure a fifth term in March 2024 elections, even as anxiety about the future spreads among senior officials and business tycoons, according to four people close to the Kremlin.
The Bank of Russia’s emergency interest rate hike last week was not just a response to the latest fall in the ruble but part of a wider effort to subdue inflation before the vote said one of the people and a second person close to the government.