While watching a news video — DEADLY Riots in Russia: Russians Demand Putin to RESIGN — I picked up the names of two men known to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime and deeply critical of him: Ilya Remeslo, a loyalist who appears to have changed his mind; Mikhail Zygar, a “prominent Russian journalist, historian, and filmmaker,” according to AiLaMer, my personalized AI.

Ilya Remeslo

Pro-Kremlin Operative: A 42-year-old lawyer and blogger, Remeslo built his career as a highly visible Kremlin loyalist and professional denouncer. He is best known for orchestrating sustained legal assaults against the Russian opposition, playing an instrumental role in constructing the criminal fraud cases against the late Alexei Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation. These campaigns were reportedly coordinated directly with the Presidential Administration.

March 2026 Defection: On March 17, 2026, Remeslo executed an abrupt and highly public reversal. He published a widely viewed manifesto on Telegram outlining “Five Reasons I Stopped Supporting Vladimir Putin”. In the post, he condemned the war in Ukraine as a dead-end driven by Putin’s complexes, criticized severe economic damage and internet censorship, and ultimately labeled Putin a “thief and war criminal” who should face trial.

My wandering curiosity produces old news that arrives at least as news to me. 🙂

Then too, themes matter, especially those attached to the Pale Phantom of the Soviet that Putin has been for a long time. In relation to Ilya Remeslo, that would be psychiatric abuse as part of the Putin regime’s Soviet-styled revanche, however gilded it may be with imperial ambitions: “A Kremlin Cheerleader Rips Into Putin. A Day Later, He’s In A Psychiatric Hospital” (Mike Eckel, RFE/RL, March 19, 2026). Truth to tell, it’s Vladimir Putin who should have been channeled into in a psychiatric hospital decades ago (related on BackChannels: “Malignant Narcissistic Process Distilled” and “Why Putin Won’t Stop Until Stopped”).

Related: Meduza. “Ilya Remeslo, the informant who helped put Navalny in leagl jeopardy, just learned what ti costs to call Putin a war criminal.” March 17, 2026; “Ilya Remeslo, once a pro-Kremlin blogger who made his name informing on Alexei Navalny, has been detained on charges of spreading ‘fakes’ about Russia’s army.” Meduza, July 17, 2026.

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Mikhail Zygar

Background and Early Career: Zygar is a prominent Russian journalist, historian, and filmmaker. He established his reputation as a war correspondent for Kommersant before becoming the founding editor-in-chief of Russia’s leading independent news outlet, TV Rain (Dozhd), which he led from 2010 to 2015. Under his leadership, the network provided a critical alternative to state media by amplifying opposition voices and covering domestic protests.

Political Stance and Exile: A central figure in the Russian democratic opposition, Zygar unequivocally condemned the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and subsequently fled into exile. In 2024, the Russian state sentenced him in absentia to eight and a half years in prison for disseminating “fake news” about the Russian military.

Key Publications: He is recognized for comprehensive historical and political analyses of authoritarianism, having authored titles such as All the Kremlin’s Men, The Empire Must Die, and War and Punishment. His most recent book, The Dark Side of the Earth, documents the collapse of the Soviet Union through extensive primary interviews.

Mikhail Zygar publishes a Substack. His latest: “Russia’s Empty Tank: For the first time, millions of Russians are feeling the war in their everyday lives.” The Last Pioneer, June 29, 2026. Surprisingly — perhaps not — I found a tie-in to Malignant Narcissism right off the bat:

Two years ago, Russian state propaganda channels gleefully reported on what they claimed was happening across Europe. According to their coverage, gas stations were running out of fuel, enormous lines had formed, drivers were limited to just 20 liters per vehicle, and some cars could not refuel at all. This was presented as proof of the catastrophic energy crisis that had supposedly engulfed Europe after sanctions were imposed on Russian energy exports. Russian state media insisted that, without trade with Russia, European countries were incapable of supplying themselves with fuel and that Europe’s energy system was on the verge of collapse.

Ironically, this is precisely the scenario now unfolding in Russia itself.

Related on this blog: “A Dark Mirror in Language”.

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