Putin's three possible replacements as Trump's sanctions pile pressure on Kremlin

Vladimir Putin was dealt a major blow this week after Donald Trump slapped punitive sanctions on Russia's two biggest oil companies. The sanctions targeted Rosneft and Lukoil which between them account for nearly half of Russia's crude oil exports, according to Bloomberg.

The move is likely to hit Russia's economy hard and have a major impact on the Kremlin's ability to finance its grinding and brutal war in Ukraine. The Russian leader conceded on Thursday the White House sanctions could cause major economic pain, but vowed never to bow to US pressure. The prospect of more financial difficulties is likely to exacerbate tensions among the Kremlin elite, who are already "extremely unhappy" that Putin rejected a peace deal put forward by Trump in July.

Ilya Ponomarev, a prominent anti-Putin opposition leader, told the Express at the time that the simmering discontent among Russia's shakers and movers could lead to the Kremlin tyrant being toppled, although he cautioned such a scenario was not imminent.

However, with more pain to come from the new sanctions, the growing anger among Russia's elite could yet trigger a move to replace Putin from his Kremlin throne sooner than expected.

Below the Express takes a look at three possible contenders to Putin's crown, as tensions in the Kremlin threaten to usher in a period of political instability.

The 59-year old prime minister was regarded as Putin's most likely successor by Russia experts in an Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) survey.

Mishustin is a trained economist and spent a decade as the head of Russia's tax bureau, before being appointed to his current position in 2020.

He has spent most of the war trying to contain the fallout from Western sanctions, but was reportedly against the decision to invade Ukraine.

As a result if he was to replace Putin, then he might be more willing to sue for peace on less favourable terms than his current boss.

Sergey Sobyanin is the long-time Mayor of Moscow, Russia's capital city and was the second most popular choice to replace Putin among experts in the RFE/RL poll.

The 66-year-old Sobyanin was born in the Tyumen region and initially worked in a metal pipe factory, before starting out in politics.

He has served a s regional governor and also was a Deputy Prime Minister of Russia for two years between 2008 and 2010.

He has enhanced his political credentials through his ability to keep Moscow running smoothly during mass opposition protests, the Covid pandemic and the current Ukrainian drone attacks.

Alexey Dyumin is perhaps the dark horse candidate and least well known of the potential contenders.

The 52-year-old started out as Putin's bodyguard in the 1990s, before rising to serve in various state positions.

He was the deputy director of the military intelligence bureau GRU, the governor of Tula Oblast and is now Secretary of the State Council.

He served as a special forces commander during the annexation of Crimea and was also a deputy to the former Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu.

If Putin were to step aside voluntarily, Dyumin "would be a top contender, thanks both to his long-time proximity to the Russian leader and his versatile professional experience," said the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.