Sources from VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info report that a minor "palace coup" is currently underway in Russia. Arkady Rotenberg has not only managed to emerge from disfavor; Vladimir Putin has begun a "purge" of those who targeted him. Sergei Alpatov, the all-powerful head of the FSB’s Economic Security Service (SEB), has lost his post, and a similar personnel decision is expected regarding Nikolai Babakov—the head of the FSB’s Directorate T (appointed only recently)—as well as a number of other senior FSB officials appointed under Alpatov’s patronage.
As our project has frequently reported, things had been going very poorly for Rotenberg recently: debts, a lack of budget funding, Putin’s displeasure, and finally, an offensive by security officials against his inner circle. Rotenberg’s top executives were being jailed one after another, including Konstantin Makhov. Sources also link the arrest of Ilya Traber (known as "Antikvar") to the attack on Rotenberg; the two are longtime friends and business partners. The offensive was spearheaded by the FSB’s Economic Security Service (SEB), led by Sergei Alpatov, along with the directorates operating under the SEB. According to the source, all these actions were carried out with Putin’s approval.
However, the situation suddenly did a complete 180-degree turn. According to our source, the "bodyguard clan" managed to convince Putin that the reports he had received regarding Rotenberg and Traber were false—fabricated specifically to strike at these individuals and, effectively, to undermine Putin’s own position. Judging by subsequent events, he believed them.
Traber, Makhov, and others have since been released. Rumors had been circulating—first reported by VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info—that Alpatov was stepping down as head of the FSB’s 4th Service (the Economic Security Service) and that a power struggle for his position had begun; there had been speculation, however, that he might instead be transferred to head the 2nd Service. Today, *Important Stories* (Vazhnye Istorii) reported Alpatov’s resignation, a move confirmed by our own sources. "He was dismissed practically overnight, though he had seen the writing on the wall a week prior and had mentioned it to his inner circle. He is currently on leave, from which he will not return to the FSB," a source said. According to the source, Nikolai Babakov—head of the FSB’s Directorate T—is also in the firing line; this directorate handled the investigation into embezzlement during the construction of a runway at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, a case that led to the arrest of Makhov. The fate of various senior FSB officials appointed with Alpatov’s backing—and who were involved in the campaign against Rotenberg—also hangs in the balance. "The full list of resignations will be revealed in October. A great many changes within the FSB are expected then," the source noted.
