Russia’s anti-Putin underground movement vows to overthrow dictator by force | News World

An underground Russian resistance movement calling for the removal of Vladimir Putin has said the despot can only be overthrown by force.

The group, often known as Black Spark, claims it’s constructing a clandestine anti-regime network inside Russia made up of ‘middle-class’ professionals, business figures, anti-war activists and fighters with combat experience.

The person behind the group has been revealed as Igor Volobuev, a Kremlin-linked banking vice-president who defected to Ukraine after Putin’s invasion and took up arms against Russia.

Volobuev, who works at Gazprombank, said ‘shifts’ were underway inside Russia and claimed members of Putin’s elite had lost faith within the Kremlin leader.

‘Everyone sees it. He cannot hit any goal anymore,’ Volobuev said.

Black Spark’s manifesto openly calls for armed resistance against the Russian state.

‘Putin’s terror killed our belief in dialogue. We realised that under a dictatorship, justice is forced to face with Molotov cocktails,’ the group said.

The movement denounces Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as ‘our shame and our crime’ and argues that simply removing Putin isn’t enough.

‘The empire itself — Russia’s biggest curse — must collapse,’ the manifesto states.

Despite its tiny social media footprint — fewer than 3,000 Telegram followers and around 1,500 on X — the organisation claims it already has influential members embedded across Russia, including inside state-linked energy giant Gazprom.

Volobuev insisted Black Spark was not an FSB trap or factional Kremlin project, adding: ‘I used to be given compelling evidence that this movement was truly powerful.

‘I met people there whom I knew while living in Russia. Some are from the Gazprom system.’

The ex-banker claimed members included engineers, IT specialists, lawyers, entrepreneurs and Russians of Ukrainian heritage who oppose Putin’s war.

Some participants had access to ‘various offices in Russia, including those in power.’

Black Spark’s name itself is tied to their planned sabotage, in keeping with Volobuev. The group sees its predominant goal as destroying the oil industry, which they call Russia’s ‘lifeblood’.

Ukraine is thought to cooperate with the group and is hitting key oil targets almost each day.

Volobuev argued Putin’s war machine was exhausting Russia politically, economically and psychologically.

‘Individuals are fed up with Putin,’ he said. ‘He’s burning them in the fireplace of war.’

Volobuev fled Russia in 2022 after resigning from Gazprombank, one in all the Kremlin’s most significant financial institutions.

Born in Ukraine’s Sumy region, he later joined Ukrainian territorial defence units and has repeatedly appeared in Russian opposition media attacking Putin’s rule.

‘There isn’t any scenario where Putin simply leaves. He can only be overthrown by force.’

Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE: RAF jet carrying Defence Secretary John Healey has GPS signal jammed near Russian border

MORE: Putin uses nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile that may evade defences

MORE: World War III fears mount after Russia threatens to attack more European countries