After the parliamentarian elections this time the usual upward mobility switches in the elite are conspicuously absent. The path of career progression within the power vertical has stopped being predictable.Putin stopped the carroussel. It is total stagnation. This never bodes well in politics.

Political fragmentation, fights between the elites and a total absence of a positive domestic agenda. Political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya signals three key domestic risks of the year 2019 for those in power.

Prosecutors provide impunity and revenue for you and your allies, and the law for your enemies. Security expert Mark Galeotti notices an upsurge of high profile squabbles in Russia about positions in the departments of justice, secret service and internal affairs. It suggests tension and uncertainty within the Russian elite, preparing for a post-Putin succession struggle.