Vladimir Putin is becoming more reliant on using coercion to control the Russian public who may be “hostile” to his regime, according to UK intelligence.

The ministry of defence (MoD) noted how independent Russian media outlets report that convictions on treason charges in the country are now at the highest level for at least nine years.

And there were more convictions in the first six months of 2024 than in all of 2023, according to the Russian ministry of justice. 

This crackdown reflects Moscow’s altered approach to dealing with potential pushback from the Russian public.

In the latest social media update from the MoD, it also noted: “There has been significant growth in convictions under criminal articles relating to extremism, terrorism, and ‘disinformation’.”

The intelligence officers concluded: “This conviction data illustrates the increasing reliance by the Russian government on coercive and demonstratively deterrent methods to maintain control over elements of the population that are hostile to the regime.

“Prior to Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, the regime would usually preference more subtle ways of controlling dissent.”

While Putin claims Russians did re-elect him earlier this year in a presidential election, the West said it was a sham with a rigged outcome – especially after even those in occupied Ukraine were forced to vote.

There were also some public protests when the Ukraine war began, but they were all subdued very quickly by Russian authorities.

Another wave of dissent began when Putin announced a partial mobilisation of 300,000 reservists to bulk up the Russian army in September 2022.

People called for the president to be “sent to the trenches” and fled the country themselves to avoid serving on the frontline.

But, more than two years later and Putin is now looking abroad, to North Korea, to provide extra support for his army amid an exceptionally high casualty rate on the frontline.