An underground Russian resistance movement calling for the removal of Vladimir Putin has stated that the despot can only be overthrown with force. The group, known as Black Spark, claims it is building a clandestine anti-regime network inside Russia composed of middle-class professionals, business figures, anti-war activists, and fighters with combat experience.
The Leader Behind Black Spark
The man behind the group has been identified as Igor Volobuev, a former Kremlin-linked banking vice-president who defected to Ukraine after Putin's invasion and took up arms against Russia. Volobuev, who worked at Gazprombank, said shifts were underway inside Russia and claimed members of Putin's elite had lost faith in the Kremlin leader. 'Everyone sees it. He cannot hit any target any more,' Volobuev stated.
Black Spark's Manifesto and Goals
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 stand with Molotov cocktails,' the group declared. The movement denounces Russia's invasion of Ukraine as 'our shame and our crime' and argues that simply removing Putin is not enough. 'The empire itself—Russia's greatest curse—must collapse,' the manifesto asserts.
Despite its small social media footprint, with fewer than 3,000 Telegram followers and around 1,500 on X, the organisation claims it already has influential members embedded across Russia, including within state-linked energy giant Gazprom. Volobuev insisted Black Spark was not an FSB trap or a factional Kremlin project, adding: 'I was 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.'
Membership and Strategy
The ex-banker claimed members include engineers, IT specialists, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and Russians of Ukrainian heritage who oppose Putin's relentless war. Some participants had access to 'various offices in Russia, including those in power.' Black Spark's name itself is tied to sabotage, according to Volobuev. The group sees its main goal as destroying the oil industry, which they call Russia's 'lifeblood'. Ukraine is known to cooperate with the group and is almost daily hitting key oil targets.
Volobuev argued that Putin's war machine was exhausting Russia politically, economically, and psychologically. 'People are fed up with Putin,' he said. 'He's burning them in the fire of war.' Volobuev fled Russia in 2022 after resigning from Gazprombank, one of the Kremlin's most important 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 is no scenario where Putin simply leaves. He can only be overthrown by force,' he concluded.
