Vladimir Putin (73) has ruled Russia with a firm hand for more than a quarter of a century, and many of the federation's 143 million citizens no longer remember any leader other than him. Even during the years 2008 to 2012 when he vacated his Kremlin office due to constitutional constraints in favor of Dmitry Medvedev, it was clear to all that Putin was the man at the helm, even when he officially held the post of prime minister.

For years he was considered one of the strongest leaders in the world and marketed himself as the man who "put Russia back on its feet" after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He also cultivated the illusion that the Russian army is the second most powerful in the world, an illusion that collapsed in the face of the severe blows Russia is suffering on the Ukrainian battlefield.

Yet now, more than four years after he decided to invade Ukraine, it seems Putin's chair is truly wobbling and among opposition figures in the country assessments are growing that someone else will soon become the boss of the Kremlin.

Just last week the level of trust of Russian citizens in Putin dropped by 3.4 percent and now stands at 73.3 percent. This is according to the "Russian Center for Public Opinion Research", a government body that has still managed to maintain a certain credibility, even as all arms of the regime mobilized to advance the Kremlin's goals. In normal times, according to official publications, the level of trust in the president stood at more than 80 percent.

The decline in trust in Putin has several causes. First, a significant deterioration in Russia's position on the Ukrainian front. In recent weeks the frequent Ukrainian attacks on energy sites in Russia have begun to bear fruit. Fuel supply to many areas in Russia has been disrupted and there are reports of massive lines of dozens of kilometers at gas stations. In some regions fuel sales to citizens have been limited to 20 liters per day, creating an absurd situation in which one of the world's leading energy suppliers, which the late American senator John McCain once mockingly called "a gas station masquerading as a country", is unable to supply fuel to its citizens. This morning (Saturday) another significant Ukrainian attack was reported on an oil facility located inside the port of St. Petersburg.

At the same time, Ukraine is recording achievements on another front and is working effectively to cut off the Crimean peninsula from Russia. Since the Russian annexation in 2014, Russia managed to build a bridge connecting the peninsula by land to its territory and organize a supply chain passing through areas it seized from Ukraine in the Donbas region. However, in recent weeks precise Ukrainian strikes on Russian supply trucks have completely disrupted life on the peninsula. Energy facilities in Crimea caught fire, fuel sales to citizens stopped entirely and vacationers who arrived at hotels at the start of the summer season had to flee due to frequent Ukrainian attacks.

Due to these developments, Russian authorities began disrupting the internet in the country on the grounds of maintaining public security. Yet opposition activists in Russia and beyond its borders believe the real goal is to prevent possibilities of organizing protests against the regime and even against Putin himself. This led to a wave of collapses of small and medium businesses whose business plan was based on orders and customer relations management via the network.

Putin had no decisive response to these developments and many citizens began to criticize him. The frequent network disconnections across Russia created an image for Putin he was not used to - no longer a threatening leader capable of driving processes, but an elderly man who does not understand how the modern world operates, whose close advisors isolate him from reality and feed him incorrect information about events in Russia and on the Ukrainian front.

One of those who felt Putin is detached from the reality on the ground is Alexander Lunin, a soldier who returned from fighting in Ukraine and spread an angry message against the Russian regime on the network. Lunin demanded a meeting with Putin and added a personal appeal to the president in which he said: "If I do not receive an opportunity to deliver a message to the public with you by my side, the Russian army will turn its weapons against the Kremlin". The Kremlin claimed the appeal was unknown to them but Lunin was arrested and this week was sentenced to 15 days in prison for what was termed "displaying extremist symbols" during the messages he recorded for Putin.

At the same time, Russian opposition figures and Ukrainian sources have been pointing in recent weeks to growing anger among the Russian business and military elite against Putin's conduct.

Even on the other side they feel Putin's weakness. According to Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon, "The oligarchs are fed up with the losses and sanctions due to the war and they want to stop it". Gordon said he knows from his sources that Russia's security services are examining options for replacing the president due to the desire to open a new page with Ukraine and especially with the West.

Many of those hoping for the end of Putin's rule recall the ballet "Swan Lake" that was broadcast on television in the Soviet Union during days of national crises and leadership changes. A few months ago a group of young people was even arrested in St. Petersburg who loudly sang in various spots in the city center "We want to see 'Swan Lake' on television". Now, against the backdrop of the massive lines at gas stations and the defeats on the front, the number of those who believe the moment of broadcasting the work on television is approaching is steadily rising.