Russia Ukraine war, page-56174

Obviously he has been up to his eyeballs in the conflict from 2014 onwards, but he really has been consistently critical of the conduct of the curent invasion, and (to me at least) surprisingly public in this criticism, including open criticism of not just the generals but the Kremlin. Whoever replaces Putin needs to be able to blame Putin and the military leadership for this disaster, and not be associated with it himself - I think Girkin fits this perfectly. He is also hardline / nationalist enough to be palatable to the current power structures and general population (let's face it, a liberal is not going to be the next leader).

I am not advocating him becoming leader but IMO he is the most likely candidate.