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This will likely be a blow to Shoigu, who, according to analysts, has managed to shore up his position after the failures of the initial full-scale invasion. “Over the past 6-12 months, Shoigu has recovered his position in Putin’s eyes and moved noticeably closer to him, successfully managing the flow of information that the president receives about military matters,” said political expert Tatiana Stanovaya. Now, Shoigu faces the distraction of ensuring he is not saddled with a stranger as his new deputy.

The clans - alliances of like-minded officials or business people - centre around the military, the intelligence and law enforcement agencies, the military-industrial complex and also include a group of people from President Vladimir Putin's native St Petersburg who have known him personally for many years. "Someone in the elite didn't like the fact that Shoigu had grown stronger," Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told Reuters. "This doesn't comes from Putin, but from people who are close to Putin who think that Shoigu has overplayed his hand. It's simply a battle against someone and a ministry that has got too powerful and an attempt to balance the situation."

The owners who live outside Russia are at high risk, including if they speak against the war, said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of R.Politik, a political consultancy, and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

Tatiana Stanovaya, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and the founder of analysis firm R.Politik, said it was “politically convenient” for Russian officials to blame Ukraine, but she believed there would be a more cautious response from the authorities while an investigation is carried out.

“It may appear for an external observer that Russia is doubling down on blaming Ukraine. But there are nuances,” she told CNBC Monday.

“Now it’s official: the SMO (Special Military Operation) is recognised as a war,” Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the R.Politik analysis firm told the Reuters news agency.

“Of course, the SMO de facto became a war a long time ago But this is a certain psychological boundary, beyond which different requests can be made of both the population and the elites than during the SMO,” she added.

“Now it’s official: the SMO (Special Military Operation) is recognised as a war,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the R.Politik analysis firm.

“Of course, the SMO de facto became a war a long time ago But this is a certain psychological boundary, beyond which different requests can be made of both the population and the elites than during the SMO,” she said.