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Cleverly admitted the result was a "bit of a punch to the gut" as he had repeatedly warned his backers that "Kremlinology is a fool's game" - but supporters kept asking who he would prefer to go up against.

Western spy agencies make it their business to study the Saudi equivalent of Kremlinology – working out who will be the next king.

And yes, government organogram Kremlinology and what it means is a rather niche pursuit.

The Kremlinology of the Cold War has been replaced by the equally arduous pursuit of trying to penetrate the utter opacity of the Kremlin to read the mind of a new czar, Mr. Putin, now in the autumn of his rule.

This surprising disclosure, uttered under customary diplomatic anonymity, is indicative of the close-knit secrecy of Mr. Putin’s inner circle that has made Kremlinology during the war in Ukraine as arduous as at the height of the Cold War.