COWARDLY Putin may not see another birthday as he’d rather "end it all with his golden pistol" than face the humiliation of a coup, experts warned.

The Russian leader's diabolical invasion of Ukraine has exposed cracks in his increasingly shaky grip on power – and it's thought Vlad's own inner circle could now finally topple his house of cards.

Experts agree the despot is nearing the end of his reign, whether by coup, suicide, regime collapse or his failing health – and the Kremlin may not continue to exist as we know it for another year.

Putin's tyrannical rule, the Ukraine war and his growing list of enemies are just some of the reasons analysts think his 71st birthday will be his last.

Experts have compared his final days to those of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, the former president of Romania whose bloody downfall came amid the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Ceausescu's own army rose up against him before capturing him and executing him.

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Speaking to The Sun, Professor Anthony Glees said a terrified Putin would rather kill himself than suffer a similar fate.

The intelligence expert from the University of Buckingham branded Putin a "dead man walking" who will go out with a "bang" like HItler.

He added: "I think there is a very good chance that this will be his last birthday and that would be excellent news.

"The only way the scourge of Putin will be taken from us, and in particular from the awful suffering of the people of Ukraine, is if he is killed and the second best would be a coup that would overthrow him.

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"He may be looking at the golden pistol on his desk thinking, yep, time's up.

"If he is sufficiently terrified, yes he could reach for that gun. That would be the answer and the new dawn would come up upon us."

If Putin is ousted in a coup, Prof. Glees believes he could be toppled by his own dissident generals, or even the remnants of the Wagner Group.

Professor Alexander Motyl, an expert on Ukraine and Russia, believes a coup could take place within the year – and unleash a vicious power struggle.

He also believes Putin's own generals might even be the ones to take him down – or even his own spy agency, the FSB.

"The luck of Vladimir Putin has run out," he told The Sun.

"I don't know who will win, but the resulting chaos could easily bring about the collapse of the fascist regime."

It comes after Russia's secret services said they were investigating an alleged plot from "within their own ranks" to assassinate Putin.

A supposed FSB agent was allegedly boasting about taking down the dictator at a karaoke club in Moscow.

He may be looking at the golden pistol on his desk thinking, times up

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the now dead Wagner chief and one of Putin's former allies, already attempted to take down the despot, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The rebel warlord led an armed rebellion with the aim of ousting Russia's military leaders as they marched on Moscow.

He was previously Putin's trusted confidant, but is heavily suspected by experts to have been taken out by the dictator when the plane he was travelling in crashed in August.

Prigozhin joined a staggering body count of at least 40 high-profile deaths linked to the ruthless tyrant, including the death of some of his own allies.

By taking down powerful enemies, and those in his inner circle, the ruthless dictator may be increasing his chances of falling in a bloody coup.

Russia's war in Ukraine is not going as well as Vlad expected it to since his invasion in February last year.

Ukraine's counteroffensive has fought tooth-and-nail to punch through Russia's frontline in the south – and they are getting the edge over Mad Vlad's army.

Former FBI agent Wayne Barnes told The Sun: "Putin should understand that he can be a target.

"A coup should be for sure taken into consideration… maybe next spring or next summer.

"There are too many people outraged by what he is doing, including among the oligarchs and the intelligence people.

"Putin will not last forever and the Ukraine war has weakened him a lot."

He added: "Putin thought that nobody would mess with him and he was wrong. He believed he could be some sort of modern and very powerful tsar.

"He thought he was untouchable, but he did not expect such a strong unity of the West after his armies invaded Ukraine."

This is a very serious position he’s in… without victory, his days are numbered

Barnes even compared him to communist dictator Ceausescu, former president of Romania – whose own army rose up against him, forcing him to flee with his wife.

They were captured by the armed forces, sentenced to death and executed.

His government – like Putin's – was known for secret police, mass surveillance, propaganda and control over the media and press.

"He has the same narcissism. He wants to be in charge of everything, to the point of every detail and having the people he trusts," Barnes said.

Prof Glees said the last 18 months "has been a humiliation" for Putin.

"A humiliation for him, a humiliation for Russia and a humiliation for those who support him," he told The Sun.

"He has to win it, he has to defeat Ukraine in order to retain his faith and the opposite is taking place, Ukraine is winning.

"This is a very serious position he’s in… without victory, his days are numbered."

Glees continued: "This act, like Hitler, will be played out to the bitter end. Then, suddenly 'bang' it will go."

And for any that stand between the shaky tyrant and his elusive victory, the security expert says he will happily take them out.

He described the president as a sadist who "quite clearly someone who takes sadistic delight in the pain and suffering of others".

"He’s a ruthless killer of innocent people, delighting in the terror that he has caused," he said. 

General Sir Richard Barrons, former Joint Forces chief, said Putin's house of cards is now "fraying because of this disastrous war".

“I think it’s absolutely clear that President Putin believes in the philosophy that Russia has an empire, the way Russia secures itself in the world is by dominating the states that sit around it’s periphery," he told The Sun.

He said the dictator's ruthless domination may have worked for a while, but his iron fist rule is now failing.

The "narcissistic" president has worked hard over the years to cement an image of Russia as superior in the minds of his people.

And he has worked ruthlessly to maintain his facade.

Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon believes Putin is living in "cuckoo-land" with the "bonkers" sense of control and propaganda he is trying to spew.

"He saw himself as the Peter the Great of the 21st century. He wanted to rebuild Greater Russia," he told The Sun.

"But it's all tumbling. For somebody who thought that special military operation would last two to three weeks, we're now almost 20 months into this conflict.

"He's lost over 4,500 tanks, over 200,000 soldiers. This is devastating. This is the greatest defeat."

The retired colonel continued: "History tells us that defeated Russian leaders are really destined to the grave pretty soon after that defeat."

"The writing is on the wall" for the doomed despot, who he says could likely be facing a classic Russian playbook death of "poison or falling off a balcony".

De Bretton-Gordon added: "Putin is a modern day Hitler. And of course Hitler did get his comeuppance, and Putin's end is probably likely not to be dissimilar.

"I cannot see that his people or others will allow him another 12 months of the carnage that we've seen over the last 20 months in Ukraine."

The facade of an invincible leader also worked more effectively when Putin was in better shape as rumours are running rife that the despot's mind and health are deteriorating.

The speculation has grown since a series or strange public appearances and leaked intelligence that suggests he may be suffering from pancreatic and thyroid cancer as well as Parkinson's.

It comes as the possibly fragile leader is further plagued with a constant fear of being assassinated, a former guard has revealed.

Vitaly Brizhatiy, reportedly an ex member of his security staff, announced that Putin "does not trust his own people" and is deeply paranoid about his own fate.

There are also fears that he is preparing to launch a terrifying nuclear missile as a sick birthday gift to himself.

Satellite pictures and aviation data suggested the Russian tyrant might be poised to launch the "doomsday" weapon.

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Now, as Putin turns another year older, experts across the board appear to agree that the despot is nearing the end of his reign.

Whether by coup, collapse or suicide – the Kremlin may not continue to exist as we know it for another year.

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