A senior Kremlin diplomat has reassured that President Vladimir Putin’s position is stable and there has been no change in the overall situation in Russia. This news comes days after a brief rebellion staged against the head by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
About the Rebellion:
Earlier on Saturday Prigozhin said that his forces have taken control of some military facilities including the airfield in Rostov-on-Don. This action came after his accusation of the Russian army striking a Wagner camp and killing a considerable amount of his fighters. All such claims were denied by Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
Russia’s special presidential representative for international cultural cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy boasted about Russia’s ability to stay united, especially during challenging times like these. He claims that Prigozhin’s uprising was done in an attempt to become the president of the nation but it was a ‘mistake’. After the Wagner group’s staged mutiny, a lot of people had been expecting that there would be some reasonable chance for Ukrainian military services, but these doubts were cleared after Shvydkoy’s latest statement.
Russia’s Response:
Putin had pledged a harsh punishment to the armed mutiny by the Wagner group and declared it treason a stab in the back. These fighters have a reputation for brutality in Africa and have played a key role in Syria too. He vowed to defend the nation and its citizens from all threats, including internal treachery. Political adventurers and foreign forces in the past had divided the country and profited from their interests. He claimed to not allow any such action anymore.
This movement by him and forces most loyal to him marked the most severe challenge to the President in more than two decades of his rule and triggered questions over his leadership. The short revolt ended last Saturday when Prigozhin ordered his troops back after a deal with the Kremlin to move to Belarus to save shedding the ‘Russian blood’.
Despite their brand as traitors the Russian authorities closed the criminal investigation into the rebellion. No charges were imposed against him or any other participants. The Federal Security Service (FSB) found that those involved had ceased activities directed at committing the crime. The remaining forces were allowed to join other law enforcement agencies or to return to their family and friends. While he seeks sanctuary in Belarus, many doubt the truth behind this sentiment.
There are reports that the charges haven’t been dropped and all these cited anonymous sources which are hard to verify. A Russian publication called Kommersant and Tass, RIA, and Interfax, the three major news organisations in the nation, all said that the FSB was still looking into the matter. If this continues Prigozhin could face up to 20 years in prison.
Discovering the Why:
It was no secret that the Defence Ministry and Wagner were at odds. Mr. Prigozhin has been criticizing the Ministry since February, charging it with corruption and inefficiency. He has additionally implicated the defence establishment with culpability for Wagner’s disproportionate losses in Bakhmut.
However, The Shoigu-Prigozhin dispute appeared to have worsened after Wagner’s success in Bakhmut, the first significant Russian battlefield victory in months. A few days after Wagner took Bakhmut, Mr. Shoigu requested that all paramilitary groups sign contracts with the Defence Ministry, which Mr. Prigozhin saw as an effort to disarm Wagner. This was the catalyst for his uprising. In his recent statement, he calls his march ‘a movement of justice’ for all those who suffered from bureaucracy and the unprofessional actions of others.
For months the Wagner chief had been arguing that Russia’s war against Ukraine was being unnecessarily fought by an ‘elite’ who was being callous about the Russian lives lost. While Putin has averted an all-out civil war, questions about his failure to prevent this fight in his security circle from escalating into a public crisis in the first place are still arising.
