Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation on Saturday after Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the military company Wagner Group, called for an armed uprising and advance to the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.
Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
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Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation on Saturday after Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the military company Wagner Group, called for an armed uprising and advance to the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.
Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
ONE mutiny Analysts say the uprising may have done irreparable damage to President Vladimir Putin’s image at home and abroad.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the shady private army that has played a big role in the fighting in Ukraine, on Saturday claimed to be in control of Russia’s military headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don, an agency facility. which the Kremlin has used as a base for its offensive operations in Ukraine. Wagner’s forces then began advancing toward Moscow in a way that looked like a coup attempt to the outside world.
However, within hours, Prigozhin – a former confidant of Putin who has accused Russia’s military leadership of attacking and killing his soldiers – said he had commanded his forces to turn back. base.
Alexander Gabuev, the director of Russia’s Carnegie Eurasian Center, said that although the mutiny was clearly over, the Russian leader would certainly be weakened by the strong challenge to his administration.
“He will try to compensate by making the regime more realistic,” Gabuev told NPR. “The regime will become more and more repressive at home.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, is pictured during a funeral in Moscow on April 8. Prigozhin’s uprising may have done irreparable damage to President Vladimir Putin’s image domestically and internationally.
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Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, is pictured during a funeral in Moscow on April 8. Prigozhin’s uprising may have done irreparable damage to President Vladimir Putin’s image domestically and internationally.
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Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said there was “no doubt” that Prigozhin’s mutiny weakened Putin and “raised doubts about his ability to continue to govern Russia properly.” effective.”
For months, Prigozhin has been unusually critical of the Russian military, especially Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whom he accuses of being incompetent and whom Prigozhin has asked to resign.
Late Saturday, Prigozhin announced on social media that his forces were ending their “march for justice” to Moscow when they saw mercenaries traveling from the southern city of Rostov-on-Don to the region. suburbs of the Russian capital. He ordered the forces to “turn our columns around and go in the opposite direction to return to the field camp as planned.”
In what appeared to be part of the deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the criminal case against Prigozhin and his associates would be dropped and boss Wagner himself “going to Belarus”. Wagner troops not participating in the uprising will sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at Rand Corp, warned that at present very little is known, but “one thing we do know for sure is that Putin’s power has been irreparably damaged.” recoverable.”
“It’s like a Wizard of Oz the moment when it turns out that people with guns aren’t willing to use them to prop up your government,” he said.
An armored personnel carrier is parked on a street in the city of Rostov-on-Don early Saturday morning.
Vasily Deryugin/Kommersant Photo/AFP via Getty Images
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Vasily Deryugin/Kommersant Photo/AFP via Getty Images
An armored personnel carrier is parked on a street in the city of Rostov-on-Don early Saturday morning.
Vasily Deryugin/Kommersant Photo/AFP via Getty Images
Oleg Ignatov, senior Russia analyst at Crisis Group, said it was possible Prigozhin would be captured or killed and Wagner would be “disbanded or integrated into the conventional armed forces.”
“After that, the war in Ukraine will certainly continue, along with the possibility of more repression in Russia,” he said.
After Prigozhin announced her resignation, Julia Ioffe, a Russia expert and Puck News reporter in Washington, tweeted: “Okay, so what happens now? I can’t imagine Putin saying ‘the water’s over the bridge’ and everything is back to normal?”
Meanwhile, the messy uprising, unfolding before the eyes of the world, is good news for Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks about mutiny that “Russia’s weakness is obvious.”
Andrew Weiss, who oversees research on Russia and Eurasia at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, thinks Putin is bruised, but can’t figure it out.
“It is unmistakable that the decline and general decline of the Russian regime led by Vladimir Putin is a consequence of the war in Ukraine,” said Weiss. “The problem for him is that he’s stuck and there’s no way out of the mess he’s created for himself and for Russia as a whole.”
“But this is a leader that’s been around for more than 20 years because he’s very tactical and very smart on the street and knows when to throw a punch,” he said. “That’s the guy we’re dealing with… not someone who would cower into a corner and feel embarrassed or humiliated.”
