Foreign countries|Letters from Russia
In May, Mihail, who lives in exile, wrote about a Wagner soldier who visited his Moscow friend’s workplace, anticipating an uprising. The rebellion remained an attempt. What came of it?
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RAbout a month ago, I told you about the speeches I heard from the Wagner soldier. He had appeared at my friend’s place of work in Moscow to meet his brother and while there told everyone directly that he expected unrest in Moscow in the near future.
Read more: What is Prigozhin really saying? I am afraid that we will see something in Russia that we cannot expect in the West
The soldier added that “the instigators of the riots will be his comrades in arms”. That is, these disciplined Wagnerites who obey their leaders without hesitation. He himself said that he would join, “if the invitation works”.
I wrote then that I understood that an uprising aiming at some kind of revolution may be closer than we imagine. Yevgeny Prigozhin cultivated many hints that hatred towards the elite is being fomented.
My Moscow friend, who had to sit at the same lunch table with a Wagner soldier at his workplace, was deeply shocked by the words.
People gathered in the street as fighters from the Wagner mercenary group entered the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don last week.
Wagner fighters on the M-4 highway on the way to Moscow.
OFyt one rebellion has been seen. I asked my friend, Does he know where that Wagner soldier is now.
A friend found out. It turned out that the soldier is somewhere else than in Moscow: in some camp preparing soldiers for war. Still carrying out orders.
And what does my friend think of this attempted rebellion – how upset is he now?
So. He is relieved.
“
“When I heard that it was all over, I felt peace.”
JEvgeni Prigozhin is a bandit. President Vladimir Putin is a smart bandit. He is currently being praised in his home country for having managed to avoid civil war. This narrative is actively propagated in pro-Kremlin media and resonates with the people.
“It’s good that it’s over now,” says my friend from Moscow. “I was afraid of civil war.”
I can’t say that he still supports Putin. But Prigozhin is still much worse than Putin.
Many of my acquaintances in Russia speak the same way.
“When I heard it was all over, I felt peace.”
So for a long time, Russians had reason to feel at peace. And it was Putin who gave them peace in this conflict, from which a completely separate question seems to be how justified the war in Ukraine is.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a televised speech regarding the Wagner Rebellion.
PUtin achieved something else here. Now he clearly knows who in the Kremlin and in the regional elites definitely support him. And who chose to keep quiet and wait to see how things progress. Valuable information for any politician!
Interestingly, doubts about the loyalty of even the members of the Security Council – a state body that has always been considered one of the closest to the president – could arise. Saturday night only five of the twelve permanent members of the Council openly expressed their opposition to Prigozhin: the Vice-President of the Security Council Dmitry MedvedevSpeaker of the Duma Vyacheslav VolodinPresident of the Federal Council Valentina Matviyenko and Director of Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin. Putin himself is, of course, the chairman of the Security Council. Others, even a council member Sergei Shoigufell silent.
Although it is clear that if Prigozhin came to power, Shoigu would have to fear not only for his position but also for his life.
“
People saw a vulnerable army and a weak state.
En shares the view that Prigozhin’s rebellion was a pre-staged spectacle. Prigozhin lost all influence, was practically on the run, and the future of his Wagner mercenary army looks uncertain. As it passes under the control of the Ministry of Defense, it will probably gradually cease to exist altogether. It is hard to imagine that such an ambitious guy as Prigozhin would have knowingly agreed to this.
Of course, the failed coup also seriously damaged Putin’s reputation. Yes, he survived it with minimal damage and even received the benefits described above, but there are still more disadvantages.
The main problem is the rapid march of the Wagner forces from southern Russia in the direction of Moscow. Do not forget that there are a huge number of people in Russia who sincerely believe that Russia is constantly threatened by invaders from foreign countries. Here they saw armed men whom no one could stop. They saw a vulnerable army and a weak state. It is weakness that Putin’s staunchest supporters will never forgive.
Fighters of the Wagner mercenary group on top of an armored vehicle retreating from Rostov-on-Don.
Vhowever, the ancients did not start killing each other. What does it mean?
Now it just means that the Russians will continue to kill Ukrainians.
Could this be a wake-up call though? Photos and videos of the destroyed Ukraine have clearly not been enough for the Russians. It is high time for the Russians to understand that war is a very bad thing, both civil war and international war.
Letters from Russia In the series, Mihail, who has escaped from St. Petersburg, Jan from Moscow, and Ivan, who works in Karelia, Russia, write for Helsingin Sanomat. Their real names are not published for security reasons. Work as an independent journalist is a threat to authors, which can lead to arrest or imprisonment in Russia. Stories are compiled and information acquisition is also done in HS’s editorial office. Production and editing: Tuija Pallaste / HS
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