The Wagnerian uprising was not against Putin. Mercenaries are still needed in Moscow – in Africa, in Belarus and on the border with Poland. Therefore, rumors about the political – not to mention physical – death of Yevgeny Prigozhin seem greatly exaggerated for now.
For obvious reasons, it is very difficult to answer with certainty what the June coup was and what its consequences really are and will be. Consequences for both the putschists and the ruling elite in Russia. However, we know for sure that two months after the “March of Justice” in Moscow, the participants not only have not been punished, but are still a useful tool of the Kremlin’s aggressive foreign policy. However, this does not mean that Prigozhin’s uprising was staged by Putin. For the authority of the authoritarian power, he was too great a propaganda threat, with little benefit. In order to transfer the Wagnerians to Belarus, it was not necessary to pretend to attack the capital of Russia. Moreover, Putin, who announced that traitors would be severely punished, compares very unfavorably with Putin, who allows traitors to operate abroad (or rather “abroad”, because in the land of an almost completely submissive vassal).
Especially that Prigozhin not only does not hide in the Belarusian forests from the revenge of the dictator, but also comes to his hometown (also for Putin) St. Petersburg without obstacles and even publicly appears there during the Russia-Africa summit, shaking hands with the leaders of the countries of the Black Continent. It also wins a catering tender for Russian schools in the Moscow region. Feeding students is not the same as feeding soldiers, but it still shows that Prigozhin matters. Finally, the leader of the Wagnerians can also have numerous hooks with representatives of the Russian elites and thus ensure his invulnerability. Therefore, although officially the Wagner Group are traitors belonging to an illegal organization dealing with illegal mercenaries, they are still recruiting in Russia. True, not in the capital, but in Voronezh or Krasnodar, but still.
Overthrowing the Tsar
But above all, one should remember the obvious, though rarely emphasized, that the stated goal of Prigozhin’s uprising was, in any case, not the overthrow of Putin. The head of the Wagnerians never openly challenged the Kremlin host himself. He went to Moscow to “administer justice” and remove Shoigu and Gerasimov from their posts. Not once has he publicly called for a change in the presidency.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
