Opinion
Shame without precedent
The Prigozhin rebellion ends in the collective mockery of the state
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. After the revolt by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian state apparatus is in ruins
© Alexei Druzhinin/POOL SPUTNIK KREMLIN / DPA
Russia has seen a lot. But the spectacle that Yevgeny Prigozhin and Vladimir Putin have now put on is unprecedented. A tragedy that is yet to come to an end.
Yevgeny Prigozhin actually managed to cheat death – at least for the time being. The leader of the so-called mercenary group Wagner has put everything on one card. Instead of waiting for his capture or elimination, he went on the attack. He marched towards Moscow with his fighters.
However, he turned around a few hundred kilometers from the Russian capital. Although the only thing standing in his way were a couple of excavators desperately trying to dismantle the roads to Moscow.
The madness of the spectacle that took place in Russia on Saturday is hard to believe: a city taken over by Wagner mercenaries. A Prigozhin who announces executions of the army leadership on his Telegram channel. A state television that interrupts its program and suddenly throws around names that have been taboo for months. A panicked Vladimir Putin, who ventures out of his bunker and addresses his nation, effectively demanding Prigozhin’s head, only to flee Moscow moments later. The bombing of Voronezh, six helicopters shot down, roads to Moscow ripped open. A mayor who declares Monday a day off for the capitals – so that nobody takes to the streets.
Russia: A Rebellion Like a Play
And then the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko jumps out of the box and announces: I have arranged everything, everything is fine, we live as before. The Wagner troops return to the front and Prigozhin comes to Minsk.
On Friday, Putin was informed by Prosecutor General Krasnov about the legality of initiating criminal proceedings against Prigozhin. On Saturday morning, Putin called for the mutineers and traitors to be punished. In the evening of the same day, his spokesman announced that the criminal case would be closed. Simply that way. As if it was all just a play.
But it wasn’t a play, it was reality: a collective mockery of the state. This is a system failure. And the tragedy is not over yet.
What will happen to Prigozhin in Minsk is unclear. Without his Wagner mercenaries, he is defenseless there. But what will not be forgotten are Prigozhin’s words about “the evil that the country’s military leadership” is bringing to Russia, about the “creature” Shoigu who is “stopped” and the demand for the extradition of the defense minister and the chief of staff to theirs Execution.
But Putin’s words about “exorbitant ambitions and personal interests that led to betrayal. To betrayal of one’s own country and one’s own people” also remain unforgotten. Words about “a blow to Russia”. Words that “anyone who consciously sets out on the path of treason, who prepares an armed attack, who sets out on the path of extortion and terrorist methods, suffer the inevitable punishment and stand up both before the law and before our people will be responsible”.
The FSB’s order to first open a criminal investigation into a military mutiny and then drop the case a few hours later will not be forgotten – even by the FSB itself.
The Russian state has failed
The searches in the offices and private rooms of the Wagner troupe, in which 4 billion rubles in cash (around 43 million euros) and several passports from Prigozhin were found – all issued in his name but with different photos, will also remain unforgotten.
The terror of millions of people from possible massacres will remain unforgotten.
Likewise the city of Rostov, which was given up without a fight, the panic in the capital – but above all the unprecedented helplessness of the man who has been pretending to bring “stability” to Russia for 23 years.
On June 24, 2023, Prigozhin dealt Russia and Putin the heaviest blow since February 24, 2022. The whole world now sees what Putin has made of the country: a failed state.