After the uprisings, Russia is gradually returning to normal. There is no trace of Wagner boss Prigozchin. One thing is certain: Contrary to what the Kremlin says, investigations are continuing against him.
According to the Moscow media, criminal proceedings against him have not yet been dropped after the armed uprising of the Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner army. Investigators from the domestic secret service FSB are continuing to investigate the case, the newspaper Kommersant reported, citing the investigators.
“Investigations are ongoing,” the Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing its own unspecified source. The Kremlin announced on Saturday evening that criminal proceedings against Prigozhin and the Wagner insurgents would be dropped.
Will Prigozhin be punished or not?
Meanwhile, there was still no trace of the 62-year-old. According to the Kremlin, he should find refuge in neighboring Belarus.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin said in a speech on Saturday that the masterminds of the uprising would face their “inevitable punishment”. The fact that the Kremlin declared a little later that the rebels would get away scot-free after the end of the revolt and the withdrawal from Russia caused astonishment in the huge empire. Commentators interpreted Putin’s concession as weakness on the part of the Kremlin boss.
The Russian authorities, meanwhile, took action against the Wagner organization in Russia. According to the local media, there were raids on the offices in St. Petersburg, Prigozhin’s headquarters. Advertising posters used by the private army to recruit volunteers for military service in Ukraine were also removed in the country. Thousands of mercenaries serve in the Wagner troupe. The social network VK – the Russian counterpart of Facebook – blocked Wagner’s page by order of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
In his Telegram channel, which has more than 1.3 million subscribers, Prigozhin’s last message came from Saturday, when he announced the end of the brief uprising after negotiations with Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko and Prigozhin, who, according to the Kremlin, have known each other for about 20 years, had independently stated that the withdrawal of the Wagner troupe was intended to prevent “bloodshed” in Russia. After that, the situation suddenly calmed down.
US Institute: Wagner Group will continue
According to US experts, the Russian private army Wagner will continue to be deployed after the uprising. The return of Wagner troops to their training camps with military equipment indicates that the Kremlin wants to maintain at least parts of the group rather than disband it, the US Institute for War Studies (ISW) said. However, the future of the command and organizational structure is unclear.
The think tank based its assessments on statements by the head of the Russian Defense Committee, Andrei Kartapolov, who said there was no need to ban the Wagner group because it was “the most combat-ready entity in Russia”. According to instructions from Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, Russia is currently working on a law to regulate private military companies.
Russia: Uprising meant to ‘destabilize country’
Russia’s head of government, Mikhail Mishustin, is now appealing for the cohesion of the people. “An attempt was made to destabilize Russia from within,” Mishustin said, according to the Interfax agency.
Addressing Russian society, he said: “We must work together as a team, maintain the unity of all forces, rally around the President.” In addition, the 57-year-old emphasized that the members of the government in Moscow did not leave their seats during the chaotic hours on Saturday.
Anti-terror emergency lifted in Moscow
After the end of the uprising, the anti-terror emergency in Moscow was lifted again. “All restrictions are being lifted,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on his Telegram channel.
The graduation ceremonies for students, which were postponed due to the chaotic situation, would be made up for on Saturday. The anti-terror emergency was also lifted in the Moscow region and in the Voronezh region to the south.
Russia’s Defense Ministry shows Shoigu video
The Russian government also released footage of Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu for the first time. The 47-second video without sound, which shows Shoigu in consultation with other military officers, is said to have been recorded during a visit to the combat zone in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram.
The minister visited one of the front command points there, it said. This could not initially be checked independently. No information was given as to when the recordings were made. Russian military bloggers later pointed out that they believe the Shoigu video was taken before the uprising. For example, it was said in the well-known Telegram channel “Rybar” that the clip was a “canned product”.
There was no public trace of Shoigu at the weekend after mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigoshin started an uprising on Saturday night and temporarily occupied the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Russia’s chief of staff, Valeri Gerasimov, did not comment during these chaotic hours.
Prigozhin had made serious accusations against both Shoigu and Gerasimov, citing their alleged military misconduct as the reason why he wanted his fighters to march on Moscow. After Prigozhin surprisingly declared his uprising over on Saturday evening, speculation increased as to whether there might be personnel changes in the Russian military leadership.