A Wild and Weird Weekend in Russia

 This past weekend proved one thing for sure. You never know what those wild and wacky Russians are going to do next. Well, that and Vladimir Putin and his military commanders are more akin to soap opera characters than they are actual strategists and tacticians.

So much so an ex-convict and former restaurant owner appears to handle combat situations better than they have. At least that is the way it seemed 48 hours ago. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin is the sole owner of what is called the Wagner Group. They are a high profile mercenary outfit. Before the quagmire in Ukraine they were primarily known for their, let's say, work, in Africa. So much so they are the de facto rulers of the Central African Republic where they provide their services to the so called president of that nation. In exchange they get to cart away huge amounts of gold and diamonds. 

It isn't clear if Vlad Putin asked for the Wagner Group's help in Ukraine, or he accepted an unsolicited offer from Prigozhin. Whatever the case Putin provided them with ammunitions and arms and allowed them to deploy alongside his troops. In other words he made the same mistake the Rolling Stones did at the Altamont concert. He let a Russkie version of Hell's Angels work security.

As one can guess the Russian army, especially it's field commanders didn't appreciate the situation. There was antagonism, and mistrust between both sides which became so bitter there were even a few instances of outright violence. Then last week Prigozhin accused Russian higher ups of launching a missile attack which killed a dozen, or so of his men.

On Friday, Prigozhin went into an uncontrollable snit and ordered his group to march on Moscow. Wagner Group mercenaries quickly moved into Rostov on the Don, taking over the Russian army's southern command headquarters. Then their tanks began to roll north. Prigozhin refused to call the action a coup, or a mutiny. It was a march for justice, he said. He added the Wagner Grup wasn't out to depose Putin, but they were going to get rid of the senior army commanders. 

Then came the weird part.

Wagner Group armor was within 125 miles of Moscow when Prigozhin suddenly called the whole thing off. Official accounts said a deal was struck, brokered by the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. Prigozhin would go into exile in Belarus while his men could either walk away free,, although unarmed, or be accepted into the regular Russian army. 

All this only a day after Prigozhin claimed his men would shed their blood for justice and Putin had called his former buddy a back stabbing traitor..

The entire bizarre affair began and ended so quickly American media and politicians are at a loss to explain what actually took place. One Fox correspondent claimed the whole episode was a false flag operation meant to lull Joe Biden into thinking Putrin is weak. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said she was convinced the American deep state had paid Prigozhin to pull off a coup. Of course her analysis might be a tad suspect. A little later she tweeted she believed the television in her home was being used to spy on her. (It came on by itself, she wrote, and the screen showed a man with a laptop computer looking at her.)

A whole gaggle of contributors to all three major cable news outlets felt Putin had been politically wounded by the brief uprising. Others noted the Wagner Group took the headquarters in Rostov without a fight and was virtually unopposed on the road trip toward Moscow. More than a couple pointed out the Russian president had no one to blame but himself for the situation.  After all, he is the one who helped arm Prigozhin's boys and allowed them to operate on Russian soil. 

A good point. Other Russian elites in power have to see this too. Just as they have to see how badly botched the entire Ukraine adventure has been. 

All of which leads to the final question raised by the events of the weekend. Exactly how long will those around Vladimir Putin put up with this sort of humiliating shit?

We might know the answer to that one sooner than we think.

6-26-23