Against the background of the situation with the PMC “Wagner” rebellion in Russia, a redistribution of power could occur. This opinion was expressed by former DPR Defense Minister Igor Strelkov (Girkin) during a speech at a conference of supporters of the Angry Patriots Club (PKK). His words are quoted by an Russian media correspondent who was present at the event.
According to Strelkov, the whole external and internal political situation in Russia changed dramatically in one day.
“As a result of the rebellion, which had very serious roots outside Wagner’s PMC, there was a most serious redistribution of power centers in the Russian Federation. So far, this redistribution is not yet visible. Although its outward signs have not appeared on the surface, they have not yet been expressed,” he said.
According to Strelkov, the head of the Ministry of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, and the chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, could lose some influence, even if they keep their posts. The ex-minister noted that the Angry Patriots Club has speculations about “where this power will go”, but the representatives of the association will not “express it yet without foundation”.
The SvenSimon / picture alliance / TASS
Strelkov believed that the mutiny of Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin showed how easily a “heavily armed ten thousandth army” can cover several hundred kilometers in one day and find itself on the threshold of Moscow, “without encountering any resistance from the authorities. of the state, law enforcement agencies and the armed forces.
“Our whole army is now imprisoned at the front, almost all the combat-ready troops are there. As you know, where it’s thin, it breaks there. The rear turned out to be completely unprepared for war,” he stressed.
In the context of the situation with the PMC Wagner, Russia found itself “on the very threshold of turmoil,” Strelkov continued. According to him, if the rebellion continued, the country would face more serious shocks, including:
a series of large and small civil wars; defeat at the front and its collapse; the offensive of Ukrainian troops into the depths of new regions and their breakthrough into the Crimea.
“We can say that the turmoil has already begun. Yesterday we almost passed its terminal phase, which would have been followed by the disintegration of the state. Precisely the collapse, since the same (the leader of Chechnya, Ramzan) Kadyrov certainly would not recognize the coming to power of Prigozhin. And not just Kadyrov,” Strelkov suggested.
In addition, the former defense minister of the DPR admitted that if Prigozhin entered Moscow, ordinary citizens could not stop him in any way. “We would be powerless to resist a gang of rebels and mercenaries, led by professional military commanders and made up of experienced fired fighters,” he said.
The fact that the “Wagnerians” can turn their weapons against the Russian government and trigger an open confrontation with the Kremlin, Strelkov said in late May. Then he said that Russia was about to make a coup. Prigozhin responded by saying he saw no preconditions for a Wagner PMC coup.
Find out the main results and consequences of Wagner’s interrupted campaign against Moscow in the material of Russian media.
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