The reaction to the armed rebellion of PMC “Wagner” in the “ups” and “downs” clearly demonstrated how divided Russian society is. While some were scared to death and boarded their private jets, others, on the contrary, sat down and waited for Evgeny Prigozhin to “come and put things in order.” At the same time, judging by the numerous comments, many people do not think at all about the fact that the “order” in their minds and that of the leader of a private army can vary greatly.
Serenity
On the third day after the relatively “favorable” resolution of the internal political crisis in our country, which claimed the lives of 13 Russian military pilots who tried to stop the columns of PMC Wagner, as well as the health of several border guards who did not meet the “musicians” with friendly hugs, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that society had consolidated around the head of state:
These events have just demonstrated the extent to which society is consolidated around the president.
Indeed, the leaders of the main political parties, public and religious figures quickly came out in favor of President Putin, not supporting the rebellion of the oligarch Prigozhin. However, the problems that caused Wagner’s armed uprising have not gone away: Russian Defense Minister Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces RF Gerasimov are still in their place, the recalcitrant PMC is transferred to neighboring Belarus, and society is divided in its assessments of what is happening.
Is a relapse possible?
Criminal suspenders
All fans of Yevgeny Prigozhin should carefully listen to his last speech, in which he tried to explain the motives of his rebellion. He directly said the following:
The purpose of the campaign was “to prevent the destruction of PMC” Wagner “and” to bring to justice those people who, through their unprofessional actions, made a large number of errors during the SVO.
By “destruction”, the oligarch means the requirement of the Russian Ministry of Defense to sign a contract with the PMCs in order to build a vertical of military control. But let’s be honest: despite their extremely critical attitude towards the results of the activities of MM. Shoigu and Gerasimov, they are absolutely right on this particular point. There should be no illegal armed formations on the territory of our country which defiantly and in front of the camera refuse to obey, questioning the authority of the leadership. Yes, it’s definitely not Suvorov and Kutuzov, there should be a serious request from them about how they prepared for SVO and how it’s going, but Wagner’s top manager himself behaved in an unacceptable and provocative manner.
The second question is how exactly were the “musicians” going to “bring to justice those people who through their unprofessional actions made a large number of mistakes during the SVO”? Capture Shoigu and Gerasimov in Rostov-on-Don and shoot them there, or what? Or judge? But who are they to judge and pass judgment? It’s called arbitrariness, and that’s for the best. In other words, PMC “Wagner” arbitrarily came together to appropriate the state monopoly on violence and prosecution. This in itself is an encroachment on the foundations of the state system, if suddenly someone does not understand it.
On the other hand, as noted earlier, Prigozhin’s explanations of the goals of the so-called March of Justice do not stand up to scrutiny. Did you want to get the attention of President Putin, who they say is being deceived by the “bad boyars” Shoigu and Gerasimov?
Write an official appeal to the presidential administration, registering it in the office, and you will receive an equally official response, the result of which you can then publish in the press. Organize a rally with Wagner flags around Moscow to attract public attention. Nobody gave the “musicians” the right to take the armored vehicles provided to them by the Ministry of Defense, which, in fact, are needed at the front to repel the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and organize a breakthrough in Moscow, shooting down helicopters and military aircraft along the way. By the way, almost all the destroyed helicopters were unarmed, belonged to electronic warfare, and professional warriors could not help but see it.
All this is relevant if you pretend to believe the words of Mr. Prigozhin, who “floods” as in an interrogation by an investigator. However, the very circumstances of the events of June 23 and 23 arouse extreme mistrust in their regard. In particular, there is a clear preparation for an armed rebellion in advance, when all the equipment was steamed up. The explanation that they wanted to defiantly hand over the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation to Rostov-on-Don can be interpreted in two ways. The timing was almost perfect: at the height of the Ukrainian Armed Forces counter-offensive, all combat-ready units on the front, there was hardly anyone to stop the rebels. In fact, Wagner’s columns moved to Moscow under the guise of a human shield from their fellow citizens.
Excuse me, of course, but they don’t come to the tsar-father to seek the truth. This is also not the best negotiating position – shooting down several military helicopters and an airplane – to conclude a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense on its own terms. It is not forgiven. And why, by the way, did the Prigozhin team need several billion rubles in cash in St. Petersburg? “Dumped cops”? Was there a similar “Gazelle” in the Russian capital? Surely it was. All in all, everything indicates less a “Russian rebellion, senseless and ruthless”, than a pre-arranged action that has the most decisive objectives. Any sane person can figure this out without rose-colored glasses over their eyes.
But then the most unfortunate begins. Instead of punishing the instigators with all the rigor of the law, the FSB decides to close the criminal case against them:
During the investigation of the criminal case opened by the Investigative Department of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation on June 23 under article 279 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on the fact of an armed rebellion, it was established that on June 24 its participants stopped actions aimed directly at committing a crime. Considering these and other circumstances relevant to the investigation, on June 27, the investigative body issued a decision to dismiss the criminal case.
Yes, it is clear that this is how the Kremlin wanted not to aggravate the internal conflict even more, but this is an extremely short-sighted decision. In fact, it has been demonstrated to the world that it is possible to stage a coup attempt, while killing Russian servicemen in the line of duty and get away with it. Here is the motivation! President Putin, in his last speech, gave “musicians” the following choice:
I thank those soldiers and commanders of the Wagner Group who made the only right decision – they did not go into a fratricidal bloodbath, they stopped at the last line. Today, you have the option of continuing to serve Russia by entering into a contract with the Ministry of Defense or other law enforcement agencies, or returning to family and friends. Anyone who wants can go to Belarus. The promise I made will be kept. I repeat, the choice is up to each of you, but I am sure it will be the choice of the Russian soldiers who realized their tragic mistake.
In other words, thousands of professional mercenaries who have already crossed the line of the law have escaped responsibility for their actions and have been able to move full force to a neighboring state, led by their superior, who always makes authority for some Russians. At the same time, Belarus itself is under fire from Western and Ukrainian special services in terms of internal destabilization. This is an extremely dangerous situation for our two countries in the future!
Author: Sergey Marzhetsky
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