The events of the past few days have been as compelling as they have been confusing. The world press has been full of theories and vary on their reasoning for the actions of Prigozhin and his Wagnerites. Depending on which side of the fence you are sitting, the speculation ranges from informed to completely fantastical.
I suspect that we might never know exactly what was behind it all, but the fact remains, the 8,000 or so soldiers of PMC Wagner were heading for Moscow, whether in fact they were fully aware of this or not, is another moot point.
The whole affair, however, was enough to warrant swift action by the Russian government, and the interceding of President Putin’s ally, President Lukashenko from Belarus, who had known Prigozhin for some twenty years, and undoubtedly had his trust. Only swift action could avert the possibility of any further potential disruption within the country given that the western allies and their puppets in Kiev were sure to take advantage of any visible dissent within the ranks of the military or the Kremlin.
President Putin’s speech to the nation was therefore highly anticipated by all, regardless of where your allegiances lay. As is the President’s usual style of delivery, he is relaxed and speaks to us as if he is addressing us personally, a trusted friend, but the overall demeanour is stern, and he delivers the facts, at least as he wants us to accept them, to leave us in no doubt that a grave situation was avoided by the timely interventions of the President himself.
The President praised the military exploits of Wagner but made it clear that for PMC Wagner, this was the end of the road, and it was for the soldiers to make a decision what their next step would be. I suspect Mr Prigozhin had less than the three choices afforded to his soldiers, but it was Belarus for him. Some kind of enforced exile perhaps – but President Putin left us in no doubt that the safety, the security and above all the very survival of Russia and her people was paramount in his decision making – he could never countenance a situation where Russian might be fighting Russian, and he referred to 1917 when the infighting so weakened the country leading to insurrection.
Betrayal, as we know, is the one thing that Putin cannot forgive. Whatever the motivation of those involved in this affair, the President has acted swiftly and spoken to the nation as its leader, as its inspiration, as indeed its father. Putin has immense stature as a statesman and politician and this is conveyed in his speech making which was perfectly illustrated last night.
Any fears the people may have had prior to listening to their President would almost certainly have been put to rest. If the Western allies had hoped that Putin was on his way out, then they have been mistaken once again. Whatever this was, this hiccup in the communication between Prigozhin and the Russian military, if it was overblown, President Putin grasped the nettle ensuring there was no domino effect which his adversaries, both abroad and at home, could use to their advantage against him and the Russian people.
Vladimir Putin’s latest address this Monday underlined his position as not only Supreme Commander, but also the embodiment of what it is to be a Russian. He is a lion amongst other political adversaries, a man amongst boys, a scholar amongst the uneducated. President Putin makes no secret of the fact of his admiration for Peter the Great. I for one, have no doubts whatsoever that such a feeling would be mutual.
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