Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the private army of prison recruits and other mercenaries who have fought some of the deadliest battles in Russia s invasion of Ukraine, escaped prosecution.
With the troops withdrawn from the streets and roadblocks and checkpoints removed, Moscow returned to its summer Sunday rhythms, with people filling cafes and parks. Crews repaired.
The Wagner insurgency has brought internal strife into the public domain. In the 23 years of his presidency, Putin has never faced a crisis of this proportion
There really are no surprises like Russia surprises. For about 24 hours, it looked like Russian President Vladimir Putin was facing the biggest political challenge of his life. His old friend Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the powerful Wagner mercenary militia, was leading a column of men toward Moscow in what Putin called an “armed rebellion.” The Kremlin charged him with “mutiny.” Moscow was placed on high security alert. Putin jetted to St. Petersburg. And then, just as suddenly as it started, it ended.