The riot of the founder of the private military company (PMC) Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has shaken the confidence of Russian elites in their President, Vladimir Putin, and has revealed his weakness, according to The Times.
The Times notes that Prigozhin's riot posed a challenge to Putin and the Kremlin. Therefore, as long as the founder of the Wagner PMC remained alive, the specter of revolution haunted the Russian Federation.
As The Times reminds, at that time, the Kremlin leader neutralized the threat posed by Prigozhin - the latter's plane crashed under unknown circumstances. Despite this, the impact of the riot did not disappear - the Russian elite became uncertain about Putin, and the world saw the weakness of his regime.
Journalists emphasize that the plane crash was the first instance where the Kremlin leader clearly reneged on commitments. Since then, Russia's elite has been haunted by the sense that Putin is no longer the masterful controller of the system as before.
Therefore, according to The Times, Prigozhin could be the person who pushed the domino and triggered an avalanche that buried the Putin regime.
Prigozhin's riot
In June of last year, the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed that the Russian regular army had allegedly struck the rear camps of his mercenaries. Against this backdrop, he demanded the resignation of the then Minister of Defense, Sergey Shoigu.
Prigozhin's mercenaries began to advance towards Moscow. Several regional centers were under the control of the Wagnerites.
However, the rebellion did not continue - it abruptly subsided. Prigozhin allegedly reached an agreement with the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, to secure amnesty in exchange for ending the riot.
Two months later, Prigozhin's plane crashed on Russian territory. There were no survivors. Information circulated online that the cause could have been the work of air defense systems.