Mercenary Prigozhin lays bare the strains of Putin's war

Even then, Russia’s most powerful mercenary couldn’t resist breaking the taboos that tightly controlled Putin’s political system.

Prigozhin, holding a Russian flag with an automatic gun on his shoulder, announced that the Ukrainian city Bakhmut had fallen. He was surrounded by heavily armed mercenaries and the black standard of his Wagner group, as well as the charred ruins of tens and thousands of victims.

"Thanks to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin for giving us this opportunity, and the honour of defending motherland," Prigozhin said, praising his own army of convicts and spies who fought house-to-house for 224 deadly days.

Then he launched into his favorite rant, accusing the top brass of Putin of treachery. In particular, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as well as Chief of General Staff Valery Grasimov.

In the last month, he called Putin's top generals "fucking b*tches" who will be forced to eat their own guts in hell. He accused them on Saturday of allowing more than five times as many men to die.

He said, "Someday they will have to answer for their evil deeds." "We have a complete list of everyone who has helped us, and also of those that actively oppose us and helped the enemy."

In Putin's Russia such words are dangerous, as public criticism of Putin and his team from within the system is not tolerated.

Reuters reported that Prigozhin was not challenging Putin directly, but playing a joking role with those who were dismayed at the military's handling of the war.

But his impertinence shows how the war, a term he uses defying a Kremlin-imposed ban, has affected Putin's 23 year-old political system. It also has raised questions about Prigozhin’s future.

Reuters reported that "Prigozhin's actions are a mystery." Sergey Radchenko is a Cold War historian at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. What puzzles me about this is the image it projects, both in Russia and the West.

He said: "The image is one of chaos, of internal fighting, of Putin being distant or weak." "Prigozhin wouldn't make this slip by accident."

Prigozhin and the Kremlin, as well as the Defence Ministry, did not respond when asked for comment.

Shoigu and Geriasmov haven't publicly responded to Prigozhin.

DEEPER CRITICISM

In Prigozhin’s most memorable video on 5 May, he displayed a field full of Wagner mercenaries dead, who he claimed had died due to a shortage of munitions, caused by Shoigu & Gerasimov.

"Shoigu Gerasimov, where's the fucker ammunition? Look at them, you bitches," said he. "These are somebody's fathers and sons."

Prigozhin inserted deeper criticism between the swear words: the Russian people faced destruction from a venal elite military more interested in intrigue and luxury than the battlefield.

He warned against "fucking show off" in Red Square on Russia's most important war anniversary. Shoigu, Putin and others were attending a reduced parade to mark the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany during World War Two.

He also made a joke about an unidentified "happy grandpa" , who might turn out to be "a complete dickhead".

Prigozhin, "seems to be slipping, out of frustration, desperation and love of his voice, from outrageous, but understandable cries of help and attention, into self-destructiveness," said a Western diplomat, who spoke under condition of anonymity.

"Prigozhin, however, would be a weak rebel with an armed forces without their own independent logistics capacity."

According to a Russian source, who asked for anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation Prigozhin represents "one of the sides" of a battle within the Putin system.

Two realities?

Since his rise to power, in 1999, former KGB lieutenant-colonel Putin has created a rigid system, which is often chaotic. Public criticism of the regime is not tolerated.

State television did not report the fall of Bakhmut during 20 hours. This is a clear indication of how seriously Prigozhin was perceived to have violated these rules.

The broadcast began with a briefing from the Russian defence ministry about Russian attacks in Ukraine. It then aired an extensive report on a tango event in Moscow.

Prigozhin stated that "in our country there are two realities, the real and the one on TV."

The Kremlin took 10 hours to issue a 36-word, terse statement congratulating Wagner on behalf of the armed forces for "liberating Artyomovsk", the Soviet name for Bakhmut that Russia still uses. The statement did not mention Prigozhin.

Prigozhin stated that he would turn over Bakhmut by the Russian Army on June 1 and rebase all of his forces in camps at the rear, until they are needed again.

Igor Girkin is a former Federal Security Service officer (FSB), who helped Russia annex Crimea and later organized pro-Russian militias throughout eastern Ukraine.

The contradictions within the ruling clique have led to the public controversy between Prigozhin's Defence Ministry and the silenced Defence Ministry.

It is not clear if the president, who has an election in March 2024 on his horizon, will tolerate a public display of conflict for very long.

Another Western diplomat said: "If Putin doesn't do anything it will reveal his weakness. Prigozhin may not be indispensable, but he is very useful in a brutal way."

Share this article: