Russians may still be afraid to speak out publicly against their president. But in the wake of Yevgeny Prigozhin's aborted rebellion, President Vladimir Putin’s weakness – and the cracks in the system he so meticulously built – are unmistakable.
MOSCOW – No development during Vladimir Putin’s 23 years in power has so clearly pointed to his regime’s fragility as the Wagner Group’s aborted mutiny on June 24. The Wagner mercenaries, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, brazenly challenged the Kremlin’s authority – and now appear to have gotten away with it. Russia’s internal security service, the FSB, has abandoned its criminal investigation into the revolt. But Putin’s problems hardly end with Wagner.
MOSCOW – No development during Vladimir Putin’s 23 years in power has so clearly pointed to his regime’s fragility as the Wagner Group’s aborted mutiny on June 24. The Wagner mercenaries, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, brazenly challenged the Kremlin’s authority – and now appear to have gotten away with it. Russia’s internal security service, the FSB, has abandoned its criminal investigation into the revolt. But Putin’s problems hardly end with Wagner.