Speech summary: Putin opens by thanking everyone for their solidary and patriotism which show that any attempt at a coup is “doomed to fail”. Everyone from the authorities, religious organisations, public bodies, political leaders and all of Russian society “came together around a feeling of responsibility for the fate of our Fatherland”.
My instinct is that Putin has been smart: He needs the fighters of the Wagner Group but not their maverick leader. If he can now get the mercenaries to accept an offer of similar salaries and levels of respect while under his own (indirect) authority, then job done.
Simultaneously oppressing one's people and making aggressive war on one's neighbours is both dumb and bad. President Putin's malodorous reign constitutes an almost textbook case of this.
Do you have a whiff of C** in the mix ? Perhaps they funded Prigozhin with a portion of the missing seven billion dollars and we are also being diverted from more Hunter + Big Guy updates.
Do you seriously believe that everything that happens in the world is a function of petty US domestic nonsense? You folks really need to get yourselves passports.
Russia used to be one of the world's two superpowers. Half of the countries of Europe were its colonies. This ended in 1989-1991. Many in Russia want to restore their former imperial greatness. Putin promised to do this. He has failed. Prigozhin and his ilk think they can do better. Further troubles lie ahead.
PS: on a theoretical level: (a) their are such things as facts on the ground and states of affairs; (b) narratives are downstream of facts; (c) other states, their rulers and peoples see the world differently from USA; (d) those states etc have agency. Conclusion: see my previous post.
I think we're all experiencing chaos to a certain degree. . I still have faith and hope though that collectively cooler heads will prevail in the end and that lessons will be learned. . .
Thank you for doing these, posts, Konstantin. I'm so grateful for your take.
My instinct is that Putin has been smart: He needs the fighters of the Wagner Group but not their maverick leader. If he can now get the mercenaries to accept an offer of similar salaries and levels of respect while under his own (indirect) authority, then job done.
You mean the job of bringing death and destruction to a neighbouring people, tyranny and oppression to his own, and bringing low a once great nation?
I didn't say he'd been in any way moral: there's huge difference between 'smart' and 'good'. He does what he does for his own ends , clearly.
Simultaneously oppressing one's people and making aggressive war on one's neighbours is both dumb and bad. President Putin's malodorous reign constitutes an almost textbook case of this.
Do you have a whiff of C** in the mix ? Perhaps they funded Prigozhin with a portion of the missing seven billion dollars and we are also being diverted from more Hunter + Big Guy updates.
Do you seriously believe that everything that happens in the world is a function of petty US domestic nonsense? You folks really need to get yourselves passports.
So, what is your theory ?
Russia used to be one of the world's two superpowers. Half of the countries of Europe were its colonies. This ended in 1989-1991. Many in Russia want to restore their former imperial greatness. Putin promised to do this. He has failed. Prigozhin and his ilk think they can do better. Further troubles lie ahead.
PS: on a theoretical level: (a) their are such things as facts on the ground and states of affairs; (b) narratives are downstream of facts; (c) other states, their rulers and peoples see the world differently from USA; (d) those states etc have agency. Conclusion: see my previous post.
Chaos indeed...
All people around them deserve better...
Here's hoping for minimal bloodshed
It's certainly not 1989 or 1917, but it could be the first episode of 1905.
Not a very strong statement. Do you think the who deal was a way to get Wagner to open a second front on the flake.
I think we're all experiencing chaos to a certain degree. . I still have faith and hope though that collectively cooler heads will prevail in the end and that lessons will be learned. . .