After the Wagner uprising this weekend, Vladimir Putin is relying as usual on his small core of confidants, says Dick Berlin. But according to the former commander of the armed forces, the Russian president is afraid. “He fears that the atmosphere will change and that people will take to the streets”.
Since the march of Wagner’s mercenaries into Moscow and the shadowy deal that concluded it just as quickly, there has been much speculation about the fate of Putin and Prigozhin. “The latter’s plane would in any case be on a military plane near Minsk,” says Berlin. “But whether he’s actually in it or not, it’s not clear.”
According to Berlin, Prigozhin is mistakenly seen as “a soldier” after this weekend’s uprising. But he’s not, says the former military commander. Prigozhin made a huge amount of money for years fighting proxy wars on Putin’s behalf. He is a billionaire who lived by Putin’s grace. He was allowed to criticize vehemently and was covered up by the president ». That friendship now appears to have come to an end, “although we have to be careful about that, too,” says Berlin.
The position of Shoigu and Gerasimov is unclear
After the Wagner revolt, according to Berlin, Putin relies as always on the strong men around him, a small club of confidants. These are now mainly Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council and head of the FSB Alexander Bortnikov. Previously this also included Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov, although now their position seems to be getting more difficult. Yet they see that Shoigu has not been removed from the field and allowed to continue his work.’
Genie out of the bottle
But what worries Putin most about the position of his confidants, according to Berlin, is the atmosphere among the Russian people. «He is afraid that a negative atmosphere will be created and that people will take to the streets. He knows the genie is out of the bottle. According to the former commander, Putin is therefore doing everything to give the impression that this weekend’s issue has been addressed and that everything is under control.’
Source: BNR
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