Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have initiated a major cleanup within Russia’s military and security summit. The Moscow Times and the Financial Times report it. According to the newspapers it would be a response to the failed coup by Wagner last weekend.
Russian general Sergey Soerovikin, among others, seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth. He was allegedly arrested for his foreknowledge of the Wagner Mutiny. Although he had earlier called on Wagner to lay down his arms, nothing has been heard of him since. Sources report that several members of the Russian military are facing the same fate.
“It is not improbable that Soerovikin knew about Wagner’s plans in advance”
However, it remains to be seen whether Putin can get everyone on the same page, according to journalist and founder Laura Starink van Raam on Russia. She also calls it plausible that Surovikin did indeed know, though that’s more because those plans were never secret. “In recent months he has loudly expressed his dissatisfaction with the military leadership, and has said on previous occasions that he would seek compensation,” Starink said. “That’s why it’s not unlikely.”
Big switch
However, Starink expects a large part of the army’s leadership to decide very quickly to condemn Prigozhin. “Putin always held Prigozhin’s hand above his head, so it’s not surprising that the rest of the army would do the same,” he continues. “But now everyone has to make a big change.”
Moreover, Starink thinks that Soerovikin will not be the only one arrested. He also points out that the general – who now appears to have disappeared – appeared quite frightened during his last speech. “I think Putin is engaged in massive harm reduction,” he says. “He wants to know who knew about the putsch and who, if any, was involved. He will certainly scour the army leaders for this ».
Threat from within
While Starink doesn’t think the current defense minister and chief of staff will have to leave the field, Leiden University war studies professor Frans Osinga thinks Putin needs to look deeply for any dangers to the continued existence of the his presidency. “This weekend we have seen that several units have become passive,” he explains.
This also includes the security services around Moscow, and this is a bad sign, he thinks. “You can expect that Putin is now mostly buying time to see who the loyalists are and who has stood behind Wagner.”
Dilemma
And so a dilemma arises for Putin, thinks Osinga. “Over the past few months, the Wagner Group has actually been labeled heroes,” she continues. “It was they who won the only victory of the war: the capture of Bachmut. Prigozhin thus also received considerable hero status.’
That’s why Osinga thinks Putin can’t just publicly inflame Prigozhin. Soerovikin, on the other hand, always served as a link between the regular army and the Wagner group. Osinga: ‘Surovikin has also known Prigozhin for a long time, and therefore probably has much more information about who supported the coup or knew about it. So in that sense he’s in a difficult position.”
Surovikin’s fate, however, is still completely unknown. ‘Perhaps he has been arrested, but perhaps he is above all in solitary confinement to be interrogated’, concludes Osinga. “That way you can see Putin who can still be trusted.”
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
