At the head of these soldiers was Yevgeny Prigozhin, who until not so long ago was a man whom the Russian president trusted completely, so much so that he became his cook. From that cordial relationship without surprises, both of them moved into a power struggle that could almost irrevocably transform this Saturday and unleash a civil war in Russia.
Putin, in his eternal desire to place his country on the platform of rulers of the planet, has been taking steps for years in his dream of building “Great Russia”, Concept with longing for other times Which achieved the opposite effect: placing Russia among the enemies of half the world.
Since Boris Yeltsin appointed the then-unknown former KGB chief in 1999 as prime minister, Putin’s steps have gone in the same direction, which is to rebuild that superpower that waned after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Statement of intent
In pursuit of this desire and during his first and second terms, Putin has consolidated his influence in parliament, placed governors of regions under Moscow’s control, and strengthened the FSB (now Russia’s intelligence agency) and Put the media on the sidelines And the strong oligarch. He came to make his mark, and more than 20 years after he first came into government, he continues to build on his legacy and gather more power than either Stalin or Tsar Nicholas II ever had.
Very reserved and jealous of his privacy – it’s not for nothing that hardly any details of his private life are known – Putin has tens of thousands of followers within Russia, which saw itself reflected in this tsar’s pride which the president displays from the throne of his autocratic rule.
With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the international community demonstrated its radical rejection of the ambition of a leader who, for many within Russia’s borders, is the hero they deserve and need.
but, Their fully organized incursion into the disputed territories with UkraineIn this mission, in his words, to “discredit” the country Zelensky heads — which he is resisting — this weekend he faced an obstacle Putin could not have imagined in years: the betrayal of a friend and patriot like Yevgeny Prigozhin.
From friend to traitor
The leader of the Wagner Group, who tried to make a living as a cook and eventually served Putin himself, has had enough of the ego battle between him and ally until recently In the dream of great Russia.
Prigozhin denounced a few days ago that the Wagner group, the mercenaries fighting for Russia, were attacked by his country’s army, which ended up unleashing tension between the two sides and activating the seed of this attempt at civil war.
To get to that breaking point, you have to go back a few weeks, when Putin backtracked on the need to integrate mercenaries into the equipment government and lose the independence they now enjoy, something a person who loved their individuality and who fought for their freedom so much and in various ways – some illegal – would not have accepted.
The sudden turn was, once Wagner’s boss made the decision to back off and not enter Moscow, to head to Belarus to ease tensions. It is not befitting to hold back in an overly ambitious person, such as his former friend and now rival.
Although they share the desire to make Russia A great nation, they could not understand each other when it came to taking steps together, and both are marked by an indomitable desire to stand out.
Prigozhin, wanted by the FBI and considered one of the most dangerous people in the world, doesn’t seem the kind to give up on such an obvious goal as overthrowing the Russian leader who, on this occasion, after being cornered and hidden, saved one. ball match It would have changed the course of history forever.
