As far as he knows, the head of Wagner’s private army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is staying in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Belarus’ ruler Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday, according to the Belta agency. At the same time, the Kremlin is said to have searched his property. Russia correspondent Calum MacKenzie answers the most important questions.
What is known about Prigozhin’s whereabouts?
Nothing is known for certain, but Lukashenko seemed to confirm what could be deduced from flight data in the past few days. These show that Prigozhin’s private jet landed in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, before that the jet was in Minsk, Belarus. Prigozhin himself has not been seen since the Wagner uprising almost two weeks ago. He last reported to Telegram with a voice message on Monday, but without naming his whereabouts or his plans.
Are the investigations against Prigozhin continuing in Moscow?
The Russian authorities have repeatedly promised to drop the case against Prigozhin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently said that they have neither the capacity nor the intention to follow Prigozhin’s movements. At the same time, the state media reported that the investigation was still ongoing. A police search was also said to have been carried out at Prigozhin’s villa in Saint Petersburg. So there seem to be consequences for Prigozhin for the uprising, but the Kremlin is yet to fully commit to it.
Legend:
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin looks out of a military vehicle on a street in Rostov-on-Don. (Picture from 06/24/2023)
keystone/ap photo
Russian media published images of the search of Prigozhin’s house. Why is the Kremlin doing this?
These images were apparently leaked by the security forces. On the one hand there are pictures from Prigozhin’s luxurious home in Saint Petersburg, on the other hand there are also bizarre selfies of Prigozhin in disguise, some with eccentric wigs and fake beards. It is not clear what the context of these photos is. The Kremlin’s goal could be to discredit Prigozhin. The questionable selfies are supposed to make him a laughingstock, the photos from his opulent house probably give the impression that he is corrupt.
Prigozhin enjoyed a certain reputation among the Russian population. Does the discredit affect it?
Above all, the uprising has an influence on it. The independent opinion research institute Levada examined Prigozhin’s approval ratings. It cannot be said that Prigozhin was really popular among the population, but after the Wagner troops captured Bakhmut, according to polls, he was considered one of the most trusted people in Russia. Before the uprising, his approval rating was 59 percent, after which it has fallen to 29 percent. The uprising did not go down well with the majority of the Russian population.
What about the Wagner troops?
A few days ago, satellite images of the construction of a camp in Belarus, to which thousands of Wagner soldiers were to withdraw, made the rounds. It is unclear what these images are all about. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this week that preparations for the arrival of the Wagner troops had been observed in Belarus, but that only a few were there at the moment. Lukashenko on Thursday said Wagner troops had not yet arrived in Belarus and their move to Belarus had not been definitely discussed. It seems that most of them are still in their camps in Ukraine.