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Never before has Putin’s weakness been so exposed as during the attempted coup in Prigozhin.
Vladimir Putin went through the hardest hours since taking office this weekend. Never before has his power been so shaken, never before has he lost face in front of his home crowd.
The end of the uprising was not announced by the Russian president, but by the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko of all people, who has been dependent on Moscow for money for years, is said to have succeeded in persuading Yevgeny Prigozhin to turn around. Now Lukashenko has turned the tables and put Putin in power. Lukashenko will know how to use this shift in power in all upcoming negotiations with Putin.
Moscow dangerously close
The real winner of the power struggle in Russia is not Alexander Lukashenko, but Yevgeny Prigozhin. Within a few hours he managed to occupy one of the most important military headquarters in the country and his armed men advanced a few hundred kilometers from Moscow. Vladimir Putin had announced on Saturday morning that he would punish the insurgents severely, only to announce in the evening through his press spokesman that Prigozhin would leave the country and the criminal investigation against him would be discontinued.
Anyone who publicly speaks out against the war in Russia faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years. However, anyone who, like Prigozhin, occupies military infrastructure with guns in hand and shoots down several Russian army planes and helicopters will get away with it without punishment. This is despite the fact that several people died in the shooting down. That human life is not valued in Russia under Putin was also confirmed during the uprising.
Putin’s men are groping in the dark
What is new is the weakness that Putin showed: he, who always wanted to portray himself as determined and relentless, seems completely overwhelmed by the uprising and cornered. Not only did Putin’s words lose credibility, but his security apparatus also seemed weaker than ever. The former secret service officer has made the domestic secret service the most powerful institution in the country. But the secret service neither saw the threat to Putin coming nor was it able to stop it.
Prigozhin was able to present himself to the people of Russia as a fighter for the soldiers at the front. With his so-called “March for Justice” and criticism of the military leadership, he hit a nerve. However, he did not save the soldiers, but got himself to safety. The biggest losers in this power struggle are the more than 140 million Russians. The country faces chaotic years. The uprising has shown that Putin’s autocracy will not lead to stability but will result in power struggles among criminals.