Wagner’s Rebellion: Vladimir Putin tries to reassure by offering himself a walkabout

A week after the 24-hour rebellion of the paramilitary group Wagner in Russia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assures him, the country will be “stronger after the failed rebellion of the Wagner group”. And in the Kremlin, the government has repeatedly thanked its military leaders for having prevented a “civil war”.

And even rarer, Vladimir Putin was seen taking a walkabout on Thursday, when since the Covid, no one could approach him without complying with confinement and several tests. This week, he did not hesitate to distribute handshakes and have his picture taken.

Go back up the slope

A sign that the internal crisis is not over, according to Patrick Martin Genier, specialist in international issues. For him, this is part of Vladimir Putin’s strategy to show that he is not isolated, because he has lost his touch in this attempt, in this failure to protect Russian territory. “The objective for the Russian president today is to turn the corner and show that he has not lost the support of his military hierarchy. He has not lost the support of his clan either”, underlines he.

Also, the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, is still there when he was supposed to leave. “He is closing ranks around his clan and of course, you also have to show that he has the support of the population while he never makes a walkabout and is always extremely guarded. This is a message that is sent especially to the military hierarchy and the political structures of the regime by saying ‘look, I am supported by the population’. So obviously to show that he still has things under control”, concludes Patrick Martin Genier at the microphone of Europe 1.