Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion against the Russian military and political leadership may have stopped some 200 km short of Moscow, but its reverberations will be felt in the Kremlin for a long time. The march, and the images of people in Rostov cheering Wagner fighters and hissing at the police, was a rare and unwelcome insight into what Russian politics could look like after Putin is gone.
Those who greeted the Wagnerites with baked goods and refreshments suggested that the fighters were ordinary folk like us, from the ‘narod’ (people). This speaks to Prigozhin’s perceived authenticity in Russia – an attribute in short supply in Russian politics generally – and also to the deliberate detachment of so many Russians from the political elites.
With his criminal backstory and tough talk, Prigozhin has cultivated a persona that echoes Putin’s own. From the early days of his presidency, Putin presented himself as a normal bloke (muzhik) facing down the oligarchs, threatening to whack terrorists in the outhouse, and making geopolitical observations using bawdy jokes.
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