Putin Rages: Attempts At An Internal Mutiny Will Fail

The New York Times reports:

With palpable anger, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia made his first public comments since a paramilitary revolt was called off on Saturday, saying in a five-minute speech that the uprising led by Yevgeny V. Prigozhin — who he did not mention by name — failed because “the entire Russian society united and rallied everyone.”

“They wanted Russians to fight each other,” Mr. Putin said. “They rubbed their hands, dreaming of taking revenge for their failures at the front and during the so-called counteroffensive. But they miscalculated,” he said, thanking the Russian military.

Mr. Putin’s remarks appeared to be aimed at projecting unity and stability as questions swirled about the strength of his grip on power. He spoke hours after Mr. Prigozhin made his first remarks since Saturday.

CNBC reports:

In his speech Monday, Putin thanked those involved in the mutiny “who made the only right decision – they did not go to fratricidal bloodshed, they stopped at the last line.”

He then said Wagner Group soldiers would be permitted to join the Russian army, to leave the country for neighboring Belarus, as Prigozhin did, or simply “to return to your family and friends.”

Putin’s decision to grant unilateral clemency to the Wagner mercenaries seemed out of character to some Russia scholars, coming as it did from an autocratic ruler who regularly jails civilians for publicly criticizing his administration.

Any attempt to blackmail us and spur internal chaos are doomed – Putin

Vladimir Putin addressed the nation in his first speech since the end of the Wagner insurrection over the weekend.

The president thanked the Russian people for their unity, patriotism and patience. pic.twitter.com/1E9UQ8NH1R

— RT (@RT_com) June 26, 2023

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said Putin’s speech just now, “without exaggeration, will determine the fate of Russia.” But Putin didn’t appear to announce anything beyond saying “attempts to organize an internal mutiny will end in defeat.”

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) June 26, 2023