https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/26/russia-coup-prigozhin-putin-ukraine/
"David Von Drehle: Even failed coups have consequences
They say a bird that walks and quacks like a duck is probably a duck. Events in Russia that looked like a military coup, and were initially interpreted as a coup by Putin, were probably an attempted coup — until the coup fell apart.
...
Max Boot: Prigozhin has made Putin’s weakness clear to everyone
The past few days have been the most tumultuous in Russia’s history since the constitutional crisis in October 1993 when Boris Yeltsin ordered the army to shell the parliament to stop an attempt to oust him. Yeltsin held on to power, but he could never
quite claim the same degree of legitimacy again, and within six years, he was gone from office. His handpicked successor, Putin, has now had his own legitimacy undermined by the revolt of Prigozhin and his Wagner Group mercenaries. Whether the damage is
fatal remains to be determined.
Putin did not — perhaps could not — mobilize the Russian armed forces to crush the Wagner uprising.
...
David Ignatius: After dodging the bullet, Putin will need to show he’s in control
The mystery of this story is what Prigozhin expected would happen in his march on Moscow. The Wagner militia leader was so talkative about his plans that U.S. intelligence officers learned of the plot last week. Prigozhin believed he had support. That’
s what must haunt Putin now. How far did this conspiracy go?
...
Eugene Robinson: Putin is likely to survive this crisis
I wouldn’t count Putin out just yet. This weekend’s armed rebellion might be the toughest challenge he has faced in his two-plus decades as Russia’s modern-day czar, but he looks likely to survive, at least for now. And he still gets to control his
own fate.
...
Charles Lane: Prigozhin is the only Russian to publicly speak the truth
Much remains to be learned about the mutiny against Putin’s regime by the Wagner Group leader Prigozhin. But we know Prigozhin did one thing that might threaten the Russian regime long after his uprising ended: He told the truth.
...
Jason Willick: Chances for escalation in Ukraine have gone up
As the weekend events in Russia illustrate, no one can predict the course of intra-Russian power struggles. But I do think it’s possible to draw one conclusion about the war in Ukraine: The Prigozhin mutiny increases the incentives for escalation on
all sides.
...
Josh Rogin: Prigozhin’s failed gambit is an opportunity for the West
The ultimate fate of the Wagner Group and its founder Prigozhin is still unknown. What’s clear is that Wagner is in disarray. The Russian Defense Ministry is reportedly set to absorb Wagner fighters in Ukraine into its command structure. Prigozhin is (
allegedly) headed to exile in Belarus.
That doesn’t settle the question of what will happen with Wagner’s myriad military and industrial operations in places such as Syria, the Central African Republic, Mali, Libya, Sudan and Venezuela, to name just a few.
...
Megan McArdle: Turmoil in Russia shows the fragility of illiberalism
I don’t know what the events of this past weekend mean for Russia. But I have been thinking a lot about the message they should send to the rest of us about the dangers of illiberalism.
..."
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