According to Jukka Savolainen, network director of the Hybrid Center, it is important to look at who is allowed to say and what in public.
The way in which the leader of the mercenary company Wagner publicly scolds other leading figures of the war speaks of his own dominant position in Russia. This is what the Network Director of the Hybrid Expertise Center thinks Jukka Savolainenwho spoke about the topic in morning and Ykkösaamu.
– This seems to be the kind of game where it is shown that Prigožin’s power is extremely extensive, and he is second only to Putin in that country, says Savolainen.
– Here he seems to be shouting at anyone in public, except not yet at Putin. So he’s a real big man over there in Russia.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin made headlines last week when he threatened to withdraw his forces from Bahmut by May 10. Behind the threat was a shortage of ammunition. After making the threat, the Wagner boss requested that the positions left by the Wagner soldiers be handed over to the Chechen forces.
Savolainen finds it incomprehensible that Prigozhin can shout insults at the commander of the Russian armed forces and the defense minister.
He did, however, and the shouting seems to have paid off. Prigozhin said on Sunday that the Russian armed forces have promised Wagner enough ammunition and weapons to continue the battle of Bahmut.
Savolainen estimates that Prigožin skilfully manages the public discussion about himself.
– Now by acting very strongly, he makes it look like he conquered Bahmut, but when they didn’t give ammunition. I think that’s what he’s doing now.
Prigožin also has “pretty good habits” worldwide, says Savolainen. He is accused of manipulating elections in the United States and several countries in Africa and Asia. In Sudan, on the other hand, he organizes gold and diamond mines for himself
– Probably his reputation in Moscow is quite strong, and this seems to strengthen it.
Mutual power struggle does not help win the war
There is a political dispute behind the public debate, says the Visiting Researcher of the Aleksanteri Institute Ilmari Käihkö.
Russian President Vladimir Putin protects his own background by saying that the security organizations compete with each other, and there is no single large power bloc in the country.
– It has good aspects for his own and the regime’s security, but it does not necessarily help success in the war, on the contrary, says Käihkö.
Käihkö estimates that the Russian army is politically more important to Putin than the Wagner mercenary company.
– Already in February, according to these leaked US documents, Prigozhin complained about the lack of ammunition. Then apparently Putin himself had to intervene in the situation, and he took the side of the army. It may be that a similar conclusion has now been reached, Käihkö reflects.
What kind of tactics can be seen in war? Watch the entire discussion in ‘s morning in the video below.