Vladimir Putin was already suffering from the Ukrainian counter-offensive launched by Volodymyr Zelensky’s men, now he is challenged from within by the formidable and unpredictable Evgueni Prigojine. It was 9:25 p.m. Moscow time when the private military company Wagner declared war on the Russian army on June 23. As usual, it was through an audio message broadcast on Telegram that his boss announced this mind-blowing decision. Evgueni Prigojine claims to have returned with his mercenary troops to the city of Rostov, in southern Russia, and indicates that he has taken control of military sites. The reply from the master of the Kremlin was not long in coming. Vladimir Putin stood up on June 24 against the “deadly threat” and the risk of “civil war” posed by the leader of the paramilitary group. With a serious air and a martial tone, the Russian leader addressed without naming him the man who defies him, accusing “traitors” to the Russian nation, promising to “punish” them.
In its last issue published on June 22, L’Express devotes a dossier to the threats hanging over Putin’s regime. And one of the scenarios was a betrayal by the head of Wagner… Our articles to read to understand everything about the crisis that is shaking Russia and Europe.
Russia, an empire in decline: unmistakable signs
Vladimir Putin could have anchored Russia in the 21st century, but he threw it into darkness. Driven by his dreams of grandeur, blinded by his hatred of the West, his only project was to prepare for war. The invasion of Ukraine was supposed to restore Russia’s luster. The reverse is happening. And signs of the disintegration of his regime are appearing. Our decryption to read here.
“Russia is a declining empire that will eventually crumble
“I am not calling for the collapse of the Russian Federation. I am predicting it”, announces Alexander Etkind from the outset in his latest book, Russia against modernity (Polity Press, 2023). Born in Saint Petersburg in 1955, the historian left his country in the early 2000s and taught at the University of Cambridge, at the European University of Florence and today at the Central European University in Vienna. “Putin and his clique could have stayed in power for another decade, like the Habsburgs could have survived if they hadn’t started World War I. But he decided to start this war,” he observes. he in an interview at The Express. A war which marks the final stage, according to him, towards the fall of the “Russian empire”. A fascinating interview to discover here.
Three scenarios for Russia’s political future
Can Yevgeny Prigojine take power? Can Putin hold on? What Russia after Putin? The race for power rests on several assumptions, whether Putin stays in the Kremlin or not. Find our analysis here.
3755 A Declining Russia
© / Rob Dobi
The day the provinces will rise up against Putin…
The Ukrainian conflict is increasingly perceived, in certain republics, as a war of decolonization. Can Russia be the victim of a movement of “decolonization” of part of its provinces, as some hope? Read our decryption.
“We will dislodge this regime of war criminals by force”
In 2014, he was the only Russian deputy to vote against the annexation of Crimea. Two years later, Ilya Ponomarev left Russia for Ukraine. Very active since the beginning of the war, he is the figurehead of the “Congress of People’s Deputies”, an organization made up of former local elected officials forced into exile, which works to establish a political program for “the post Cheese fries”. His plan: a two-year transition period, during which the purge of the Putin regime would take place. Then, a new Constitution, parliamentary, would be submitted to the vote of the Russians. But to carry out this project, Ilya Ponomarev considers only one means: weapons. Together with others, he has just founded the “Freedom of Russia” legion. At the end of May, these hundreds of Russians engaged alongside the Ukrainian army stormed, with other volunteer units, the town of Belgorod. Too few in number today to pose a real threat to the Kremlin, these hardliners nonetheless represent a real destabilizing factor. Our interview can be read here.