The suspense lasted a few hours, but in the end the putsch failed. In Moscow, life has resumed its course and the president, his usual activities. At least on the front. Because four months after this spectacular event, he was forced to resign. The episode obviously traces the end of the reign of Mikhail Gorbachev who, even if he was able to escape the worst during the summer of 1991, then never succeeded in restoring his legitimacy. In Russia, we do not forgive the leader for failing, especially if he has based his power on force.
Humiliated by Prigojine, whose savage horde very nearly ended its mad dash on Red Square, Vladimir Putin showed a culpable weakness. In a state of amazement, his armed forces did not react, revealing a structural flaw in Putin’s security machine. “When a conflict breaks out between Putin and his close entourage, no one knows how to react, which enormously weakens the system by paralyzing it”, remarks the Russian journalist in exile Andrei Soldatov.
Does Putin have the means to regain control?
If, moreover, the Kremlin respects its initial promise not to prosecute Prigojine for his “treason”, we will better understand the prognosis of the Russian opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky: “Other rebellions will occur”.
How long will Putin be able to stay in power, after such an admission of powerlessness? Perhaps the answer lies in another question: does Putin still have the means to toughen up his regime in order to regain control, while the elites are seeing, each day a little more, the moral contract that bound them to their master, namely enrichment (compromise) and stability (undermining)?
How many of them dream of a new tsar, who will be able to renew ties with the West and allow them to become rich again, as was the case during the “golden decade” (2000-2010 )? The countdown has begun.