JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Godfather in the Kremlin”- WSJ

Kremlin and River

“The very public death of Putin henchman Yevgeny Prigozhin highlights the evolution of Russia into a mafia state held together by violence and incapable of global leadership.” “… Prigozhin had come to symbolize the criminal trajectory of the Russian state[,] [i]n the 1980s, … imprisoned in the Soviet Union, … [then] a rags-to-riches transformation from [post-Soviet] street vendor … to […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia expert Fiona Hill says Prigozhin’s death in a plane crash is ‘par for the course'” – Face the Nation

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“NANCY CORDES: … So, … Putin claims he had nothing to do with this. Is there anyone in the diplomatic community who believes that? FIONA HILL: I doubt it. … I think what we can certainly say is he didn’t order it not to happen because there are plenty of people who were painting a target on Prigozhin’s back. The […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘He Has Blood on His Hands'” – New York Times

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“In a Ukraine village, there are no tears for Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner private militia, whose presumed death in a plane crash was reported this week.” “Mykola Honchar lives in a crumbling stone house in what is left of a tiny hamlet of eastern Ukraine. … attacked by Russian forces … last year, as … Wagner […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How the suspected death of Prigozhin could impact Russia’s stability [Angela Stent]” – PBS

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“Angela Stent …: Oh, I think Putin would have enough reason to [want] Prigozhin dead. After all, Prigozhin challenged the Kremlin. He challenged the conduct of the war. He had a populist message to Russians that, while their children were dying and their husbands dying in Ukraine, the children of the elite were in the South of France enjoying themselves. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Experts react: What the Prigozhin plane crash reveals about Putin, the Wagner Group’s future, and the war in Ukraine” – Atlantic Council

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“… Prigozhin … was reportedly killed in a plane crash … with nine other passengers … traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, according to Russian authorities and Wagner-affiliated Telegram groups. Some reports have indicated that the plane was downed by Russian air defenses. Just hours earlier, General … Surovikin, who allegedly had advance knowledge of the Wagner mutiny and had […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “C.I.A. Chief Says Wagner Mutiny Revived Questions About Putin’s Rule” – New York Times

William Burns file photo, adapted from image at cia.gov

“William J. Burns gave the most detailed public account yet by a U.S. official of the damage done to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia by last month’s uprising by the mercenary group” “… [C.I.A. Director] Burns … said that for much of the 36 hours of the [Wagner] rebellion last month, Russian security services, the military and decision makers […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘Wonder Confronts Certainty’ Review: Lessons From Russian Literature” – WSJ

Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

“The writings of Tolstoy, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky and others are littered with clues for understanding the 21st-century world.” “Books of cultural criticism seldom shed a piercing light on headline events. However, readers of ‘Wonder Confronts Certainty,’ Gary Saul Morson’s masterly panorama of classic Russian literature and its hinterland of ideas, will find their understanding of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s recent botched rebellion against […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Tennis has a Russia problem” – Politico.eu

Tennis Ball and Racket, adapted from stock photo featured at nps.gov

“As Wimbledon gets into full swing, there’s no hiding the ructions Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine has caused in locker rooms.” “… [A]s the world’s top stars … battl[e] … through … Wimbledon, tennis is grappling with how to handle all the Russian players near the top of the game. Ukraine’s players, for their part, reckon the sport is failing […]

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Russia in Review, June 30-July 7, 2023 – 5 Things to Know

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) The U.S. has included cluster munitions in its latest $800 million package of military aid to Ukraine. More than 100 countries have signed onto the Convention on Cluster Munitions, vowing to never use them, but the U.S. is not one of them. A significant percentage of the submunitions often fail to detonate, effectively turning them into […]

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Post-Mutiny: Trust in Prigozhin Below Margin of Error, Support for Peace Talk Grows

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – July 7, 2023) What made Yevgeny Prigozhin rebel? We have seen multiple explanations offered, including his outspoken hatred for Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov; his evident reluctance to give up control of his PMC Wagner to the Defense Ministry; unspecified personal financial pressures; and his […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Is NATO Ready for Chaos in Russia?” – Foreign Policy/ Angela Stent

Russian Mobile ICBM Parade File Photo

“… [Prigozhin’s] short-lived mutiny … reminded the world that autocrats appear to be stable — until they are not. As NATO leaders convene … they will focus on the immediate challenge of the Russia-Ukraine war …. [b]ut the Western alliance will inevitably confront having to deal with a less stable nuclear-armed Russia. NATO has returned to its original mission of […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Prigozhin Affair Is Much Less than Meets the Eye” – Politico

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“The short-lived mutiny by the Wagner Group rebounded to help solidify Putin’s control.” “… There is no doubt that Prigozhin’s rebellion was unpleasant news for Putin. But is the Russian leader weakened? We know very little about what happened between Putin and Prigozhin … ‘Putin’s chef.’ And what we do know supports very few, if any, of the claims that […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Wagner Cost Russia Suspiciously Little Money” – Bloomberg/ Leonid Bershidsky

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“If Putin’s defense spending numbers are correct, it’s likely that Prigozhin overstated the size of his army.” “… [D]isatisfaction with Russia’s military and political leadership will continue to brew with the fighting in Ukraine. As more details become available about Wagner — until recently, the best-equipped, always regularly paid part of the Russian invasion force — officers and soldiers alike […]

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Russia Analytical Report, June 26-July 5, 2023 – 5 Ideas to Explore

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) Even though the pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive has “progressed more slowly than many had hoped,” the West’s interests “lie in continuing to arm, train and help defend Ukraine in the face of an ongoing threat from Russia ,” according to WP’s editors. One reason for “the slower rate” of Ukraine’s territorial gains is that Ukrainian forces […]

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PONARS Eurasia: Your Monday Take – In the News [re: Prigozhin Apparent Mutiny]

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

(PONARS Eurasia – ponarseurasia.org – July 3, 2023) Ponarsians have weighed in en masse to interperet Yevgeny Prigozhin’s apparent mutiny. Kimberly Marten, who has long studied his Wagner Group, cautions that calling it a private military company belies the fact that it works on behalf of the Russian State and that, contrary to popular belief, Prigozhin is more its fixer […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Wagner ‘Coup’ Was Staged by Putin — and the West Fell for It” – Newsweek/ Rebekah Koffler

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“… An army invades Russia, race[s] right up to Moscow, and no one gets hurt? With just a few thousand men, it achieved what Hitler with almost a million men wasn’t able to? And Putin holds his military back? And then, with Moscow supposedly within his grasp, Prigozhin decides, ‘Oh well, never mind’ and heads to Belarus? … It is […]

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Russia in Review, June 23-30, 2023 – One Thing to Know

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) Russian intelligence services may have known in advance of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plan to stage a mutiny, but it nonetheless materialized to pose the greatest military and security threat to Vladimir Putin’s rule since the end of the second Chechen war. The mutiny itself lasted only 36 hours, never spread to Moscow and ended with its chief […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The humbling of Vladimir Putin: The Wagner mutiny exposes the Russian tyrant’s growing weakness. But don’t count him out yet” – The Economist

Vladimir Putin file photo, adapted from screenshot of video at shareamerica.gov

“The last pretence of … Putin to be … one of his nation’s historic rulers was stripped away …. [A]rmed mercenaries swept through his country almost unopposed, covering some 750km (470 miles) in a single day, seizing control of two big cities and getting to within 200km of Moscow before withdrawing unharmed. [] Putin long ago failed as a reformer […]

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Mutiny in Russia: What Happened, What’s Next and What To Be Thankful For

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Simon Saradzhyan – June 29, 2023) Simon Saradzhyan is the founding director of Russia Matters. What drove Yevgeny Prigozhin to lead his PMC Wagner troops on a “march for justice” across southern Russia, toward Moscow? Was it a mutiny meant to overthrow Vladimir Putin and install the ex-convict in the Kremlin? Or was the owner […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Yesterday’s Putin Is Gone” – New York Times/ Andrei Kolesnikov

Vladimir Putin file photo, adapted from screenshot of video at shareamerica.gov

“… Prigozhin’s mutiny … poke[d] a hole in the Kremlin’s campaign to assure Russians that everything is fine …. [] Prigozhin … gave more Russians reason to doubt their leadership. Is [] Putin really the all-powerful, czarlike figure they thought he was? …. Even if they are not ready to give up their relative safety and stability in favor of […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Prigozhin went free. What about these Russians?” – Washington Post

File Photo of Prison Cell and Bars with Shaft of Light, adapted from image at fbi.gov

“For 18 months, Russia has been sliding deeper into totalitarian rule, including draconian laws pushed by … Putin that make it criminal to question the war against Ukraine — or even call it a ‘war’ …. [T]housands of Russians who object to the war and oppose [] Putin have not had the benefit of [the kind of] lenienc[y] [shown Prigozhin, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “West explores nuclear risks from unstable Putin regime” – Financial Times

Russian Tactical Missile on Mobile Launcher, adapted from image featured by army.mil and defense.gov

“Officials have discussed possible negative outcomes from Wagner insurrection destabilising Kremlin” “Western nations have explored contingencies in the aftermath of … Prigozhin’s attempted insurrection … including the threat to nuclear stockpiles from an unstable [Russian] regime …. Talks led by G7 members [reportedly] have included [discussions of] how a weakening of … Putin’s control over security and military forces could […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “After the rebellion, how well will Putin carry on his rule?”  – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“Yevgeny Prigozhin’s attempted rebellion didn’t topple President Vladimir Putin. But in its aftermath, it has launched debate over just how stable Mr. Putin’s hold on the country really is.” “When oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin led his 25,000-strong Wagner private military forces into open insurrection against Russia’s Defense Ministry and Moscow elites … it looked like the kind of turning point that […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin, Prigozhin, and Russia’s Future; Caution should be our guiding principle” – The Nation/ Katrina vanden Heuvel

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“… Prigozhin lambasted the elite’s children as ‘shaking their tails on beaches’ while the children of ordinary Russian families are dying. … His fury both stokes and is fueled by widespread anger … [Russian] towns have been emptied by conscription[] and …  cemeteries seek more gravediggers. … It would be reckless to dismiss the possibility that the regime’s internal troubles […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Wagner ‘shot down seven Russian aircraft and killed 13 airmen’ during coup attempt” – The Telegraph (UK)

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

“Wagner Group mercenaries shot down seven Russian aircraft and killed 13 airmen during the failed coup attempt, according to Russian military bloggers. ‌Video footage … appeared to show the wreckage of a Russian Air Force Ilyushin-22 in a rural area of southern Russia … most likely to have been used as an airborne command and communications centre …. All 10 […]

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Prigozhin has captivated the West – but pundits have no idea what is going on

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“Many Western pundits were quick to offer their hysterical takes on the weekend’s events in Russia” (opendemocracy.net – Jeremy Morris – June 26, 2023) Jeremy Morris is a researcher at Aarhus University, Denmark. His work covers labour relations, political economy, and the lived experience of people in Russia, Ukraine and other places since the collapse of the Soviet Union. He […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Just How Much Trouble Is Vladimir Putin In?” – Politico

Vladimir Putin file photo, adapted from screenshot of video at shareamerica.gov

“Fourteen Russia experts on what we learned about Putin over the past few days, and what the attempted mutiny could mean for Russia and the West.” “… Some think this is the beginning of the end of Putin’s rule while others think he could use the episode to consolidate his power. Some see a future of bitter infighting among elites […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Beginning of the End for Putin? Prigozhin’s Rebellion Ended Quickly, but It Spells Trouble for the Kremlin” – Foreign Affairs/ Liana Fix, Michael Kimmage

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“… [Recent] events … portend a dark future for Russia. In a few short hours, Prigozhin’s armed rebellion generated enormous chaos. The war has stretched Russian state capacity thin … [T]he revolt has stretched it still further, presenting … a new domestic challenge. For years, the Kremlin has devised ways to head off a [cosmopolitan,] liberal, urban revolution. … [T]he […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Gripped by Uncertainty After Mutiny, Russians Note Absence of Kremlin Leaders” – New York Times

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

“Neither Vladimir V. Putin nor the leader of the Wagner mercenary group made public appearances on Sunday, a day after an armed rebellion shook the nation.” “Confusion and uncertainty pervaded Russia on Sunday … [N]either … Putin nor … Prigozhin, … head of a mutinous mercenary group, appear[ed] anywhere in public a day after the most profound government crisis in […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin looked into the abyss Saturday — and blinked” – Washington Post

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

“… Putin looked into the abyss … and blinked. After vowing revenge for what he called an ‘armed mutiny,’ he settled for a compromise. The speed with which Putin backed down suggests … his sense of vulnerability might be higher even than analysts believed. Putin might have saved his regime Saturday, but this day will be remembered as part of […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “…. Prigozhin’s ‘revolt,’ of course, can go down as a clear illustration of the perils of permitting private armies to exist. …” – Fred Weir

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

(Fred Weir – facebook.com/fred.weir – June 24, 2023) “It’s not the first time something bizarre has happened when I am away from Moscow. Prigozhin’s ‘revolt,’ of course, can go down as a clear illustration of the perils of permitting private armies to exist. …” [original post should load below, and also appears at facebook.com/fred.weir/posts/793729415591872/] 

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Wagner’s Aborted Mutiny Leaves No Winners in Russia; The authority of the Russian state has sustained lasting damage, inviting future challenges” – WSJ

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“Shaken by the Wagner mutiny, Russia began addressing the damage of Saturday’s bout of violence as its citizens tried to understand how these events will affect … Putin’s regime, … shown … [to be] so unexpectedly vulnerable. … One widely shared conclusion in Russia …  was that none of the key players in the power struggle that began when Prigozhin […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Prigozhin’s Insurrection Creates Headaches for Russia-China Alliance, Experts Say” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Beijing Temple, adapted from image at lbl.gov

(Moscow Times – Jake Cordell) Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion against Moscow will have stoked alarm in China and could throw sand in the wheels of the “no-limits” strategic partnership between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, experts said on Sunday. After a 24-hour armed insurrection in which Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenaries seized control of parts of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s top mercenary leader turns on Kremlin. What’s behind rift?” – Christian Science Monitor

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has been engaged in very public criticism of Russia’s war effort. Experts say that it’s not a challenge to Vladimir Putin, but positioning for the post-war order.” “Russia’s most successful military leader in the Ukraine war … is not [even] a soldier …. Yevgeny Prigozhin is a former convict and Kremlin-connected entrepreneur whose private … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “To Fix Its Problems in Ukraine, Russia Turns to the Architect of the War” – New York Times

File Photo of U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, left, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accepts a gift from his Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, during a meeting in Brussels, Jan. 21, 2014. Photo adapted from image at defense.gov.

“President Vladimir V. Putin is on his third overall commander in Ukraine. But his military’s fundamental issues have not been addressed, Western officials say.” “Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, … architect of … Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, [reportedly] took over the day-to-day running of Russia’s war effort this month by convincing his boss that his predecessor was too passive …. Promoting […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Election Interference Went as Well as Their War in Ukraine” – Newsweek

Multilingual Polling Place Sign from U.S. Election Polling Place

“… Vladimir Solovyov started his radio show Full Contact (Polny Contakt) … Tuesday … saying, ‘Happy interference in the U.S. elections day.’ … [A]nother Putin ally, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who founded the Wagner mercenary group … fighting in Ukraine, said Russia … previously interfered in U.S. elections ‘carefully’ and ‘surgically,’ …. Elizabeth Van Wie Davis, author of Shadow Warfare: Cyberwar Policy […]

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Dirty Tricks: Navalny Aide’s Bid For Moscow Duma Seat Brings Out The Worst

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Dmitry Volchek, Robert Coalson – June 26, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/dirty-tricks-navalny-aide-bid-for-moscow-duma-seat-brings-out-the-worst/30022120.html) On the face of it, the task ahead of 31-year-old lawyer Lyubov Sobol seems simple enough. To qualify as a candidate for the September 8 Moscow City Duma elections, Sobol just needs to […]

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NEWSWATCH: “U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Russian Restaurateur With Ties to Putin; Yevgeny Prigozhin is accused of possessing links to private military force that fought in Ukraine, Syria” – Wall Street Journal

“The U.S. has imposed sanctions on a Russian restaurateur and caterer with connections to President Vladimir Putin who has been accused of funding Russian online ‘troll farms’ and possessing links to a private Russian paramilitary group that fought in Ukraine and Syria. The U.S. Treasury Department officially sanctioned Yevgeny Prigozhin on Tuesday for contributing to the conflict in Ukraine through […]

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