Capitol Hill Blue Forums Thread Like Summary - Russian Coup?

Various news agencies are reporting that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, is leading an uprising against Vladimir Putin and the Russian military. Is it a coup? Maybe! Prigozhin is saying it's a "justice march" and Putin is calling it an “armed mutiny,” and it's not really 100 percent clear what is happening at all.

Prigozhin has said that the Wagner group has taken over Russia's military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don. The mercenary group has been moving through Russia and is headed towards Moscow.

This comes after both a longstanding feud and a recent incident in which Prigozhin claims his 2000 of his soldiers were attacked by the Russian military. Prigozhin and Putin used to be quite close, as prior to the 2016 founding of the Wagner group, Putin frequently used Prigozhin's catering company for official state events - earning Prigozhin the nickname "Putin's Chef."

As of right now, Putin has reportedly fled Moscow and has vowed to put down the mutiny ... at some point.

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force Surovkin, & his Deputy have been arrested for treason.

They are being held at the Lefortovo detention center.
The purge begins.

https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1674128408417128471

Seems like a bad sign that a guy invades a country because he wants it, then finds out his army sucks so he hires his former chef, who has formed a mercenary army - then the chef decides to take over but chickens out at the last minute - then the guy has to dismantle his top brass because he can’t trust anybody….

… then….?

Chaos seems to be a popular thing these days.

I think that an organized coup is presently less likely, with the death of Prighozin (and I do believe he is dead).

Putin has made many moves to remove other catalysts for a coup, and has taken over the Wagner organization (it's military mastermind - and organizer - was also killed in the crash). So that threat, at present, is neutralized.

Here's the thing about a coup: somebody has to be the figurehead. Putin has sequentially removed anyone whose head has made it above ground - even erstwhile allies. He's now going about right-wing nationalists, because he is not a nationalist. He is a tyrannical dictator.