NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. You know, the country and its security forces passed the test when it mattered most.įADEL: NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow. And yet Russians had come together and stopped it. And in fact, Putin, speaking at the Kremlin today, seemed to suggest this whole episode was, in a way, something to celebrate, that Russia's enemies wanted the country to descend into civil war. And yet President Putin met with his top security officials, including the defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, who's been on the receiving end of Prigozhin's ire this whole time, and basically told them, job well done. In his comments yesterday, Prigozhin said the ease of Wagner's move into Russia, seizing a major city in the south and then moving on to the capital, was all the proof you needed. Also, the initial reason for all this, you know, these Wagner allegations of incompetence by the top brass, are still out there, left to fester. Lost in all the political intrigue here is the fact that as many as 15 Russian servicemen were killed in fighting between Wagner and the army as Prigozhin's mercenary (ph) led this "Mad Max"-style run on Moscow Saturday. MAYNES: You know, it does seem too tidy an end to what's been a really messy subplot of infighting between Prigozhin and the military leadership amid the war in Ukraine. So is all this really over at this point? But they had never had any desire to overthrow the government or challenge the Russian leader.įADEL: It feels like as quick as it started, it ended. Yesterday, Prigozhin issued a mea culpa on social media in which he basically said this was all a big misunderstanding, that Wagner was protesting a decision that would put them under the authority of the defense ministry leadership, leadership they consider incompetent.
The question now seems to be whether Prigozhin will keep his end of whatever bargain he made with Putin. Also, Russia's federal security services, the FSB, announced this morning they dropped this insurrection charge against Prigozhin and the rest of the Wagner fighters. Belarusian media today reported that a plane believed to be used by Prigozhin landed in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, this morning. They could sign up with the military, go home to their families or choose exile in Belarus, where Wagner's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin - that's Putin's former ally who led the rebellion and who the president did not mention by name in his speech - has also been offered safe passage.įADEL: So what do we know about Prigozhin at this point? Has he taken the deal? Do we know where he is? Wagner fighters, Putin said, now had a choice. Now, Putin also said this deal for Wagner, this amnesty initially brokered by the leader of Belarus, was, in fact, Putin's idea. But that had required time, mainly for the Wagner fighters to realize the mistake they'd made and the futility of the uprising. MAYNES: So here, Putin says that from the very outset of events, he gave direct orders that steps should be taken to minimize bloodshed. PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Speaking Russian). The Russian leader was visibly still angry about the uprising, denouncing the leaders of the insurrection as criminals but making clear that he, Putin, had been firmly in charge the whole time. Either way, this address seemed less about the future of the country and more about Putin reasserting control, placing himself back at the center of events. The spokesman now says he never used those words. MAYNES: You know, state media initially reported Putin's spokesman had billed this speech as determining the fate of Russia.
Hi, Charles.įADEL: So what did Putin say to the Russian people? Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, called off his advance and accepted exile in Belarus.įADEL: NPR's Charles Maynes joins us now from Moscow to discuss. Russia's Vladimir Putin also fell silent for a couple of days, but then he gave a speech about the private military contractors who briefly marched toward Moscow. President Biden commented after staying carefully silent for days. Two presidents are talking of a mutiny in Russia.
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