Political scientist and publicist Andrey Piontkovsky is convinced that Vladimir Putin is not connected to the death of Wagner Group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Piontkovsky is certain that it would have been completely disadvantageous for Putin. However, it would have been very beneficial for another group of people. He shared his thoughts in his blog:
"Today, at least 2 monstrous war criminals have been eliminated. Prigozhin and Utkin. This is a significant success for Ukraine. But I believe that the life of a third, even more prominent criminal, Putin, is now under threat.
I've listened to several versions from Russian political analysts. The main question they ask is: What a fool Prigozhin was! He doesn't seem like a fool. Why was he traveling around Russia so calmly, not realizing that Putin hates him and will definitely kill him?"
I have an answer to this question. Putin did hate him, but he wasn't planning to kill him. He understands that a dead Prigozhin, the idealized image of Prigozhin for all the Russian Z-fanatics, poses a much greater threat to Putin. I believe he (Prigozhin) was an executor of the rebellion, with much higher Russian figures behind him, including military figures.
Let's start with the fact that the Main Intelligence Directorate supported him. They didn't destroy Wagner when they were leaving Bakhmut. They sent some semi-drunk lieutenant colonel there, whom they quickly put forward. But where was the special forces, where was the counterintelligence of the FSB, which should have warned about this conspiracy, known about it, and stopped it?
Moreover, I believe this conspiracy has a Political mind behind it. It's Mr. Kovalchuk, Putin's closest advisor - Yuri Kovalchuk. Essentially, he is the biggest war criminal. He conceived this war. He started with an ultimatum to the West. This war was intended as revenge against the damned West for the Soviet Union's defeat in the Cold War. In other words, World War 4 as revenge for the defeat in World War 3. Just like Hitler unleashed World War 2 as revenge for the defeat in World War 1. But this war failed, and it failed thanks to the heroic deeds of the Ukrainian people who stopped the advance near Kyiv.
We remember the Western intelligence predictions: Kyiv would hold out for 3 days. And what would have happened then? Putin would have moved to the borders of the Baltic States and Poland, waving a nuclear club and threatening them. That didn't happen. He understood the war was lost.
We need to find a way out of this situation while retaining power and ownership.
And so, the Prigozhin rebellion was organized for this purpose. And they achieved two goals. Firstly, Putin's power was significantly weakened.
However, look at any mafia structure. When someone challenges the Number One and goes unpunished, their power diminishes.
But few pay attention to the second goal. It's Prigozhin's rhetoric. Before the war, he was a hero for the Z-patriots. By my estimates, that's about 10% of the population. So, the goal of these high-ranking figures in Russia, who wanted to exit the war and preserve power and ownership, was to avoid resistance from these masses.
Now let's remember Prigozhin's agitation.
His first thesis was, 'Gerasimov and Shoigu are criminals, they've looted the army, there's no leadership, they're leading us to defeat.' With the second thesis, he went further, saying, 'We didn't start this brainless war. When soldiers realize who threw them in there, they'll tear everyone apart.' And finally, a day before his rebellion, he practically acted as a representative of Ukraine. He said, 'No one threatened Donbas on February 24th. Neither NATO nor Ukraine. The war was concocted under false pretenses. The war was needed by oligarchs who robbed the people and thrive in Rublyovka.'
He was preparing for capitulation. Others don't need preparation. The main concern was avoiding mobilization, and they would gladly welcome the end. This doesn't mean there is any anti-war movement in Russia.
But these scoundrels, who pushed Putin to unleash the war, realized that the war was lost. Now, they need to deal with something more serious than the war with Ukraine: maintaining power in Russia and preserving their enormous wealth. So, they began creating their own private military companies in Russia. There are already a dozen PMCs under the control of governors. Why protect this wealth? They are already living mentally in post-Putin Russia.
Well, Prigozhin pointed out the right path. 'Why did we lose the war? We're such wonderful Russians, great, with God on our side. Why did we lose? Because we have traitors in the high command! Shoigu, Gerasimov.' And now, in the eyes of all the Wagner members, all the Z-patriots, Putin also appears as a traitor, not just to the country but also to 'Russian patriotism.'
But I believe that Putin, I think, didn't kill the 'Russian patriot' Prigozhin. Because for him, a dead Prigozhin, as an idealized image, is scarier. Scarier than any living Prigozhin. With this idealized image, the patriots would go and loot the same Rublyovka.
So, I suppose that the organizers of the rebellion killed him. They fulfilled their task. You need to add an accusation against Putin. 'He killed the patriot Prigozhin.'
And that's why Prigozhin wasn't afraid of Putin. He knew. He understood that Putin wouldn't dare to kill him. But he turned out to be naive, this war criminal. He didn't expect that other big figures, the organizers of his rebellion, would kill him to pin it all on Putin and remove Putin from power. While preserving their own lives and ownership.
We will see in the coming days what consequences the death of Prigozhin will have for Russia and Putin."
