"Meet the daddy, bit**es!" Overview of the Russian media space for June 2023. Part 2

Українською читайте тут.

Read the first part here.

While the Ukrainian audience was, for obvious reasons, wholly focused on the consequences of the explosion of the Kakhovka Dam and followed the course of the counteroffensive operation (we discussed the coverage of this in the Russian media in the first part), in Russia, Yevgeny Prigozhin's informational confrontation with Russia’s Ministry of Defense and Putin himself unfolded. The Kremlin did not believe it until the last minute in the threats of the "cook" and the Wagner owner — in the Kremlin’s intransigence. As a result, both sides lost, and for the first time since October 1993, Russians witnessed the first signs of a civil war looming over the country. Overview of the Russian media space in June 2023.

Epigraph

"The traditional meeting of the president with the best graduates of military universities and academies took place in the Kremlin’s Georgievsky Hall. One of the officers at the meeting read a poem to the president, in which he quoted the last words of the PMC Wagner pilot, Hero of Russia Alexander Antonov: So, meet the father, bit**es! The bomber will do the job to the end," the officer declared.

June 21, 2023, Tsargrad TV

As we can see from the quote on the ultra-racist resource Tsargrad TV, in a very short time, the mercenaries of the Wagner group became part of the latest Russian fascist folklore. Their slogans and ideals became those of advanced youth — graduates of military universities and academies. Even on June 21, quoting "Wagnerians" in the presence of Putin was considered acceptable and approved.

Moreover, belonging to Wagner has already become social capital, with which Putin's murderous governors had to reckon. The usual careless and disdainful attitude towards ordinary citizens disappeared, and help to the "Wagnerian" families was used to show demonstrative care for the "people".

June 21, 2023, Moscow Komsomolets (Московский комсомолец):

"The fighter fought in the PMC Wagner and heroically died while performing a combat mission during the special military operation. The governor of the Voronezh region announced this in his Telegram channel. The deceased's wife, Svetlana, from the Ertil district, appealed to the head of the region for help. Her big family, with six daughters, must repair the house's roof, drill a well for water supply, and buy computers for the children. "We will do everything possible," promised Alexander Husev.

How did it happen that an out-of-system player, without any positions in the state vertical, gained such influence? To explain this, it is worth going back and looking at the deployment of the Wagner information campaign.

In general, the interview was very loyal to the Kremlin: with theses about "fraternal people", "Maidan and the coup d'état", "about eight years of bombing [Donbas]", about "the Ukrainians’ preparation for aggression against Russia", "a special operation to the return Ukraine to the pro-Russian bosom", praise of Peskov's son as part of Wagner, etc.

However, there were other messages as well. Here are the main points of this interview that Prigozhin's media holding actively disseminated during June 21-22, 2023:

— Occupied Donbas was looted; their own [Russian] people killed its Russian patriots.

— The special military operation was unsuccessful near Kyiv, Kherson, Izyum, and Lyman.

— If Stalin had been in power, he would have already shot 200 generals.

— Special military operation made Ukraine a nation.

— After a year of war, Ukraine has more tanks and troops than at the beginning.

— The first army in the world is Wagner, and the Ukrainian army is the second.

— It would be good if the Ukrainian subversive reconnaissance group (SRG) came to Rublyovka.

— The gulf between the people and the elite may end in a revolution like in 1917: First, thousands of soldiers will leave, and then hundreds of thousands of relatives.

— Fewer people died in Afghanistan than in the battle for Bakhmut alone.

— The central conflict is that the authorities want to sell the Russian people the opportunity to defend themselves.

— The Minister of Defense should be the "butcher of Mariupol" Mezientsev, the head of the General Staff — "General Armageddon" Surovikin.

It is vital that Prigozhin firmly distanced himself from Putin and personal relations with him. He stated that the legend about "Putin's cook" was invented by the opposition newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" and Navalny to cast a shadow on the Russian president. In this way, Prigozhin showed that he does not belong to Putin's elite and is not the president's man.

Also, in this interview, Prigozhin puts forward the version that the capture of Crimea in 2014 is the merit of the "people's battalions", bandit-collaborator Aksyonov, the FSB, and the Russian Special Operation Forces under the leadership of Oleksii Dyumin.

But Prigozhin's most important message was as follows: people who are armed and achieve success on the battlefield must always be reckoned with. Otherwise, "conditionally speaking, they can reverse the tanks to Moscow." The primary demand of the Wagner owner is to "remove" Shoigu and Gerasimov from the Russian army, who, in his opinion, are responsible for the significant losses and defeats in the war.

Therefore, at the end of May, Prigozhin issued an ultimatum to the Ministry of Defense and the administration of the President of Russia. The Kremlin swallowed it, and a "fermentation" began in the elites: several figures perceived Prigozhin's statements and Putin's silence as approval and the approach of cardinal personnel decisions.

The desire of notable figures of the Putin regime to seem incredibly close to Yevgeny Prigozhin himself was very revealing. Associations with the owner of the Wagner group seemed to emphasize an exceptionally high level of devotion to Russian fascism and closeness to the Kremlin.

For example, on June 1, 2023, collaborator and Crimean executioner Sergey Aksyonov flaunted his close friendship with "a sincere patriot of the country, an honest and uncompromising man," Prigozhin. The head of Crimea’s occupation administration praised Prigozhin for creating the most combat-ready and formidable unit of Russian troops and for "success on the special military operation fronts."

June 2, 2023, Moscow Komsomolets:

"The head of the Crimean Republic, Sergey Aksenov, published a congratulation to Yevgeny Prigozhin on his Telegram channel, with whom he has long maintained strong, friendly relations. In congratulation, Sergey Aksenov noted that Prigozhin is a sincere patriot of the country, always remaining honest and uncompromising. He did a lot for Russia, both inside the country and far abroad. PMC Wagner, created by him, is today one of the most formidable and effective military organizations, which has proven it both in special operations on the African continent, in the Middle East, and on the special military operation fronts: ""Musicians" (informal referencing) have participated in successful operations in different military operations, victory over a strong and insidious enemy... I congratulate my friend Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin on his birthday! I wish him good health, well-being, and new successes in serving the Fatherland!"

Prigozhin was actively traveling in Russia in June with his advertising campaign. As we discussed last year, these efforts were aimed at getting Russians to come to terms with the idea of life in a new Gulag, and in May of this year, a new task was added —  to mobilize Russians in support of the "long war".

On this region tour, Prigozhin was accompanied by Viktor But, a Russian spy and arms dealer who was released in exchange with the United States. He was seconded to the LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia), and it seems that Prigozhin also decided to take this party into his own hands. In particular, he began to openly praise the late Zhirynovsky and be interested in his "creative work".

June 14, 2023, Moscow Komsomolets:

"Yesterday, on June 13, 2023, our colleagues from Murom 24 publication reported that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the PMC Wagner, visited the district the other day without much fanfare.

In all probability, Prigozhin was accompanied by an entrepreneur, a member of the LDPR, Viktor But, who had to spend ten years in an American prison for arms trafficking.

According to the press service of the Concord company, the PMC Wagner founder held a working meeting at the Muromteplovoz plant. He inspected the products produced by the Murom plant as part of the defense order and spoke with the employees.

But the main thing that impressed him was his meeting with the families of fallen local fighters.

Prigozhin presented the families with reports on the deaths of servicemen and medals "For the capture of Bakhmut". Yevgeny Prigozhin also visited the Murom cemetery and laid a wreath on the grave of one of the special military operation’s participants."

June 3, 2023, Moscow Komsomolets:

"Yevgeny Prigozhin commented on the situation in Shebekino and other Belgorod districts, stating the need to protect residents. His press service published his answer on whether PMC Wagner plans to protect the Belgorod region.

"Of course, we will come to the Belgorod region and protect our Russian people <...> We will not wait for invitations and wait for permission," Prigozhin said.

In his answer, he also recalled the late leader of the LDPR, Vladimir Zhirynovsky. Prigozhin said he "was sent a whole series of videos with Zhirynovsky discussing what is happening in a rather sharp manner over different years."

"The current situation is well explained by his words <...> Zhirynovsky spoke very clearly and comprehensively about such situations," added the PMC head, without clarifying what exactly he meant.

However, in June, along with recognizing the role of the "Wagnerians" in the occupation of Ukrainian lands, attempts to shake the trust in the entire group and Prigozhin, particularly, were observed in the Russian media space.

June 2, 2023, Moscow Komsomolets:

"Prigozhin's press service published Sobchak's subsequent request, in which she asked to be invited to the PMC center and give an interview. The Wagner head refused to give an interview but agreed to answer questions on the way.

"The training center and the punishment system will have to be shown. It will be rough. Therefore, prepare some waterproof surgical gowns and things," Prigozhin said.

June 1, 2023, Tsargrad TV:

"A loud dispute unfolded on June 1 in social networks: representatives of the "Akhmat" special unit reacted to criticism from Yevgeny Prigozhin. Thus, the deputy of the State Duma of Russia, Adam Delimkhanov, published a video message on his Telegram channel in response to the statements by the PMC’s head...

Delimkhanov emphasized that the Wagnerians suffered from shell hunger, and other fighters also faced this. At the same time, the Hero of Russia added, the Ministry of Defense provided significant support to the participants of the special military operation.

"If you do not understand something, you can contact us at any time; indicate the place and time, and we will explain it to you," he addressed Prigozhin.

In addition, Delimkhanov added, publicizing internal disagreements is highly harmful to both fighters and ordinary people.

"Enough already, otherwise the people and our society do not understand many issues already", he emphasized.

Magomed Daudov, the speaker of the parliament of Chechnya, also responded to criticism from the Wagnerians.

He pointed out that it is unclear to him what the head of the PMC is trying to achieve by instilling panic in society. "I don't understand what you're trying to achieve. Don't forget, Zhenya, thanks to whom you have a private military company, planes, helicopters, SZO (northwestern district of the Russian Guard), etc.," Daudov said.

Prigozhin himself responded to these statements from the Chechen representatives. The PMC head explained that he does not consider his words about the "Akhmat" special purpose forces reprehensible.

He also added that he remains in his opinion regarding the punishment for the top-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defense for the mistakes that led to the death of personnel and other problems of the special military operation."

June 1, 2023, Tsargrad TV:

"The Wagner commander was surprised by the selfishness of the Chechen politician.

Public explanations of relations around PMC Wagner representatives continue. Thus, the commander of a private military company, Dmitry Utkin, addressed the Chairman of the Chechen Parliament, Magomed Daudov, and declared that "we are already in the Third World War."

Daudov called the founder of PMC Wagner simply Zhenya and said that Prigozhin instills societal panic. However, according to Utkin, there will never be such a mood among the soldiers of a private military company, and they "solve problems by available means."

Where did such familiarity come from? Who gave you the right to address you as "you" (ты) and "Zhenya?" Dmitry Utkin addressed Daudov.

The commander also added that PMC Wagner did not receive military equipment from Chechnya, so it is unnecessary to say such words. In addition, Utkin emphasized that they are always ready to "talk like a man to a man."

June 5, 2023, Tsargrad TV:

"The 2024 presidential elections can become a sensation. Specialists of the Tsargrad analytical group discovered what would happen if Yevgeny Prigozhin decided to run for office. The results of the express survey have been published.

Rumors that the founder of PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is allegedly preparing to start a political career have become increasingly apparent. Moreover, there are even rumors that the military leader may compete with the current head of state, Vladimir Putin, in the upcoming presidential elections, which will be held in 2024.

At first glance, such assumptions seem fantastic. On the other hand, Prigozhin increasingly makes sharp political statements, criticizing, for example, the Ministry of Defense of Russia. He also recently conducted a small tour of Russian cities, which was remembered for his loud interviews.

The Tsargrad analytical group conducted an express telephone survey in connection with this. The task was to find out how the votes would be distributed in the presidential elections of Russia if, in addition to the expected candidates, the founder of PMC Wagner would also participate in them.

Here is what happened: Vladimir Putin would confidently win in the first round, receiving at least 61.9% of the vote. Yevgeny Prigozhin would be in second place with 8.9% of the vote.

The leaders of the parliamentary political parties would lag behind the Wagner leader — the most popular of them, the head of the CPRF (Communist Party of the Russian Federation), Gennady Zyuganov, would win only 3.5% of the votes in the poll.

June 14, 2023, Lenta.ru:

"Voenkor (military personnel) Sladkov said that Putin considers Prigozhin's conflict with the Ministry of Defense wrongful.

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, answering the question of military personnel at a closed meeting about the conflict between the founder of PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, called this situation wrongful. Alexander Sladkov, military commander of the VGTRK (All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company), reported this on his Telegram channel.

"A question was asked about the relationship between the Minister of Defense [Sergey Shoigu] and the director of PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin. Other general topics bypassed the issue, but the president's opinion is that this situation is not good; it is wrong," Sladkov said.

Voenkor also added that, as he understood, the president adheres to the position of signing the contract between PMC "Wagner" and the Ministry of Defense of Russia. "Perhaps, it will be a separate contract in terms of form, regulatory saturation, I don't know," he concluded.

June 15, 2023, 20:06, Tsargrad TV:

"All volunteer units fighting in the special military operation zone must sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense of Russia by July 1, 2023, according to Sergei Shoigu's order. Several brigades and detachments have already done this. However, some still perceived the innovation with caution and even with disapproval... the invention was met with hostility by the head of PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The orders and decrees issued by Shoigu apply to employees of the Ministry of Defense and military personnel. PMC "Wagner" will not sign any contracts with Shoigu. PMC "Wagner" is organically integrated into the general system; PMC "Wagner" coordinates its actions with generals, with commanders of subdivisions, has the most profound experience, and is a highly effective structure, - said the head of "Wagner".

He added many unpleasant words about Shoigu, emphasizing at the same time that his PMC "fully obeys the interests of Russia and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief", as well as "coordinates all its actions and fulfills the tasks set by Army General Surovikin", since "Surovikin is smart, competent, and experienced commander"".

June 15, 2023, Tsargrad TV:

"We talked about what prevents PMCs from being legalized in Russia, with Dmitry Krasnov, an honorary lawyer of Russia, a member of the Public Chamber of the City of Moscow...

— Who has the political will to settle all emerging conflict situations in Russia?

— From my point of view, a third force makes it possible for the conflict not to get out of control, and that is the president. Again, both Prigozhin and the Ministry of Defense perform one common task — they protect the Motherland and, despite the conflicts, act in the same direction. They have a common goal: the defeat of our enemies and the victory of Russia.

All issues are resolved in working order, the president keeps his finger on the pulse, and no single decision of this level will pass his attention. He perfectly understood what he was doing when, at one time, he approved the creation of PMC "Wagner". This name is well-known; our fighters are feared and respected worldwide."

June 14, 2023, FAN #1:

"First of all, the head of the private military company reminded that when the country was in trouble, PMC "Wagner" immediately came to its defense. Then, according to Prigozhin, the president promised to provide the soldiers with all social guarantees.

"When we started participating in this war, no one said we would be obliged to conclude agreements with the Ministry of Defense. None of the PMC "Wagner" fighters are ready to go down the path of shame again. Therefore, no one will sign any agreements. As for social guarantors, I think that the State Duma and the president will find a compromise solution in which they will receive both social guarantees and documents as participants in hostilities," the press service of the Concord company published the response of the PMC’s head.

The founder of PMC "Wagner" noted that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is a crucial state body and structure. However, if a group of private individuals privatized it, this does not mean that "musicians" (informal wording for Wagner soldiers) must take part in this crime."

June 15, 2023, FAN #1:

"According to Prigozhin, he did not hear about representatives of local organizations or charitable state funds dealing with refugees from Artemovsk.

"Neither the Deripaska family, Vekselberg, the Usmanovs, nor the Timchenko-Rotenbergs-Kovalchuks, I haven’t heard of anyone who would help Artemovsk. It is such a bizarre story. In regards to the "shell hunger", I can conclude with 100% assurance that none of them won't raise even a finger to help someone in the special military operation in terms of shells," said the founder of the PMC "Wagner" about the Russian elite, whose statement was transmitted by the press service of the Concord company.

The behavior of Prigozhin himself clearly shows that he is aware of his power over public opinion in Russia. He superciliously tells his enemies from the Ministry of Defense to "just get angry" and forget about the "Wagner" subordinate order.

June 16, 2023, Vedomosti:

"It seems that for the first time on the forum platform, not a popular blogger, not a well-known media, and not even an artist with an army of fans was called a trendsetter. As the managing director of "Russian Mediagroup" (Русская Медиагруппа) Dmitriy Mednikov noted, today the leading trendsetter can be safely called the creator of PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

"We perceive trends, fashion, and heroics through the era of light genres in which we lived for a long time. Now we live in the era of a new genre — an epic! And we need epic heroes. We see how a trend for such heroes is being born," — Dmitriy Mednikov substantiated his idea.

Yevgeny Prigozhin's charismatic, strong personality certainly influences people and embodies many archetypes from our consciousness. Thoughts broadcast by Prigozhin are increasingly reflected, including in culture. The need for universal unification and support for "our own" are theses that divide the creative community today."

June 16, 2023, FAN #1:

"The founder of PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, commented on the video in which he talks about attempts to transfer the contract from the Ministry of Defense to the department itself. He refused to reveal the document's details but noted that delivering it to the receiver was difficult.

"I sent this contract through several channels; I tried to send it through the correspondence reception window to the Ministry of Defense; that's what you saw. I sent it by mail and handed it over to the appointees so that they would receive it. I will not disclose all the nuances of the contract yet. I think the Ministry of Defense will appoint him shortly, as soon as he gets it," Prigozhin's press service published an audio message.

June 16, 2023, FAN #1:

"The "Wagner" founder added that one of his comrades sent him a series of photographs by mail. Some shots are from the SPIEF (St. Petersburg International Economic Forum), while others show the situation at the frontline.

"These are two realities. What is happening today at the St. Petersburg forum is called a feast during the plague. It has nothing to do with the economy; it has to do with the secular way of life and the parties that used to be in London. And now there are not enough such parties for a certain number of elites," the businessman emphasized."

June 18, 2023, RosBusinessConsulting:

"Vladimir Putin: the army should have a single leadership.

At Putin's meeting with the military commanders, the idea of creating a presidential administration working group to coordinate initiatives in the combat zone was raised. The President said this should be done, but creating a working group is pointless.

There should be a single leadership in the armed forces, and it is not necessary to create working groups at the level of the presidential administration to work there, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with military officers, fragments of which were shown by the Russia 1 (Россия 1) TV channel. It was proposed to create a working group from the presidential administration to systematize and coordinate new ideas from the combat zone.

Putin supported the idea regarding the necessity of searching for and selecting ideas but considered creating a working group pointless.

"Create some kind of administration group so that it is constantly there among the commanders. There are problems here. There must be a single leadership in the army, you understand?" - said the head of state (quoted by RIA Novosti)".

June 19, 2023, FAN #1:

"On June 17, a solemn ceremony of raising the three flags of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Federation took place in the 300th-anniversary park in St. Petersburg. This event provoked a heated discussion on the Internet. Bloknot publication asked the businessman to comment on the current situation.

According to Prigozhin, if a simple person goes to Red Square with the imperial tricolor and utters the phrase "Russian Empire", he may be charged with extremism since it means that this person tried to revive the monarchy.

"If Gazprom puts up flags for 25 million dollars per flagpole, then there are no problems with the fact that the flag of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Federation hangs there," Prigozhin's press service published a message.

The businessman emphasized that there are similar flagpoles in many capitals and cities. However, the resentment is caused by the tricolor being hung in St. Petersburg for a short time while certain persons admired it.

"These flags were hung for exactly three days while they were enjoyed by those with the right to do so. An ordinary person does not have the right to enjoy them," the "Wagner" founder summarized.

The ceremony of raising the flags of the Russian Federation, the USSR, and the Russian Empire took place in the Northern capital in the park near the Lakhta Center with the participation of President Vladimir Putin. The head of state watched the event from a boat."

June 18, 2023, RosBusinessConsulting:

"Over 30,000 former prisoners who signed a contract with the private military company "Wagner" returned home after participating in a special operation, said the PMC’s head Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to the Telegram channel of his press service.

"As of June 18, 2023, 32,000 persons from the previously convicted persons who took part in the special military operation on the territory of the LPR and DPR in the ranks of PMC "Wagner" returned home after the end of the contract," the message said.

June 21, 2023, FAN #1:

"The founder of PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, spoke about the intermediate results of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, the Russian side lost "large territories".

It is Yevgeny Prigozhin’s reaction to the statement of blogger Yuriy Podolyak, who considered Prigozhin's recent comment about the difficult situation at the front to be "trolling". The founder of PMC Wagner responded that information about what is happening is suppressed while the enemy succeeds.

"What we are told on the air about the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces does not correspond to reality. One should look at the maps on the Internet and the evidence of what and where the Ukrainian Armed Forces took. These are large territories that we lost. We do not have this right." — said Prigozhin in an audio commentary published by his press service.

June 21, 2023, Federal News Agency:

"Founder of PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin revealed the current situation of Russian troops conducting a special operation for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.

Prigozhin explained that he could not comment on the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. However, on the contact line, everything is quite sad. According to him, the enemy controls Pyatikhatky, the northern part of Rabotino, and Urozhnaya, "Kiev has huge chunks [of land]." His press service provides PMC's head audio commentary.

"Soldiers spend whole days writing letters that they need shells, anti-tank weapons, grenades, and armor-piercing cartridges. Therefore, our world is again divided into two realities. On the sly from everyone, so that no one knows and not a single military officer gets there, all information is being silenced," Prigozhin emphasized.

The Armed Forces are moving towards the Molochnyi Lyman. In the event of their successful offensive, the territories liberated during the special military operation may be recaptured by the enemy. The Ukrainians are already forcing the Dnieper, and the first subversive and intelligence groups have started to appear in Golaya Prystan, explained the founder of PMC Wagner, emphasizing that all this information is stubbornly suppressed.

"Russia will wake up one day and discover that Crimea has already given back to the Ukrainians. There is a direct betrayal of the Russian Federation’s interests. It is happening against the background of losses. The troops must be replenished; a soldier cannot fight alone. One cannot fight when the lack of personnel in the units is 50-60%. One cannot stand alone at the border where two or three [people] must stand. All these figures are carefully hidden," he noted.

The leadership of the special military operation strives to send beautiful reports to Moscow, not shying away from shuffling the facts in its way, Prigozhin pointed out.

"If it continues further, we will be left without the main thing, without Russia. On June 20, there was a Ministry of Defense’s collegium, at which two main issues were raised. First, the "Army-2023" exhibition, the main organizers of which are the wife and daughter of the Minister of Defense, as well as a naval parade. To hold a naval parade, you must first pull up the "Moscow" [cruiser] from the bottom of the Black Sea, which you shamefully sunk together with Russian sailors. It is how the Armed Forces of Ukraine's offensive is taking place today and to what applause," said the head of the PMC.

He also asked at what price official Moscow conducts the special military operation and for what purpose. Will the Russian Federation pay with the army so that "some Shvonder receives a marshal's star"?

"The counteroffensive of Ukraine’s Armed Forces brings us serious problems and losses, which are being kept quiet about, which the Russian people do not know about. When trouble comes, I repeat, we can be left without an army and Russia," Prigozhin said.

Earlier, the founder of PMC Wagner commented on the lack of drinking water in the ranks of Russian military personnel. According to Yevgeny Prigozhin, it's all about the regulated norm, which does not cover the fighters' needs."

June 21, 2023, Tsargrad TV:

"The founder of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, expressed a different opinion on this issue. He indicated that he considers it necessary to conduct a large-scale mobilization. He believes 2 million people need to be mobilized in Russia right now. At the same time, he explained that the fighters must face a straightforward task.

"We should understand what kind of aggression there will be, how the conflict on the territory of Ukraine will intensify, and so on," Prigozhin remarked.

In a short interview, Yevgeny Prigozhin once again repeated his demands from May 23 and showed that he would not make concessions. Moreover, he blamed Putin and Shoigu for the senselessness of the war, being dependent on a "clan of oligarchs" who wanted to seize all the wealth of Russia finally.

It seems that Prigozhin was heard in the Kremlin after that. Already in the evening of June 23, events begin to unfold with the speed of an avalanche.

Prigozhin barely had time to announce the "shelling of the Wagner field camp" and the beginning of the "justice march", when almost all official Russian media began to work in a regime of strict information blockade and rebel discreditation.

All ultra-Putinist sources quickly "turnув on a dime ":

After 13:00, several mutually contradictory theses spread in the Russian infospace. On the one hand, Generals Surovikin and Alekseev call on the "Wagnerians" to come to their senses. At the same time, the FSB accuses Prigozhin of "stabbing in the back and playing along with the pro-fascist Ukrainian forces." The "militarists" urge both the military and ordinary citizens "not to take sides" and remind them that the enemy are the "Ukrainians" and not "Prigozhin or Shoigu".

At 2:00, Russian citizens were informed that units of the Russian Guard had raised the alarm, and the increased security there surrounded Rostov-on-Don.

At 6:00, messages about blocking any information about Wagner and Prigozhin appeared in the "VKontakte" social network and the "Yandex" search engine.

At the same time, there was information about the movement of military equipment from the south to the north in the Voronezh region.

At 9:00, most of the official media will admit that the Wagner groups are in Rostov-on-Don, and Putin will address the people "in connection with the events in the Rostov region."

Meanwhile, the reaction in the regions was somewhat slower; several publications continued to spread "messages" from Prigozhin. The Kremlin could not contain the spread of information from the rebels. St. Petersburg Fontanka publication posted a comment on the criminal case brought against Prigozhin "based on the fact of mutiny." Legal commentary stated that it would be difficult to get him to justice because instead of a "criminal group," the main participants are the fighters of the PMC Wagner.

Finally, already at 10:00, Putin addresses the Russians with an explanation of the situation and his actions, calling the mutineers "traitors" who will face "inevitable punishment", while urging the participants of the mutiny "not to make a fatal, tragic, and irreparable mistake".

At the same time, the "counter-terrorist operation" regime is announced in Moscow, Moscow, Voronezh, and Rostov regions.

Between 10:00 and 18:00, Russian media reproduce statements of various officials (chair members of both chambers of the State Duma, governors), football clubs, and ultra-Putinists (Rogozin) in support of Putin.

Throughout the day, there are unconfirmed reports of explosions and gunfights in Rostov-on-Don:

At 15:00, the Head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Bastrykin, publishes an order "to respond to law violations by military personnel promptly". Therefore, the circle of possible participants in the armed rebellion is already beginning to go beyond the Wagner borders.

At 16:00, Belarus Security Council publishes a statement, assuring Belarus' loyalty to Russia and Putin and condemning the "collective West."

At the same time, "news" that is difficult to distinguish from fakes begins to circulate, for example, about the capture of hostages by the "Wagnerians" at the "strategic object" of Voronezh — the local brewery.

After 17:00, news spread about the movement of military equipment convoys with "Wagnerians" in the Lipetsk region.

At 18:00, the former president and deputy secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitriy Medvedev, published a statement about the event's involvement in the preparation of the rebellion, and the Russian Foreign Ministry called on Western countries "not to use the internal Russian situation to achieve their Russophobic goals."

Only closer to 20:00, the first public "testimonies" of the military's loyalty to Putin appear online. However, they are unreliable and highly stingy:

Suddenly, closer to 21:00, such messages are being published one after another:

Two hours later, Peskov will call the events, which during the day were branded as "treason" and "stab in the back", "pushing Russia to civil war and turmoil", - "this crusade" ("этот поход").

In addition, Russians once again learned that even terrible crimes against the state could be forgiven with one word from Putin: "The word of the President of Russia is the guarantee that Prigozhin will be able to enter Belarus," he told journalists. Also, according to him, the counter-terrorist operation measures will be revoked soon."

The media loyal to the Kremlin continued to use the definition of "rebellion", but the authorities’ spokesmen did not use this word already on the evening of June 24.

In the following days, all propagandist efforts are directed at downplaying the importance of the rebellion and its threat to Putin. The master of the Kremlin himself started a new information campaign "The rebellion was doomed to defeat":

At the same time, the campaign begins with a complete discrediting of Prigozhin personally:

June 26, 2023, Izvestia: "The Head of State thanked the Russians for the "highest consolidation, for supporting the constitutional order" and patriotism. "Thank you for your endurance, solidarity, and patriotism. This civil solidarity has shown that any blackmail, attempts to create internal turmoil are doomed to failure," said the head of state...

Most of the Wagner commanders and employees are patriots, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address to Russians on June 26. "They were used in the dark against the brothers in arms. From the beginning of the events, I took steps to avoid a lot of blood; it took some time," he said.

June 30m, 2023, Tsargrad TV: ""Russia always emerges from any upheaval, and this (the rebellion of the PMC Wagner - ed.) is louder than "upheaval", it is difficult to call it, it came out stronger and stronger. It will be the same this time too. Moreover, we already feel that this process has begun," Sergey Lavrov summed up."

However, all these attempts to present the situation with the rebellion as entirely under control and efforts to humiliate Prigozhin could hardly hide the Kremlin's extreme weakness and helplessness. Likewise, the cancellation of his "March of Justice" without achieving the goal of eliminating the corrupt military leadership of Russia showed the falsity of Prigozhin's appeals and declarations. As a result, one can assume disorientation and apathy in Russian society will only grow.

Petro Burkovskyi, executive director of the Ilko Kucheriv «Democratic Initiatives» Foundation

Photo: Getty Images