REUTERS/Stringer/File PhotoSummary Fears of civil war rose in world's biggest nuclear powerMercenaries posed biggest threat to Putin in 23-year rule'Anyone with anything to lose was extremely tense' -sourceThe elite wonder: What's next for Russia?
One fear was that Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group, if he entered Moscow, would try to take over the economy, triggering yet another redistribution of ownership in Russia, the world's biggest supplier of natural resources.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity due to the danger of speaking publicly in contemporary Russia.
Russians started to withdraw significant amounts of roubles and seek foreign currency in 15 regions across Russia.
But within the elite, there is now a fear that Putin will seek to assert his position and remove those he felt did not profess their loyalty with enough ardour.
Persons:
Wagner, Stringer, Putin, What's, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Prigozhin's, Mikhail Gorbachev, Andrei Belousov, Dmitry Gusev, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Russia's, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Viktor Zolotov, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Heinrich Our
Organizations:
Southern Military District, REUTERS, Reuters, Kremlin, KGB, Bolshevik, Air, Jets, General Staff, National Guard, Thomson
Locations:
Rostov, Don, Russia, MOSCOW, Moscow, Russian, Soviet, Ukraine, Belgrade, Istanbul, Dubai, Sochi, Belarus, Belarusian, Zolotov