President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia always seemed to thrive on chaos.
For the last few months, as the mercenary chieftain Yevgeny V. Prigozhin escalated his feud with the Russian military, Mr. Putin did not publicly reveal any discomfort with his diatribes.
The Russian leader’s key litmus test was loyalty — a fact that Mr. Prigozhin showed he understood, even amid his recent criticism of the military leadership: “I listen to Putin,” he said in May.
At no point since being named acting president on Dec. 31, 1999, has Mr. Putin faced such a dramatic challenge.
And it comes from a man who — like much of Russia’s elite — owes his power and status to the informal, personalist style of the Russian president.
Persons:
Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Putin’s, “, ”, —
Locations:
Russia, Russian, Rostov, Moscow