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When he finally emerged for a five-minute televised speech on Monday night, the Russian leader skirted a host of questions to insist that the Russian government was presenting a united front to all threats. TUESDAY, JUNE 27:Mr. Putin’s spent a busy day in front of television cameras, portraying the rebellion as a heroic episode for the Russian state. In a televised meeting with military service members in Moscow, Mr. Putin suggested that Mr. Prigozhin — whose name he has refused to utter — or people linked to him might be guilty of graft. And in a grandly choreographed outdoor appearance at the Kremlin, Mr. Putin descended a red-carpeted staircase to deliver a speech from a stage on the medieval-era Cathedral Square. Later, Mr. Putin fed speculation about a broader crackdown in a closed-door meeting with Russian media figures at the Kremlin, presenting himself as a leader in total control.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Wagner, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, —, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, ”, Putin’s, Prigozhin — Organizations: Kremlin Locations: Russia, Russian, Moscow, Belarus, Dagestan

☆ Dismissing Rebellion as ‘Minor,’ Kremlin Dismantles Prigozhin’s Empire
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The mercenary rebellion that shook Russia was merely “a minor trouble,” the foreign minister said on Friday, warning the West not to think that President Vladimir V. Putin’s grip on power had weakened, even as the Kremlin continued to move against the leader of the mutiny. Speaking at a news conference, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov asserted that Russia would emerge “stronger and more resilient” after the short-lived putsch last Friday and Saturday by Yevgeny V. Prigozhin and his Wagner group troops, who have played a vital role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Lavrov dismissed the rebellion, which drove an armored column to within 125 miles of Moscow before turning back, as insignificant. “If someone in the West has doubts about this, then that’s their problem,” he said. But it is clear that the government is still cleaning up its aftermath.

Persons: Vladimir V, Sergey V, Lavrov, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Wagner, ”, Putin Organizations: Kremlin, Mr Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow

News of General Surovikin’s detention was earlier reported by The Financial Times. There were conflicting reports in the Russian news media about General Surovikin’s fate. One popular account posted a recording of an interview with a woman it said was General Surovikin’s daughter, who denied that her father had been arrested. The question is a critical one for Mr. Putin as well. For years, Mr. Putin has allowed different factions to exist inside the Russian military.

Persons: Wagner Group’s, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Yevgeny V, Dmitri S, Peskov, Surovikin’s, ”, “ He’s, Vladimir V, Putin, Sergei K, Prigozhin, Putin’s, Shoigu, Valery V, Prigozhin’s, Shoigu’s, ’, Samuel Charap, “, Mr, Charap, ” Steven Erlanger, Anton Troianovski Organizations: New York Times, The Financial, RAND Corporation Locations: U.S, Russia, Ukraine, NATO

Days after an aborted rebellion in Russia by a mercenary group presented a dramatic challenge to his leadership, President Vladimir V. Putin made highly choreographed public appearances in an effort to project power and control, even as U.S. officials said early intelligence reports suggested that a top general had been detained in connection with the failed uprising. In Moscow, Mr. Putin attended a technology fair on Thursday, sitting in a gaming chair and joking with other panelists onstage. The day before, he strode through a crowd of well-wishers in southern Russia, shaking hands, kissing a girl on the head and posing for selfies. It was a display that Russians had not glimpsed from their leader in years. But amid the Kremlin’s efforts to emphasize popular support for Mr. Putin and the message that Russia was back to business as usual, U.S. officials said that the Russian authorities appeared to have detained a general, Sergei Surovikin, the former commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, who American officials say had known in advance about the rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, strode, “, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Surovikin, Wagner Locations: Russia, Moscow, Derbent, Ukraine

The Biden administration asked Ukrainian officials not to conduct covert attacks inside Russia as the Wagner group rebellion was underway and advised them not to do anything that would influence the outcome of events or take advantage of the chaos, according to American officials. They did not know how he intended to do that, or what he intended to do with them, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. The outreach came soon after Mr. Prigozhin began his rebellion, officials said. In urging Kyiv to exercise caution, U.S. officials did not want to give President Vladimir V. Putin an excuse to claim that Mr. Prigozhin’s rebellion was orchestrated by the United States or by Ukraine. They also said they believed that any high-profile operation by Ukrainian forces inside Russia was unlikely to have any major effect on Mr. Prigozhin’s goals, but would allow Mr. Putin to level accusations against the West, according to American assessments.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Sergei K, Valery V, Vladimir V, Putin, Prigozhin’s Organizations: Biden, Ukrainian, West Locations: Russia, Ukraine, U.S, Kyiv, United States

☆ Wagner’s Mutiny Has Century-Old Echoes of Another Russian Debacle
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As Russian soldiers braced in their trenches in Ukraine, a charismatic military leader suddenly marched his forces on the capital. He promised to save the nation from traitors who were pushing it toward catastrophic military defeat. The rebels stopped just short of their goal, but the fallout from the mutiny contributed to pulling Russia apart soon after. The already weakened military collapsed, the government crumbled and the country descended into a devastating civil war. Mr. Putin, an amateur revisionist historian, devoted a significant part of his initial televised address during the mutiny to Russia’s downfall in World War I.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow

But now, as Mr. Putin seeks to project an image of restored stability and control, he has been putting his defense minister on display, even if Mr. Shoigu has not addressed the public or even been heard speaking. Mr. Shoigu was also present on Monday as Mr. Putin convened a meeting of his top security chiefs. On Tuesday, as Mr. Putin praised his security forces in a grandly choreographed speech, Mr. Shoigu was again present, wearing his military uniform. Mr. Shoigu, who was a very popular minister of emergency situations before becoming defense minister in 2012, has had a long and friendly relationship with Mr. Putin. Mr. Putin may have kept both men in charge as part of his decades-long efforts to place the sprawling Russian military more under his control.

Persons: Vladimir V, Sergei K, Shoigu, Valery V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Wagner, ” Mr, Gerasimov, Mr, Prigozhin, Ramzan Kadyrov, —, ”, ” Andrei Guryulov, Aleksandr Dugin, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Dugin, Long, General Gerasimov, It’s, Andrei Soldatov, Putin “, ” Oleg Matsnev Organizations: Putin, Cuban, National Defense Control Center of Russia, Russian military’s Zvezda, United, Defense Ministry, General Staff Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, United States, Cuba, Russian, Ukrainian, Lyman, Chechnya, United Russia, Belarus

☆ Putin Moves to Punish Prigozhin Allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As President Vladimir V. Putin seeks to assert control in Russia, he is moving to punish people who enabled the mercenary boss Yevgeny V. Prigozhin’s rebellion over the weekend, but Mr. Prigozhin’s deep connections with the ruling elite are complicating those efforts. The question of who gets punished for the mutiny carries high stakes for the Russian leadership, especially because some of Mr. Prigozhin’s key allies and sympathizers are believed to be inside the military and the government. Several pro-war Russian blogs reported that the authorities were investigating military service members with ties to Mr. Prigozhin, but those reports could not be independently confirmed. Mr. Putin fed speculation about a broader crackdown on Tuesday evening in a closed-door meeting with Russian media figures at the Kremlin. In the meeting, he presented himself as a leader in total control, and said he was delving into Mr. Prigozhin’s business contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin’s, Sergei Surovikin, Prigozhin, Mr Organizations: Russian Defense Ministry Locations: Russia, Moscow, Russian

Satellite imagery shows that Belarus is rapidly building what appear to be temporary structures at a deserted military base, revealing a possible location for Wagner fighters who were given the option of relocating to the country after the group’s failed mutiny against President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. The construction was first visible in satellite images taken on Monday by Planet Labs, a private company with a network of shoebox-size satellites, two days after Wagner forces suddenly stopped their march on Moscow. By Tuesday, the images showed that a sports field covering approximately eight acres within the gated military facility had been transformed, packed with at least six rows of what appear to be temporary structures, like large tents. The satellite imagery also shows similar construction in open areas next to the sports field.

Persons: Wagner, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Planet Labs Locations: Belarus, Russia, Moscow

☆ After Mutiny Against Putin, Russia’s Friends Have Reason to Hedge Bets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For Mr. Putin, who has cobbled together a surprisingly sturdy list of countries that either back his war on Ukraine or have stayed neutral, it was a much-needed display of mutual reassurance. Russia’s message, it seemed, was business as usual on foreign policy, even after the alarming events of last weekend. As rattled as they may have been by an armed insurrection in a nuclear-weapons state, Russia’s friends and business partners are unlikely to abandon Mr. Putin, according to diplomats and analysts. The more likely scenario, they say, is for them to hedge their bets against further Russian instability. But privately, if your goal is stability, then you should be worried about Putin’s ability to provide this stability.”

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Russia, I’m, ”, Michael A, “ It’s Locations: Moscow, Iran, Qatar, Ukraine, American, Russia

☆ Russia-Ukraine War Putin Delivers Fiery Speech as Mercenary Leader’s Future Remains Uncertain
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

President Biden said the United States and its NATO allies had “nothing to do with” a rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group in Russia. Mr. Biden said that the United States would continue to assess the fallout from the crisis in Russia and closely align responses with its allies. On Monday, Mr. Prigozhin broke his silence to claim that his advance on Moscow had never been intended as a bid to seize power. While Mr. Miller may have been articulating official U.S. policy, President Biden has previously expressed a different personal view. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Mr. Biden said of Mr. Putin during a March 2022 visit to Poland.

Persons: Biden, Wagner, Putin, Zelensky, group’s, Vladimir V, Russia, Mr, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Matthew Miller, Miller, Putin’s, ”, “, Lynne M, Tracy Organizations: NATO, White, United, State Department, Russian Federation, Russian Ministry of Defense, . Locations: United States, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Belarus, Africa, Poland, U.S

☆ In Kremlin Stagecraft, Putin Tries to Rewrite the Mutiny in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Alan Yuhas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

During a mercenary’s daylong mutiny against Russia’s military, President Vladimir V. Putin appeared just once, vowing “decisive actions” to take on “a betrayal of our people.”After the five-minute address, Mr. Putin was out of sight again, leaving Russians to wonder about their president’s absence amid the most dramatic challenge to his rule in 23 years. But the Kremlin’s image machine shifted into action on Tuesday, with Mr. Putin suddenly making televised speeches — an attempt to rewrite the story about what happened and assure the Russian public that he is still pulling the levers of power, whether people can see him or not.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin

☆ His Glory Fading, a Russian Warlord Took One Last Stab at Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Paul Sonne | Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Well before Yevgeny V. Prigozhin seized a major Russian military hub and ordered an armed march on Moscow, posing a startling and dramatic threat to President Vladimir V. Putin, the caterer-turned-mercenary-boss was losing his own personal war. Mr. Prigozhin’s private army had been sidelined. The commander he most admired in the Russian military had been removed as the top general overseeing Ukraine. Mr. Putin sided publicly with Mr. Prigozhin’s adversaries, affirming that all irregular units fighting in Ukraine would have to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense. That included Mr. Prigozhin’s private military company, Wagner.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, Sergei K, Shoigu, Mr, Wagner Organizations: Ukraine, Ministry of Defense Locations: Russian, Moscow, Ukraine

A senior Russian general had advance knowledge of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plans to rebel against Russia’s military leadership, according to U.S. officials briefed on American intelligence on the matter, which has prompted questions about what support the mercenary leader had inside the top ranks. General Surovikin is a respected military leader who helped shore up defenses across the battle lines after Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year, analysts say. He was replaced as the top commander in January but retained influence in running war operations and remains popular among the troops. American officials also said there are signs that other Russian generals may also have supported Mr. Prigozhin’s attempt to change the leadership of the Defense Ministry by force. Current and former U.S. officials said Mr. Prigozhin would not have launched his uprising unless he believed that others in positions of power would come to his aid.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Sergei Surovikin, Vladimir V, Putin, Surovikin, Prigozhin’s, Prigozhin Organizations: Defense Ministry Locations: Russian, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine War Updates: Russia's Defense Minister Visits Troops After Prigozhin's Uprising
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Andrés R. Martínez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The ministry also posted a video of Mr. Shoigu that it said was from the trip, without specifying when or where it took place. Mr. Putin still has not been seen since giving a five-minute address to the nation on Saturday, in which he promised to crush the rebellion. Mr. Prigozhin, once a close ally and confidant of Mr. Putin, had for months publicly lambasted Mr. Shoigu and other military leaders, accusing them of mismanaging the war in Ukraine and starving his troops of ammunition. Mr. Prigozhin’s rebellion, which barely lasted 24 hours, ended on Saturday, when the leader of Belarus, a close ally of Mr. Putin, offered Mr. Prigozhin safe passage. Mr. Putin’s government dropped the charges against Mr. Prigozhin and said the Wagner troops could enlist in the military and would not face discipline.

Persons: Sergei K, Shoigu, Yevgeny V, Yevgeny Nikiforov, Wagner, Vladimir V, Putin, Prigozhin, Mr, Putin’s Organizations: ., Russian Defence Ministry, Reuters Russia’s, Defense, Russian Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Belarus

An armed rebellion in Russia over the weekend stunned the world and amounted to the single biggest challenge to President Vladimir V. Putin’s rule since he came to power 23 years ago. Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times, talks about the man who led the revolt, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, and about what might happen next.

Persons: Vladimir V, Anton Troianovski, Yevgeny V Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Russia, Moscow

☆ Putin Says Russia Is United Behind Him, After Quelling Rebellion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Valerie Hopkins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A visibly angry Vladimir V. Putin on Monday denounced as “blackmail” a weekend rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group even as he defended his response to the mutiny and hinted at leniency for those who took part, saying that “the entire Russian society united” around his government. Speaking publicly for the first time in two days, Mr. Putin, in an address broadcast on Monday night, refused to utter the name of the Wagner boss behind the insurrection, Yevgeny V. Prighozhin. But his contempt was clear for those who had seemed, briefly, to threaten civil war and upend Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces are mounting a counteroffensive. “They wanted Russians to fight each other,” said Mr. Putin, Russia’s president. Instead, at the core of his five-minute speech on Monday was his insistence that he leads a nation and a government that present a united front to all threats.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, ”, Wagner, Yevgeny V, “, Mr Organizations: Kremlin Locations: Russian, Ukraine

☆ A Mutiny That Showed the Stress on Putin’s System of Rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Amanda Taub | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The events of the last few days, in which Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the head of a notorious private army called Wagner, mounted a brief rebellion against Russia’s military leadership, are not enough to answer that question. But they do suggest that Mr. Putin’s hold over the elite coalition that keeps him in power is under stress, with unpredictable consequences. A crucial coalitionEven though authoritarian leaders may appear to rule by fiat, they all rely on coalitions of powerful elites to stay in power, analysts say. The specifics vary by country and situation: Some count on the military, others on a single ruling party, the religious authorities, or wealthy business leaders. Even when a 2011 popular uprising turned into a bloody, protracted civil war, Mr. Assad’s supporters within the military kept him in power: The benefits of loyalty, to them, far outweighed the costs.

Persons: Vladimir V, Yevgeny V, Wagner, Putin’s, Bashar al, Assad’s Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Syria

☆ Gripped by Uncertainty After Mutiny, Russians Note Absence of Kremlin Leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Confusion and uncertainty pervaded Russia on Sunday, with neither President Vladimir V. Putin nor Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the head of a mutinous mercenary group, appearing anywhere in public a day after the most profound government crisis in three decades — an open military rebellion — appeared defused. And some wondered aloud why much of Russia’s leadership was being neither seen nor heard. Aside from Mr. Putin, neither Sergei K. Shoigu, the minister of defense, nor Valery V. Gerasimov, the military chief of staff, had put in a public appearance since the uprising started on Friday night. Many heads of the country’s security services also proved invisible. Could a foreign enemy, he asked, march with equal ease on the capital?

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V, —, ”, Sergei K, Valery V, Yuri Kotenok Organizations: Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine

And they clearly had little interest in helping Mr. Putin avoid a major, embarrassing fracturing of his support. While it is not clear exactly when the United States first learned of the plot, intelligence officials conducted briefings on Wednesday with administration and defense officials. Still, American officials concluded that Mr. Prigozhin’s public statements were not controlled by Mr. Putin. But it was only in recent days that intelligence officials got the initial warnings that Mr. Prigozhin might take action. President Biden, speaking in October, talked of the dangers that Mr. Putin would pose if he felt cornered and said the United States was looking for “off ramps” for Mr. Putin.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Prigozhin’s, “, ”, Sergei K, Valery Gerasimov, Wagner ., Tatiana Stanovaya, Shoigu, Stanovaya, Gerasimov, Biden, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Wagner Group, United, CNN, United States, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Associated Press, Intelligence, Russian, Ukrainian, Mr, Ministry of Defense, Defense Ministry, Carnegie Endowment, International Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, United States, Ukraine, St . Petersburg, Moscow, Belarus, United, U.S, Russian, Bakhmut, Wagner . Russia

And they clearly had little interest in helping Mr. Putin avoid a major, embarrassing fracturing of his support. While it is not clear exactly when the United States first learned of the plot, intelligence officials conducted briefings on Wednesday with administration and defense officials. Placing Wagner forces under the control of Mr. Shoigu was “out of the question” for Mr. Prigozhin, Ms. Stanovaya said. But it was only in recent days that intelligence officials got the initial warnings that Mr. Prigozhin might take action. President Biden, speaking in October, talked of the dangers that Mr. Putin would pose if he felt cornered and said the United States was looking for “off ramps” for Mr. Putin.

☆ One Big Winner of Kremlin-Wagner Clash? The Dictator Next Door.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Valerie Hopkins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Vladimir V. Putin is known for his tight control over the news media in Russia. His onetime ally, the Wagner military group founder Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, is himself the owner of a conservative media outlet and a flamboyant showman on social media. But on Sunday, he took credit for brokering an agreement between Mr. Putin and Mr. Prigozhin, averting a scenario that the Russian leader had compared to the civil war that followed the Revolution of 1917. Now Mr. Lukashenko, an international pariah, is trying to use the P.R. victory to burnish his credentials as a credible statesman, mediator — and above all, loyal ally to Mr. Putin.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin’s, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Prigozhin, —, Mr Organizations: Mr Locations: Russia, Belarus, Belarusian

☆ Putin’s Beast That Would Now Devour Him
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Roger Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the course of a month I spent in the Russian capital, the red-and-black billboards of Yevgeny V. Prigozhin’s Wagner paramilitary group multiplied. “Join the team of victors!” they said, beneath an image of menacing mercenaries in balaclavas and masks, only their eyes visible. A possible implication was that the Russian forces on the other mushrooming Moscow billboards — regular soldiers recruited by the Ministry of Defense pictured above slogans like “Real Work!” or “Be a hero!” — were the losers of President Vladimir V. Putin’s reckless gamble in Ukraine. Easier to order a latte than dwell on lost lives in Mariupol. officer, abruptly emerged as the inscrutable president and Mr.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Prigozhin’s Wagner, ”, ” —, Vladimir V, heedless Muscovites, Prigozhin, Putin Organizations: Ministry of Defense Locations: Russian, balaclavas, Moscow, Ukraine, Mariupol

☆ Prigozhin Revolt Raises Searing Question: Did It Harm Putin’s Staying Power?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin long styled himself as Russia’s guarantor of stability and the uncompromising protector of its statehood. In his absence, he left stunned Russians wondering how the leader of a paramilitary group, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, could stage an armed mutiny on Saturday that threatened to reach Moscow. And it raised uncomfortable questions about the Russian president’s future: What did his failure to prevent the revolt mean for their security — and his staying power? Russians with ties to the Kremlin expressed relief on Sunday that Mr. Prigozhin’s uprising did not spark a civil war. But at the same time, they agreed that Mr. Putin had come off looking weak in a way that could be lasting.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin’s Organizations: Mr Locations: Moscow

☆ U.S. Suspected Prigozhin Was Preparing to Take Military Action Against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( David E. Sanger | Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senior American national security officials had indications as early as Wednesday that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, was preparing to take military action against senior Russian defense officials, according to officials briefed on the intelligence. The information suggests that the United States had at least some warning of impending chaos in Russia, just as it warned in late 2021 that Vladimir V. Putin was planning to invade Ukraine. In this case, the information was considered both solid and alarming because of the possibility that a major nuclear-armed rival of the United States could descend into chaos. While it is not clear exactly when the United States first learned of the plot, intelligence officials conducted briefings on Wednesday with the administration and defense officials. By Friday night, Prigozhin had dramatically escalated his feud, launching a march on Moscow that the Russian government described as an attempted coup.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, Prigozhin Organizations: American, Wagner, United Locations: United States, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Belarus

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