The myth of Vladimir Putin’s unchallengeable power has been fatally undermined by the challenge from Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner army. By surviving – for now – Prigozhin has set a dangerous precedent for others in Russia who may wish to test their strength against the Kremlin.
But the weekend’s events also showed a complete failure by Russia’s military, security and intelligence agencies – in fact, by the state as a whole – to deal with the obvious challenge of an armed group apparently heading for Moscow. The evident confusion in Moscow and inability to respond to Prigozhin’s challenge also proves Russia is not invincible in its conflict with Ukraine. That critical weakness can only be encouraging for Ukraine in its efforts to beat back the Russian invaders. Russia, it seems, may be strong on the frontline, but it is systemically fragile and the Kremlin can be frightened into paralysis.
