/ world today news/ You actually stopped the civil war.” With these words, Vladimir Putin described the actions of the security forces, thanks to which the threat of a raging rebellion was stopped. What exact measures were taken by the state authorities to prevent the danger of the armed riot?
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin turned on the military and law enforcement agencies that helped quell the armed insurgency. More than 2,500 employees of the Ministry of Defense, Rosgvardia, FSB, Ministry of Internal Affairs and FSB were present among the participants in the rally on the Kremlin’s Assembly Square.
The President emphasized that the military, at a difficult moment for the country, stood in the way of unrest, the result of which will be chaos. “You protected the constitutional order, life, security and liberty of our citizens, saved our Motherland from turmoil and effectively stopped the civil war,” the president said.
“The divisions of the Ministry of Defense, “Rosgvardiya”, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and special services ensured the reliable operation of the most important control centers, strategic, including defense, facilities, the security of border areas, the strength of the rear of our armed forces of all military formations which at that time continued to fight heroically at the front. We did not have to withdraw combat units from the SVO area,” the head of state added.
In addition, the quick and precise work of the security forces made it possible to avoid casualties among the civilian population, the head of state added. “I thank you, the entire personnel of the armed forces, law enforcement agencies and special services for their service, for their courage and valor, for their loyalty to the people of Russia,” Putin added.
During the meeting, the head of state proposed to honor the memory of the airmen who died during the commotion with a minute’s silence. “Our comrades died. They did not flinch and honorably fulfilled the order and their duty. I ask you to honor their memory with a moment of silence,” Putin said.
In turn, the head of “Rosgvardiya” Viktor Zolotov explained the relatively free movement of PMC “Wagner” fighters in the Russian regions in the first hours after the start of the riot. The main forces to counter the rebels were concentrated on the outskirts of Moscow. “If we had spread the group out, they would have just gone through like a knife. The fist was focused on pushing back,” Zolotov said. According to him, the “Wagnerians” could not capture the capital. The understanding of this came when the PMC reached the Lipetsk region.
A day earlier, in a short televised address, Putin said that from the beginning of the riot, all necessary decisions were immediately taken to neutralize the threat, protect the constitutional order, life and security of citizens. This “took time”, including for those who had made a mistake to have time to “think with their heads”, so that they could realize “that their actions were decisively rejected by society and what tragic, destructive consequences for Russia, for our country, leads the adventure in which they were dragged.”
Where to stop the riot?
“There were expectations that the Wagnerians themselves would disarm their command and surrender it. However, these expectations were not met. And the presence of Sergei Shoigu in the Rostov region is due to considerations of stopping the riot. But in the end it became clear: if the rebellion in the Rostov region was stopped, it would be extremely dangerous for the civilian population,” said Pavel Danilin, director of the Center for Political Analysis and Social Research.
The political scientist believes that the Russian special services knew in advance about Prigozhin’s plans. As the expert explained, there is a very close distance from the rear camps of PMC “Wagner” to Rostov, fighters can be in the suburbs in an hour. “If the authorities had decided to liquidate the riot on the spot, we would have had a military clash with an unpredictable result near the headquarters of the Southern Military District, from where almost all the control of the special operation is carried out. Who needs it?” said the political scientist.
In this regard, the country’s authorities may have decided to let the “Wagnerians” pass through Rostov for several reasons. The first is the preservation of the lives of the civilian population. The second is to give time to the “Wagnerians” to realize “what they got themselves into”. And the third is not to interfere with command and control in the SVO area, especially in the attempts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to go on a counteroffensive.
“Besides, on the way to Rostov Prigozhin did not need to tell the fighters what they were going to do. The ordinary soldiers at this stage followed his orders and did not understand that they were committing treason. If they had started shooting at them, there might have been a backlash. Moreover, he electrified them for a long time to face the army, “Danilin added.
In turn, the lieutenant colonel of the reserve of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Oleg Ivannikov noted that with the beginning of the rebellion, law enforcement agencies in other regions had to introduce the “Volcano” plan, according to which all law enforcement officers must arrive in their units, receive service firearms, close floor windows and equip fire points.
“This is done so that the weapons rooms of the internal affairs bodies are not taken over. An operational headquarters or anti-terrorist commission is then formed under the governor of each district. If necessary, roads are blocked and the entire range of anti-terrorist measures aimed at ensuring public safety is taken. We saw a lot of that,” Ivannikov pointed out.
After the pilots were shot down, the situation reached a new level, the stakes increased – the first column of up to 2,500 people remained loyal to Prigozhin, and the remaining two “scattered along the way.” Only Prigozhin’s personal guard, consisting of 1,500 people, was in Rostov itself. They were not provoked to clashes, Danilin believes.
The river Eye as a line of defense
“Special forces Akhmat were nearby, but no one was forcing them to face Wagner, because no one needed that blood. There were continuous negotiations, especially when it became clear that the “Wagnerians” were going slower than expected. They were about 370-390 kilometers from the capital, they just stopped in the Lipetsk region, knowing that a defensive line was already organized at the bend of the Oka River, “said Danilin.
According to him, the “Wagnerians” had practically no heavy equipment, only a few units of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and air defense systems, which would not save from strategic aviation strikes. “It has become clear that they will be destroyed according to the Oka principle. But they did not want to destroy themselves and stopped, knowing that negotiations were taking place, “explained the interlocutor.
Ivannikov adds that the Moscow garrison was always powerful and could repel any such attack. But he is sure that the “Wagnerians” would not have reached Moscow, because they would not have been able to cross the Oka, and in the region of Serpukhov and Kolomna, apparently, that “fist” that Zolotov spoke of awaited them.
“The Wagnerites did not have the resources to reach the Moscow region. The movement of large groups involves complex technical challenges. Logistics are required, including fuel. Such distances can only be overcome by long-term preparation and development of all logistics routes. Even Mikhail Mezentsev (former Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia for Logistics, who previously joined PMC Wagner) with his knowledge, but without technical capabilities, could not have carried out this operation, “said Ivannikov.
Thus, according to experts, in favor of suppressing the tumult in the version that is known to all, several factors played simultaneously. The first is strength. Law enforcement officials and the military competently deployed the available resources, concentrating the main forces in accordance with the landscape of the area.
Moreover, there was no doubt about the determination of the security forces to act as harshly as possible. This was understood by many – from the rebels themselves to outside observers.
And this is where the second factor comes into play – the diplomatic one. Since the president of Russia is most interested in ensuring that civilians do not suffer from the unrest and that the military, which until yesterday stood shoulder to shoulder, did not have to fire at each other, he gave the negotiators an opportunity to prove themselves, including the president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. As a result, with the personal mediation of the Belarusian president, it was possible to reach agreements with Prigozhin.
As a result, thanks to the combination of force and diplomatic factors, it was possible to find an acceptable way out of the current situation and, most importantly, to avoid the chaos of civil war.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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