/ world today news/ Almost three days after the end of Wagner’s performance, the world press continues to actively discuss Saturday’s events. It is sad to report that Vladimir Putin managed to emerge victorious, but Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion itself has become another narrative in the West’s tirade, which sings songs about the “weakness of the Kremlin regime” and “internal contradictions” in various ways. “Tsarigrad” collected the most interesting statements from the world media.
„Shattering Putin’s Invincible Image”
This idea is trying to push through many media in the West. The American agency Bloomberg, for example, writes:
“The rapidly unfolding chain of events has the US, Europe and China pondering the political implications of the uprising, which has shattered Putin’s invincible image as Russia’s leader.
The 24-hour crisis highlighted bitter divisions in Russia over the volatile war in Ukraine, as a Ukrainian counter-offensive continues to try to push Putin’s forces out of Ukraine.”
However, Russia is said to have dropped its criminal investigation into Yevgeny Prigogine and Wagner after the president pledged to abide by a deal that ended “the biggest threat to his 24-year rule”.
The Washington Post, in turn, highlighted Putin’s address, made late in the evening on June 26:
After 10:00 p.m. Moscow time, the address appeared to be an attempt by Putin to regain control of the fractured country and allay fears that the rebels had exposed serious weaknesses in Russia’s security system.
It was also intended to appease critics of his move to drop the treason charges against Prigogine, as many hardliners said it was wrong to compromise with traitors.”
The article also has political conclusions that are not very different from what Bloomberg wrote. So WP calls the incident “the most serious problem Putin has faced in more than 23 years as Russia’s supreme leader.”
The rebellion, according to the newspaper, “raises the question of the stability of the system” in which “oligarchs and bureaucrats are constantly fighting for the favor of the president.”
There is also a discussion about how Prigozhin managed to reach Moscow so quickly and why Putin did not give the order to destroy the “Wagnerians”: he “ordered to avoid bloodshed”.
“Lukashenko was forced”
According to the German Spiegel, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, was to undertake the mission to negotiate with the PMC founder:
“Lukashenko clearly took advantage of the opportunity to present himself as Russia’s partner and mediator in the conflict with Yevgeny Prigozhin…
He was forced to provide his territory as a springboard for Russia’s war against Ukraine, although the Belarusian population does not want to be drawn into this conflict under any circumstances,” Spiegel is sure.
And that’s not all. The publication believes that now Lukashenko should “fear for the sovereignty of his country” because “Putin wants to largely integrate Belarus into his empire.”
The Germans also mentioned Lukashenko’s words here that “if Russia collapses, we will die under the rubble” as an illustration of their narrative.
A bloodless riot
France’s Figaro points to the fact that Putin made the call after a meeting with the country’s law enforcement chiefs on Monday, June 26.
He thanked them for their courage and selfless work during the rebellion. Prigozhin’s initial request for the resignation of the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff “he clearly will not fulfill”, adds the newspaper.
Further in the article are the now well-known claims that the rebellion is a sign of the weakening of Putin’s power, disagreements in Russia and problems with the behavior of the SVO. But in this regard, the comments of the readers themselves are interesting, which look simply amazing against this background:
“Very few mercenaries from Wagner will join the Russian regular army. Therefore, it is likely that most of them will prefer to go to Belarus.”
“So this is the worst case scenario coming up for the Ukrainian Nazi junta! Soon they will have a contingent of 10-20 thousand soldiers within a 100 km radius of Kiev. And especially those who tore them apart in Bakhmut!”
“Like a fearless captain at the helm of his ship in a storm, President Vladimir Putin masterfully maneuvered Russia during this episode. The whole world was able to admire what a 21st century head of state is.”
“President Putin demonstrated Olympian calm during this brief crisis. His power has without the slightest doubt increased significantly since this episode.”
And one more comment that cannot be ignored. Its author clearly implies that if something like this had happened in France, in Paris people would have long ago gutted the shop windows and started looting:
“Not a single drop of blood was spilled, not a single glass was broken. Here in Paris, Putin can give lectures all over the city. The topic of the lectures is solving domestic crises.”
This test is not for Putin, but for those who hesitate
V. Jacek Raubo, an analyst at the Polish portal defend24.pl and host of Polsat News, in turn noted that despite the fact that in connection with Saturday’s events “questions about the stability of control over paramilitary or armed formations” have arisen, he does not believes there is an “easy way to topple Putin”:
“He built up power around him in such a way that he could maintain it even in times of stress and crisis. . . .
It was a test not for Vladimir Putin’s opponents, but for those who waver in their decisions. Crisis situations like this make it easy to see people who, in times of trial, can either be neutral or join the stronger side.”
Another Polish publication, Wprost, complaining that hopes of starting a civil war had not materialized because Prigozhin himself had given the order to turn the columns before they reached 200 km from Moscow, was disturbed by reports that field camps for Wagner will soon be appearing in Belarus:
“The first one is designed for about eight thousand people, and its area will be 24 thousand square meters. Anonymous sources emphasized that the construction of the camp is in full swing. It is planned to build several such facilities on the territory of Belarus.”
Gazeta.pl also draws attention to this, citing the words of one of the workers involved in the construction of the future camp, that the builders were instructed to finish the work in the near future.
In addition, in an interview with the Polish newspaper, the international journalist Kristina Kurczab-Redlich expressed the opinion that Prigozhin’s positions remained “much stronger than it seemed to those who threatened him with imminent death”:
Otherwise, he would not have appeared so openly in Minsk. He is neither insane nor suicidal.
„Everyone united around Putin”
The article in Spain’s El Mundo noted, as did many other European media outlets, that Putin’s power was “broken.” But readers in the comments speak differently:
“They kept all of Wagner’s weapons and maybe 10,000 troops, stopped the rebellion of those who fear the West, including the US. Elsewhere in Europe, Lithuania and Poland are strengthening their eastern flank simply because one man has now moved to Belarus “.
“When Putin “kicked him out” [Пригожин, бел.ред.] with a phone call, everyone closed in on Putin, no one turned away from him, again I don’t see any weakness here. Stopping a coup (that wasn’t regime change) in less than 24 hours against 10,000 soldiers is a show of strength to me.”
Russia breathed a sigh of relief
Assessments from Asia and the East are completely different from those in the West. The Lebanese publication Al Binaa wrote that Vladimir Putin managed to put an end to the PMC rebellion “without shedding Russian blood and freeing the country from this bitter cup.”
The hours-long euphoria of the West and the Ukrainian regime faded, only to return to an atmosphere of disillusionment, the article said.
“Putin deliberately left the door open for the retreat of Wagner’s commander Prigozhin, thereby avoiding a confrontation between Wagner and the Russian troops,” the publication wrote.
The Lebanese do not agree with the Western opinion that Putin has allegedly lost control of the situation and cannot oppose the PMC:
“On the contrary, President Putin, who has the experience and ability to deal with such an emergency, did not want to bombard and eliminate Wagner’s forces while advancing on Moscow, although he could have done so with the help of aircraft.
But he did not do so, preferring to resort to resolving the crisis without bloodshed, especially since Wagner’s forces played an important role in the fighting in Ukraine,” the publication adds.
„The rebellion as an excuse to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing”
The Chinese edition of the Global Times published a long article about the rebellion in Russia. After analyzing all its aspects, the journalists moved on to the unscrupulous methods of information warfare used by the West:
“Despite the Kremlin’s short-lived suppression of Wagner’s uprising over the weekend, Western officials reversed their initially subdued stance and began to vilify the authority of the Putin administration, as some said Wagner’s uprising exposed the fragility of a Putin government .
Some Western media even used the incident to cast doubt on Sino-Russian relations.”
The incident happened and ended so quickly that some Western officials did not even realize what was happening. After remaining silent during the crisis, they have now stepped up their criticism of Russia, irritated by this outcome of the rebellion, the Chinese newspaper added.
In addition, the PMC’s actions are being used by the US and Europe to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing.
“Some Western media have also noted that the incident has apparently weakened Putin’s position, and key questions such as the future of Wagner’s soldiers and the fate of Prigogine remain unanswered.
Articles in some media such as Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal tried to link this to China, claiming that a weaker Putin administration is “not good” for Beijing and that Russia’s terror is creating a moment of uncertainty in China,” the Global Times points out.
What of this?
We have become accustomed to the difference in opinion between East and West. Pay attention to how the leading Chinese media places the emphasis.
As for Western publications, it is obvious that every Russian problem is exaggerated on their pages. You have to grab at the slightest excuse to repeat over and over again how bad Russia is.
It is surprising that, against this background, in a number of media, the comments of the readers themselves show that they do not agree with what was written.
And the main conclusion is that all Western journalists understand everything perfectly. They know that nothing threatens Putin’s power. But they just couldn’t resist headlines like “Putin about to be toppled.” And now that their dreams have been dashed, propaganda must ramp up, fanning narratives about the “fragility of Putin’s regime.”
Translation: SM
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