Yevgeny Prigozhin’s name has been on everyone’s lips since the plane he was on crashed northwest of Moscow on Wednesday night. Nothing has been confirmed, but there has been a lot of speculation. Many believe that Putin is behind it, while others claim that the military leadership may have bypassed Putin.
You may never get the answer, but if this is Putin’s work, he has once again shown himself at his most brutal.
– This was a public execution (…) It seems that Putin killed not only Prigozhin, but probably also his closest associates and perhaps even his family, wrote the former commander of NATO forces in Europe, James Stavridis, on Twitter.
Also read: Three possible theories about why Putin chose to kill Prigozhin now
– Death sentence
In mid-June, Prigozhin led the mercenaries of the Wagner paramilitary group against Moscow, with the aim of overthrowing the Russian military leadership. And if Putin is behind it, that may be why Prigozhin paid with his life.
The “March to Moscow” challenge to state power is high treason, a crime often punishable by a long prison term or death, Professor Jan Halland Matläri, professor at UiO University and Norwegian Armed Forces College, tells Nettavisen.
– So it is not surprising that this happened. In a democracy you will have a trial; It can also happen in Russia. But the method chosen strikes fear into the hearts of all who think of rebellion; Which may have been the purpose. Mattlary adds that this was not surprising.
Putin is ruthless with traitors
The person who knows the story of the Russian president best of all is Aage Storm Borchgrevink. He has written a book on Putin’s path to power and how he influenced Russian society. Borchgrevink currently works for the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.
Putin was once asked what he could never forgive, and he replied treason. He is very careful to distinguish between enemies and traitors. Putin has stated that traitors end up in the ditch.
Read the caption: Prigozhin burns in two dimensions – a kind of obituary
previous examples
Borchgrevink highlights several examples in which Putin and the Kremlin got rid of dissidents. One of them is Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was one of Russia’s richest men before he fell out with Putin and was found guilty of corruption and sent into exile.
Another happened when Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia Skripal were poisoned in England in 2018. Both survived and the British authorities came out early and said the poison used was military and Russian.
– This attempt was not very successful and embarrassing for the Russians, but it shows how far they were willing to go. At this point, Skirpal didn’t seem to matter, but Putin wanted to set an example, says Borchgrevink.
Russian news agencies reported that the head of the Wagner company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was among the victims of a plane crash north of Moscow. Ten people are said to have died in the accident.
Stamped Prigozhin
In a speech delivered while the Wagner rebellion was still active, Putin called Wagner’s boss a traitor and said Prigozhin had stabbed Russia in the back.
– It was probably very difficult to bear the kind of humiliation that Prigozhin subjected to Putin. The author says that the whole incident was somewhat like an execution and was very amazing.
The first reports of Prigozhin’s involvement in the plane crash came from Russian authorities and Russian news agencies, before Russian aviation authorities released a list of those on board later that evening.
– It was as if I was proud of what happened. And I think the Kremlin is behind it. “If someone had done this without Putin’s approval, I think Putin would be very surprised and upset,” says Borchgrevink.
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– Will we ever find out what really happened and who gave the order?
– no. One of the features of the system is that the Kremlin controls history and tries to fight everything that is based on facts, as the author says in conclusion.
Read also: An expert launches a new theory about controlling the flight of the Wagner Chief: – An eye for an eye
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