Civil war almost broke out in Russia on Saturday after the mercenary group Wagner and its boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin made their way toward Moscow, calling for a revolution.
The action from the group was in response to Wagner accusing Moscow of launching a deadly military strike on its troops. However, there was no fighting as Prigozhin called his troops back after saying they would bring an armed rebellion to Moscow.
KCBS Radio’s Dan Mitchinson spoke with Mikhail Alexseev, a Professor of political science at San Diego State University and former Ukrainian journalist and Kremlin correspondent, about the almost civil war.
Alexseev said that the Wagner Group, or the “best Russian military unit,” turned around and went back into Russia, seizing cities and territory without as much as a shot being fired.
The Wagner Group is a private company of mercenaries that was set up in collaboration with the Russian military about a decade ago.
“They participated in the military invasion in Ukraine in 2014. In East Ukraine and Crimea,” Alexseev said, adding that they were used as a tool of foreign policy.
Those fighting to stave off Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have called the mercenary group some of the most fierce and formidable fighters the country has to offer. Because of the group’s success, Alexseev says that those in Russia’s Ministry of Defense feared “Prigozhin may get too powerful.”
After he was sidelined out of caution by the Kremlin, Alexseev said that Prigozhin began sharing harsh criticisms of the country’s government.
Alexseev said that the Wagner Group was used on the front lines, where it suffered heavy losses, which was all but enough for Prigozhin.
“This whole revolt. This whole mutiny that he was leading was not aimed against Putin. He said he’s not seeking to remove Putin from power,” Alexseev said. “He wants to change the military command in Russia. He called them incompetent. He called them inadequate.”
Alexseev also noted that it is important to know that Prigozhin is not anti-war in Ukraine but rather the opposite, often calling for stronger tactics in the country.
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