...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances..., saying his army lacked the personnel needed while alluding to defense minister Sergei Shoigu as being in a position to be capable of toppling Putin, according to a report.
Former commander of pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, Igor Girkin, had on Saturday accused Prigozhin of preparing for a coup and labeled the Wagner boss’s insults against the armed forces and top defense officials as criminal.
"In fact, with his statements, Prigozhin made a step towards mutiny," said Girkin according to a video shared by WarTranslated, an independent organization which translates Ukraine war materials. He added: "If Prigozhin remains the head of Wagner, the mutiny will come quickly and radically."
"A coup attempt has been declared... What will happen next, I don't know, especially as Wagner is urgently withdrawn to rear bases... The danger of a looming coup is clear," Girkin said.
Prigozhin argued on Monday that Wagner simply didn’t have large enough numbers to carry out a coup, the think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) which tracks daily developments of the Russian war on Ukraine highlighted in an assessment.
The Wagner chief also claimed to maintain good relations with Putin. Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, another bullet hole appeared in Butch's hat......
he subtly indicated that the person well-positioned and capable of staging a coup was the defense minister because he had access to the Russian special forces.
Prigozhin gained widespread notoriety for his public rants against the Russian elite and military top brass, and he repeatedly singled out Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Analysts told Al Arabiya English that despite his prominent public profile and high visibility on the global stage, his actual influence is diminishing. They also added that while his attention-grabbing antics persist, there is still a place for him within Putin’s power structure.