Putin Recognizes Donbass Republics, Sends Russian Military to 'Denazify' Ukraine

[Navigator]

Slept on it, weighed up all known issues once again and despite your strong instincts Joe - which of course may well be fully correct - I find I'm personally still leaning more towards non state actors such as embittered forces involved with Wagner and/or those 5th columnists involved in the coup knowing that they remained exposed as long as he lived so cleaning house (whilst also having the comfort of knowing the Russian Government unlikely to make a huge deal of his death at this stage or put any effort into hunting down the perpetrators).

This article was shared by Pepe Escobar on Telegram, it has a good rundown of the events, and collects the available photos and videos on the crash. The author then goes and speculates on the possible perpetrators: the FSB and the CIA/Ukraine, and though it leans more for the former, it also provides an interesting third option:

The only other conceivable option is an inside job of some sort. Someone on Prigozhin’s own team who knew he had to go, for whatever reason. A close trusted associate who knew all his boss’s ins and outs would be a candidate for being able to effectively plant an explosive of some kind. A piece of luggage from a person like this would not trigger Prigozhin’s suspicion, for instance.

 

[Cosmos]

Interesting when Putin says that Prig was in the business (traffic?) of precious metals, gas, oil... Is he insinuating something by telling us about Prig's business in Africa? Why is Putin telling us this?

Good point. I think that might have something to do with his demise. Prigozhin, being the consummate "businessman" was likely eyeing the wealth in the African countries that Wagner was attempting to gain a foothold in. As I've been saying, Prigozhin was not a trustworthy character, and removing him from the scene was a necessary 'evil'.

I kept note of that particular statement as well and it almost seemed to me like Putin wanted to express something with it in an ambiguous way: That Prig attempted to enrich himself with the the mineral wealth of African nations. It also seemed to me that Putin, for a number of split seconds seemed to express quite a disgust and contempt in his face for what Prig did. Hard to tell though.

 

[Cosmos]

Absent from Putin's comments on the downing of the plane is any mention of, or even allusion to, it being a deliberate act and the perps being brought to justice.

Thanks for bringing that up. That didn’t occur to me but it is certainly interesting.

 

[Olivierlejardinier]

In the following video, some Wagner forces are forecasted to move to south Ukraine's front, Surovikin being in charge of them...
Wait and see:

My two cents on this plane crash, there's a strong sense of opportunism, for whoever is responsible, conditions became favorable all of a suden and decisions were taken in a sort of hurry...

---

Why now...?

"

Pentagon considering PMC Wagner to be threat to US security — spokesman​

According to the US, PMC Wagner is "no longer a factor on the battlefield in Ukraine", Patrick Ryder noted

WASHINGTON, August 25. /TASS/. The US Department of Defense believes that PMC Wagner is posing threat for US national security and Washington continues keeping an eye on it, Department of Defense Press Secretary Patrick Ryder said at a regular briefing.
PMC Wagner is "the real threat," the press secretary said, adding that the Pentagon will continue monitoring it.
According to the US, PMC Wagner is "no longer a factor on the battlefield in Ukraine," Ryder noted. "Those forces essentially were removed from the battlefield," he added.

The US will continue keeping an eye on Wagner’s operations in Africa, the press secretary said. "I don't think anybody's going to discount the potential for danger when it comes to that group or the remnants of that group. So we'll continue to keep a close eye on it," Ryder informed.

According to preliminary assessments, the Pentagon believes PMC Wagner’s founder Evgeny Prigozhin is given up for lost, the press secretary added. The Department of Defense continues assessing the situation.

The Embraer business jet, en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg, crashed in the Tver Region, just north of Moscow, late on August 23. According to preliminary reports, all ten people on board were killed. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said that Prigozhin was on the passenger list. The agency is looking into the causes of the crash. A criminal investigation has been launched into a violation of safety regulations and rules for the operation of air transport."

 

[Ryan]

I kept note of that particular statement as well and it almost seemed to me like Putin wanted to express something with it in an ambiguous way: That Prig attempted to enrich himself with the the mineral wealth of African nations.

That statement stood out for me, too, although I wondered if it was perhaps a reference to activities Prigozhin was involved with domestically - eg. smuggling gold and diamonds. After all, oil and gas development is pretty "bread and butter" for Russian businessmen, but precious metals and stones are perhaps less common, and are traditionally the typical illicit means for moving large quantities of wealth between and inside countries.

 

[Joe]

That statement stood out for me, too, although I wondered if it was perhaps a reference to activities Prigozhin was involved with domestically - eg. smuggling gold and diamonds. After all, oil and gas development is pretty "bread and butter" for Russian businessmen, but precious metals and stones are perhaps less common, and are traditionally the typical illicit means for moving large quantities of wealth between and inside countries.

Well, there's also this

Shortly before the plane crash in the Tver region, Evgeny Prigozhin met with the President of the Central African Republic

According to WSJ sources, Prigozhin's plane landed in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, on August 18. At a meeting with President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, the businessman said that the failed attempt at a rebellion in Russia in June would not interfere with the work of PMCs in the republic. Prigozhin promised to strengthen the presence of PMC Wagner in the Central African Republic to ensure the security of the authorities and "promote new investments in agriculture," one of the interlocutors said.

The next day, Prigozhin met with representatives of the Sudanese Rapid Response Force (RSF, clashes began between them and the Sudanese Armed Forces in mid-April; the armed conflict continues to this day). PMC "Wagner", according to the publication, helped the RSF to win a series of victories against the army of Sudan, including the capture of one of the military enterprises and the base in Khartoum. In response, the publication claims, representatives of the Rapid Reaction Forces handed over gold to Prigozhin. Then the businessman went to Mali, and from there to Moscow.

 

[youlik]

A last, desperate effort. Or one of the last

The AFU launched the largest attack in the Orekhovo area, sending 83 units of military equipment into battle
One of the largest clashes in the last period of time took place in the Orekhovo area tonight. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) carried out a massive offensive, attracting a significant amount of military equipment to the attack.

According to the data provided by Dmitry Rogozin, the enemy involved 83 units of military equipment in the attack, which distinguishes this collision by its scale among other recent attacks.

According to preliminary reports, active fighting in this area continues at the moment. However, details on this matter have not yet been disclosed, which is probably caused by the difficult situation.

It should be noted that despite the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces hoisted the Ukrainian flag over the locality of Orekhovo, this area is still controlled by the Russian army.

ВСУ перешли в крупнейшую атаку в районе Орехово, отправив в бой 83 единицы военной техники

The attack on Crimea tonight was carried out using 42 drones
Tonight it became known about the attempt of the Kiev regime to commit terrorist attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles of the airplane type. The target objects were important infrastructure facilities on the territory of the Republic of Crimea.

According to official information, 42 unmanned aerial vehicles were detected by air defense means. As a result of the active actions of the Russian air defense, nine of them were destroyed on approach to the intended target. Another 33 vehicles were suppressed using electronic warfare (EW), which led to their collapse in safe areas, without reaching strategically important facilities.

Apparently, the current attack was the most massive on the part of Ukraine, while it should be noted that air defense systems were actively working in other regions of Russia.In particular, it is known that unknown targets were attacked by air defense systems in the Kaluga and Tula regions.

Атака на Крым сегодня ночью производилась с использованием 42 беспилотников

You can say to the Turks: welcome to the disputed islands

Greece terminates the contract with Russia and may send the Tor-M1 and Osa-AKM air defense systems to Ukraine
. Greece has decided to terminate the contract with Russia for technical support and maintenance of the Tor-M1 and Osa-AKM air defense systems. This "top secret" document was accidentally published in the country's parliament, which caused a wide resonance. This is reported by the publication Pronews.gr .

According to the publication, the available spare parts will be enough only for several months of active operation of the systems. This move by the Greek authorities has caused concern among experts, as the significant financial resources spent on these systems are estimated at around a billion euros. Such a decision may lead to additional costs and problems in the country's defense sector.

There is a possibility that these air defense systems may be redirected through third countries to Ukraine in the future. Such a development of events may cause a number of diplomatic and political consequences.

Greece's decision to terminate the contract may be due to pressure from Western partners or a number of other circumstances that are not disclosed at the moment.

Греция расторгает контракт с Россией и может отправить на Украину ЗРК "Тор-М1" и "Оса-АКМ"

Amazing "craziness" of this kind of people. Like Prigozhin, who should, like the Korean Kims, travel only by armored train (although it's difficult to get to Africa by armored train), so I want to ask this pretzel: what the hell brought you to a NATO country? There was no way to do without it?

In Finland, the leader of the DSHRG "Rusich" Yan Petrovsky was detained
The leading Finnish TV channel MTV3 reported on the detention of one of the key leaders of the volunteer battalion "Rusich" Jan Petrovsky in Finland.

"Rusich" actively participated in the events in the east of Ukraine in 2014-2015, and, according to the TV channel, Petrovsky is suspected of involvement in a number of crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine during this period. In this regard, Kiev has officially sent a request for his extradition.

At the moment, the details of the detention and possible charges against Petrovsky are not disclosed. However, detention can become a notable event.

The leadership of the DSHRG "Rusich" has not yet commented on the current situation.

В Финляндии задержан лидер ДШРГ "Русич" Ян Петровский

Spoiler: Russian spelling

Последнее, отчаянное усилие. Или одно из последних
Туркам можно сказать: милости просим на спорные острова
Удивительная "безбашенность" подобного рода людей. Как и Пригожин, которому следовало бы, как Корейским Кимам, перемещаться только на бронепоезде (правда до Африки на бронепоезде доехать трудновато), так и у этого кренделя хочется спросить: какого черта тебя понесло в страну НАТО? Никак нельзя было обойтись без этого?

 

[Keit]

My first hunch was that this seems somewhat out of character for Putin. We know he can be ruthless if need be, but he's such a stickler to procedure, rule of law etc., and this all seems a bit sneaky for him (potentially needlessly killing innocents too).

This was my first hunch too. If he indeed ordered the removal of Prigozhin, then it was done in a manner that is uncharacteristic to him. We are used to Putin being very careful when it comes to unnecessary casualties, not to mention the fact that downing of the plane is an overt act of terrorism.

The thing is that Prigozhin was successfully handled and cornered. Or so it appeared. There wasn't any overt reason for his removal in such a public and dramatic way. Unless, of course, there is some unknown or additional information that required a swift and final resolution. The possibility of Prigozhin being removed by his handlers or other similar sources looks more plausible.

On the other hand, the aftermath of Prigozhin's “march for justice” on 23rd of June and things that came to light indicate that there are many twists and turns. Like the fact that Putin knew about Prigozhin's plans and allowed the whole drama to play out in order to sniff out traitors. If so, there is a possibility that he could be aware of the plans to remove Prigozhin and allowed this to play out as well.

I am also reminded of what Svetlana Dragan had to say about Putin back in April. As it usually goes with predictions, the dates can be wrong (though she did mention 24.06 as one of Putin's dangerous times). She also mentioned in the past that for now all the changes in power and the dynamics that are mentioned in her forcasts are happening in the background and largely invisible to the public eye. But toward the end of the year and starting from next year it will become more overt.

So who knows what is really happening. We will have to wait and see.

...But at the end of June, and I'm more inclined to say closer to 5-10.07.23, we see military heat. This looks extremely serious and pivotal for Russia. Besides the fact that it will be even dangerous, the events may raise questions of governance both in the power structures, and outline the dismantling of the former government and regrouping in the ranks of governance.

I do not rule out that in these times Ukraine may try to use some new weapon. There is a probability of death of one of the important people in the military structures.

July could be complicated. But even more pivotal for Russia could be August!!! 5-14.08.23 may outline a categorical change of strategic and economic vector. Generally a forced historical turn. This is the time when the main man of the country will be forced to make very serious decisions.

Against the background of these decisions, the whole team may be completely changed both in the circles of general management and in the military sphere, including key personalities.

For the head of Russia at this time, many things are coming to a head. And it is as if he is finally trying to synchronize with the general vector of the country, with its spirit. It seems that this may be preceded by the danger of displacement, strange actions and decisions. For many it will seem strange and incomprehensible, but it looks like secret designs.

But it is unambiguous that he will realize the divergence of the country's vector and his activities. This disynchrony will be obvious. He, thus, can be thrown out of historical relevance, at least, he can be next to it. And the existing imbalance in the country will already force to realize the contradiction between the general historical course of the country and the actions of the authorities.

The inconsistency between the rhetoric and spirit that is being created in a new type of country and the actions of the authorities.

Very dangerous time for Putin: 24.06.23, 05.11.23. Here you either need to change everything or leave, although there is nowhere to go. There can be subversions.

"Cardiogram" of the map of the leader of the country as if begins to go off the rhythm and from the warm times of 2023 to the spring of 2024 becomes extremely chaotic.

There is a feeling that as if an alternative union power is being created in the country, which invisibly develops and supports the country, gives an opportunity for new ties, alliances, agreements outside the high structures. It is strange, of course, but it looks that way. Apparently, the former are losing their levers of control. At first it is all behind the scenes, by the fall it becomes more obvious. Closer to 18.08.23 it seems as if a new management idea, new priorities, probably new characters.

 

[youlik]

The people mourn and say goodbye: spontaneous memorials in memory of Yevgeny Prigozhin and "that Wagner" arise all over the country (PHOTO, VIDEO)

Spontaneous memorials in memory of Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin arise all over Russia — people carry flowers and come to express their sorrow at the loss of our Fatherland's faithful sons.

It is very easy to distinguish such impulses from the events of the order: a mountain of flowers grows, and then shots of a strong man in camouflage shuddering in sobs appear on social networks and many, many thousands of Russian people from Vladivostok to Donetsk blink tears while standing in traffic or in a queue for tire service.

This was the case with Alexander Zakharchenko at the time — only after his death did the scale of his personality and the level of people's love become clear. Along the mountain of flowers that grew up at the Donetsk cafe "Separ", along a huge queue of those wishing to say goodbye in the center of Donetsk.

And if we knew quite a lot about Yevgeny Prigozhin, then Dmitry Utkin — the same Wagner, whose call sign became the name of the most famous private military company in the world, preferred to remain in the shadows.

We will quote a story about him written by a former "soldier of fortune", the author of the popular Telegram channel Reverse side of the medal:

"While everyone is investigating what happened and who is to blame, I will remember with this post who Dmitry Utkin "Wagner" was, he is the 09th, he is the 201st.

Dmitry Valeryevich was a man of indomitable will and strength of spirit. Always charged everyone for success. If during the battle a loud ringing voice of 09go turned on the radio exchange, then despite the difficult situation, we knew that we would definitely win.

The 09th came to the KP and always controlled how the fight was going. He felt it well, knew when to take people away, and when to push.

In 2014, when there were battles for Lugansk, "Wagner" took his assistant and moved out to investigate the situation himself. A 120 mortar opened fire on their position, his assistant was killed on the spot, both legs were torn off. Utkin's stomach was ripped open by shrapnel. When familiar fighters dragged him, he held his own guts in his hands. I remember the words of my friend, we already thought that he was everything!

As it turned out, his time has not come yet. He recovered after being wounded and continued to fight.

His words after the first assaults will always be remembered in my memory: "Today we met the enemy, looked at him, he looked at us!”

He was also hunted by the enemy in the area of his own, regular strikes by Hymers. There were new injuries and returns to the front.

A true hero of Russia, a knight of many orders. I can say with confidence that we don't have and won't have anyone like Utkin anymore. Thank you for the experience of fighting, Dmitry Valeryevich."

https://rusvesna.su/news/1692944404

 

[Basque Seeker]

My wild take is that Prigozhin is alive, underwent plastic surgery and he's enjoying life in some African country.

That would:

- Make enemies and other people see that Putin is still strong, 'there is no forgiveness to traitors', etc.

- Make enemies believe that the 'revolt' in the end was true (for those in doubt), which would serve the purpose of making enemies believe that Putin might be strong but the gov is still not, so situation has weakened Russia a lot, this means that Western enemies can get overconfident about overthrowing the gov and make dumb moves against Russia, driven by wishful thinking.

- End the story of the fake revolt in a way that Putin gives Prigozhin the 'thanks for your service' farewell, getting him out of scene and allowing him to live while being consistent with the rest of the public after calling him a traitor months ago.

- Make sense of the words of Putin on his death, in which he doesn't mention any treason, any hard feelings, any jail or prosecution that he would face if he would still be alive... But mentioning specifically all the good he did including "when I asked him to do it for the common good, as he did in recent months".

- Make sense of the fact that the full leadership of the Wagner PMC would never take the same plane risking a situation like this, including the fact that Prigozhin is a pilot himself who probably checked in person the small airplane before departure.

Quite a wild guess, TBH. But that's my view.

Even if this story was true still real people died in that airplane. IF this story was true, who would be onboard of that plane? All the rest listed as dead but him? Or a complete different group?



PS: Most probably unrelated but after few seconds that I started typing this reply I'm having a strong and persistent ringing in the ear. Maybe that's pretty common, but at least it's not common in me, making me feel weird.

 

[Keit]

Regarding the investigation, the head of the investigation is Ivan Sibul. Here's an article translated from Russian:

Ivan Sibul is an aviation accident specialist who has investigated cases such as the crash of a Falcon 50 in Vnukovo, an An-148 in the Ramenskoye region and an SSJ 100 in Sheremetyevo. As the Mir TV channel told in its 2017 report on the work of Russian investigators, Ivan Sibul deals with airports, marinas, ships and planes. Most often, Ivan gets cases of bribes and various disasters.

What is interesting that the crash of a Falcon 50 in Vnukovo on October 20, 2014, is the crash that lead to the death of of Total's CEO Christophe de Margerie. Here's a forum thread about it that mentions various problems with the facts and the investigation. And here's an article that talks about the crash and that it doesn't look to be a mere accident:

De Margerie was one of the few business leaders who spoke out against the isolation of Russia. On this last trip to Moscow, he railed against sanctions and the obstacles to Russian companies obtaining credit.

He was also an outspoken supporter of Russia’s position in natural gas pricing and transportation disputes with Ukraine, telling Reuters in an interview in July that Europe should not cut its dependence on Russian gas but rather focus on making the supplies more secure.

But what could have made de Margerie a total liability is Total’s involvement in plans to build a plant to liquefy natural gas on the Yamal Peninsula of Russia in partnership with Novatek. Its most ambitious project in Russia to date, it would facilitate the shipping of 800 million barrels of oil equivalent of LNG to China via the Arctic.

Compounding this sin, Total had just announced that it’s seeking financing for a gas project in Russia in spite of the current sanctions against Russia. It planned to finance its share in the $27-billion Yamal project using euros, yuan, Russian rubles, and any other currency but US dollars.

Did this direct threat to the petrodollar make this “true friend of Russia”—as Putin called de Margerie—some very powerful and dangerous enemies amongst the power that be, whether in the French government, the EU, or the US?

Putin's ties with Christopher de Mangerie were so strong, a tanker was named after him.

Other cases investigated by Ivan Sibul also have a feel of "needing to find guilty and close the case". You can read about the others in this article.

I don't know if there was anything nefarious about the Falcon 50 crash. It wouldn't be the first time that we hear about a crash, ask the C's and the response is that it was indeed an accident. Accidents happen too, of course. But just in case it wasn't an accident, I am wondering about the appointment of Ivan Sibul as the head investigator.

He could be the perfect person to handle an investigation that would require careful crafting of the facts for the public consumption.

 

[Siberia]

Haven't seen this posted yet, so will share these two posts from Telegram. The first one is the comment by Ramzan Kadyrov, who was a good friend of Prigozhin. The second part is especially interesting:

We've been friends for a long time.
With Evgeny Viktorovich, we often had to solve the most difficult issues. He was distinguished from others by his responsiveness, unique communication skills and persistence. He would come to Grozny at my first invitation, even though he was older than me. You could discuss any topic or problem with him. He was always ready to help and really helped from the heart. We also assisted him in some issues on Libya and Africa. We had a lot of ties. On one of his visits, he presented me with the Wagner Gold Medal "For Special Merit". You can see this moment in the photo.

Evgeny Viktorovich was very active for his age, he was an important person of the state scale. But recently he either did not see or did not want to see the full picture of what was happening in the country. I asked him to leave his personal ambitions behind in favor of matters of paramount national importance. Everything else could be dealt with later. But that's just the way he was, Prigozhin, with his ironclad character and his desire to get what he wanted right here and now.

There's no doubt that he made a great contribution to the SMO. And that credit cannot be taken away from him. His death is a great loss for the whole state.
I offer my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Evgeny Viktorovich.

And there is another interesting comment by The Deer channel. Their political analysis and forecasts often turn out to be accurate and insightful. On 30 June, right after Prigozhin's failed coup they wrote the following:

According to our sources, Western intelligence services may try to liquidate Prigozhin and Surovikin in order to blame the Kremlin and try to organize a new armed rebellion among the military against this background.

And now two months later, following the plane crash, they wrote the following:

️Disclaimer. We do not claim the laurels of Vanga, we do not use the crystal ball, we have no connection with the Indian space station "Chandrayaan-3", and we do not disclose our sources.

To kill Prigozhin was the main goal of Western security services immediately after June 24. Preparations started literally the very next day after the mutiny. On June 30, the head of Ukraine's GUR, Budanov, not at all coincidentally publicly threw in the narrative that allegedly "the FSB had received an assignment to liquidate Prigozhin," and noted knowingly, "all potential assassination attempts will not be quick, they will need some time to develop appropriate approaches." Biden amplified the information effect by recommending that Prigozhin watch what he eats. The scenario of Prigozhin's assassination was set in motion, the informational preparation started.
However, to eliminate Prigozhin in Africa would have been half the success. It was necessary to eliminate Prigozhin in Russia, and as demonstratively as possible, so that everyone would believe in the false "Russian trail" that would lead to Putin and the Russian security services - not only in the West, but also in Russia. Immediately after the crash, a video of the moment of the plane crash was sent to Telegram channels actually associated with Wagner and mimicking the Prioghin channels (created and supervised by CIPSO), with comments that eyewitnesses heard two explosions and saw an inversion trail from an air defense missile. Many people, including Prigozhin's sincere sympathizers and patriotic media, "ate up" this throw-in, forgetting to turn on critical thinking in their emotions and not thinking about who just happened to be taking pictures of the sky with a phone and "accidentally" filmed the moment of the explosion. So the version about Russian air defense became the main version in the Russian media field, and it was reflected and amplified in the international media, which came out with the same headlines "Putin's Revenge". They also remember about MH-17, so it was a big hit in the West.

In reality, it is a terrorist attack that is the main version, and now special services are studying the circumstances of the tragedy, and primarily the manipulation of Prigozhin's plane and the team at the airport. Betrayal and tip-offs from the inner circle are unlikely to have been avoided. The conspiracy theory about a grandiose hoax and staged death is certainly in the spirit of Prigozhin, he was capable of such a thing, and the authorities will not oppose its dissemination, it is more environmentally friendly for them than recognizing the great success of foreign intelligence in Russia, but, unfortunately, facts are stubborn things. We offer our condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased Hero of Russia - he was a very ambiguous person, but unequivocally a Great Patriot.

The most important thing to realize now is that Prigozhin was dangerous not for Putin. Prigozhin was dangerous to those who are after Putin. He was eliminated as the most dangerous and uncontrollable by the West participant in the transit of power in Russia. Prigozhin's death is only the first act of the triggered scenario, in the second act of the multi-trick - there will be an attempt to use this situation to mobilize veterans of military operations and organize a new armed resistance.

 

[luc]

he other hand, the aftermath of Prigozhin's “march for justice” on 23rd of June and things that came to light indicate that there are many twists and turns. Like the fact that Putin knew about Prigozhin's plans and allowed the whole drama to play out in order to sniff out traitors. If so, there is a possibility that he could be aware of the plans to remove Prigozhin and allowed this to play out as well.

Another possibility that was floated by the Duran is that if the whole Prig march was an operation allowed by Putin to sniff out traitors, then it stands to reason that there might be some of those traitors who want to off the primary witness. But I think you are right, there seems to be something going on behind the scenes that's hard to see at the moment.

 

[Approaching Infinity]

https://rusvesna.su/news/1692944404

On this, here's what Russians with Attitude had to say about the Russian character when it comes to the dead:

Russians will always venerate the dead like no other nation. We might hate the person when he's alive or even wish death upon him - but the moment he departs from this world he enjoys the status of a proper human being. We reflect on the good qualities of the deceased. If there were none - we manufacture them. The world will never be the same again after his departure - even if his name was Boris Yeltsin

Those who stubbornly refuse to fall in line of only speaking good of the dead will be harshly reprimanded. There was perhaps a single exception to hagiography - the brutal murder of Nicholas II with his family. An exception that proves the rule. The Soviet ghouls tried to erase it - the brutal murder - from people's memory. You wouldn't have read about it in Soviet Pravda. Even in this instance, the Soviet, still a Russian, remained true to his instincts. Yes, he might have fallen for all the communist fabrications about the man - but it would only concern the time when Nicholas II was a formal emperor. A coward, a bloodthirsty fool, an enemy of labour and all that. Yet his brutal death was never a joking matter. When Russians finally found out what actually happened to Nicholas II and his family - 70 years after the fact - an overwhelming majority of Russians have agreed that he must anointed as a new Orthodox Saint

I believe the anglo-american approach is a bit different. A lot of Brits would gleefully chant "The Witch is Dead" on the anniversary of Thatcher's death. This is not a moral judgment, but a difference in our approach to the dead. Americans are similar - the pure joy when their political/ideological enemy passes away is palpable. It's not the case in Russia

Russian veneration of the dead might even be irrational. It's like a switch that changes your perception entirely - and all the cynical remarks and even well-deserved hatred fades away into eternity - along with the soul of the deceased. What I'm trying to say here is that Prigozhin will turn into a fabled hero from now on. In people's memory, he will be fondly remembered for centuries. In his case, what critic could stand against him - even after he embarked on his bloody March of Justice crusade. His hero status will quadruple - no - octodecuple! He will become the new martyr of the new Russia that is about to come

The same treatment awaits Dmitry Utkin. I wonder if that understanding of Russian psychology is - in part - what has caused this plane crash. If the necromancer discoursemongers of one of the Kremlin towers have decided that these people have better utility being dead than alive. We will see that very soon. Now millions of Russians will exclaim: Prigozhin is a hero. The world will never be the same again after his departure.

Russians With Attitude

Russians will always venerate the dead like no other nation. We might hate the person when he's alive or even wish death upon him - but the moment he departs from this world he enjoys the status of a proper human being. We reflect on the good qualities of the deceased. If there were none - we...

t.me

 

[Windmill knight]

I'm listening to the guys of The Duran at the moment. Alexander Mercouris has some interesting observations to make. He says that you could build a hypothesis joining the dots to argue that it was Putin behind the murder (he doesn't think it was an accident and I don't think anyone does), but that still he doesn't think he was, and the main reason is that Putin wouldn't do that on Russian soil while BRICS was taking place (and remind all the BRICS of the Prigozhin affair) and sacrificing innocent Russian lives as colateral. Alexander Christophorous put it as 'being sloppy'.

And, like others in this discussion, I share this opinion. Surely Prigozhin had to be dealt with, perhaps it was too much that after his 'failed coup' he carried on behaving like the warlord, this time in Africa, and who knows what else he was up to behind the scenes. But I can think of several alternatives that the Russian government could have taken before blowing up an airplane from the skies of Russia. I can't think of any reason why Putin couldn't have simply put him in jail if he had wanted to - I mean, Prigozhin had committed mutiny and Wagner had fired on Russian troops. Mercouris mentioned maybe someone could have shot him while in Africa and yihadists could have been blamed, as another example.

Anyway, that's just my feeling and The Duran is also presenting it as their guess while not ruling out other possibilites. Like they say, the difference between themselves and the people at Washington who immediately put the blame on Putin, is that The Duran admits they are guessing, while the others are guessing but don't admit it.

As for the real culprit, lets remember that Prigozhin's main beef (that we know of) was with the Ministry of Defense of Russia, so who knows if someone within that power structure decided to take matters on their own hand. That's just one possibility, but I think there are many others. Remember that Victoria Nuland had just been to Niger and her main message was 'don't hang out with Wagner' - she didn't even seem that concerned with the restoration of democracy or whatever. I wouldn't even rule out third or fourth parties seeking to plant chaos in Russia - Mossad tends to intervene where they don't have direct interests to do just that, for example.

Here's The Duran: