The Business Press – June 27, 2023 at 07:39PM
When Vladimir Putin delivered a speech just days after surviving the greatest challenge to his leadership in 23 years, he sought to strike a defiant tone.
The Russian President described the armed convoy of thousands of Russian soldiers led by Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin as a ‘mutiny’ designed to foment domestic turmoil, and its organizers as plotters who ‘betrayed their country and their people.’
But to the surprise of even the most astute Kremlinologists, Putin did not reveal plans for punishment or retribution.
The door has now been open for anyone to challenge Putin—not just Prigozhin. If somebody can step into Putin’s shoes at some point, the riches are beyond imagination. So there’s a huge incentive for a lot of people to do that.
Putin still has an opportunity to redeem himself, but in doing so he’s going to have to embark on an almighty purge that we haven’t seen since Stalin’s time.
And I think that that’s what he’s going to do, but whether he succeeds in that is another question
The Business Press 