A CIVIL WAR IN RUSSIA?

Nobody believes that a civil war in Russia is possible because of the situation in Ukraine. But it is clear that Vladimir Putin is being criticized by the head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigokhine, and quite possibly by some generals who are at the front and do not dare to say it in public.

Putin believed that the invasion of Ukraine would be a path of roses for the Russian armed forces, and it has been the opposite. The two big problems have been and still are: the resistance of the Ukrainians, and secondly the decision of the Western countries, the United States in the lead, not to drop Zelensky.

Putin has undoubtedly been wrong, but he finds himself in a dead end because he refuses to negotiate peace in exchange for abandoning the territories he has occupied. The president of Turkey, Erdogan, has done everything possible for him to convince him that he must negotiate and withdraw the troops from him. He has been of no use.

The last to propose his mediation has been the president of Algeria, Tebboune, who in a visit to Moscow last week told Putin that Algeria can mediate between Russia and Ukraine so that blood stops flowing and through "fair concessions". .
Putin cannot criticize such a strong ally as Algeria, so he told Tebboune to keep trying to find a way out, but nobody believes that these words were sincere-

Meanwhile, Prigojine has said he is ready to unleash a rebellion against the "inefficiency" of the Russian army in Ukraine. Putin has described these words as "a stab in the back of Russia" and has pointed out that "if there is a betrayal from inside Russia, we will defend ourselves."

But actually, Prigojine is more admired than Putin because the Wagner group is fighting hard and, to some extent, while the Russian forces are showing a state of despondency.

"The rebellion (of Prijoline) is a serious crime and this can lead us to a civil war," Putin also said in a speech broadcast by the media, to convince the Russians that the war is just and that it will end. to win despite all the criticism, whether it came from inside or outside.

Is Putin going to confront Prijoline directly? If he does, he'll make another mistake because he needs Wagner's fighters and he can't disarm them unless he does something else crazy. The problem is that, for the first time since he became president of Russia, there is a person (Prijoline) who is publicly confronting him. Putin was used to Medvedev's “lick-ass” and did not believe that an enemy would emerge within the country.

But to think that a civil war could take place is a hypothesis that everyone rules out. What is clear is that Putin has lost a good part of his charisma and his action does not convince people as he would have liked.

Meanwhile, Prijoline has taken control of two Russian military bases in cities that he has not named for now, but which would be located near the Rostov-on-Don region, in the southeast of the country. Prijoline has demanded that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov come and negotiate directly with him for a way out of the current chaos.