Does the word DEFENESTRATION mean anything to you? Pal, do not go upstairs any time soon.
5 Likes
You must have missed the comments about windows.
5 Likes
As I have speculated on the topic on the Russian war against Ukraine [edited and shortened for clarity):
Ad 1 and 2): a lot of Wagner personell may now join ranks based on the deal, and might still be loyal to the Cook.
Ad 2): The parts of Wagner which are operating internationally weren’t mentioned here, yet. What about them? Is the Cook still the person to do the dirty work for Putin abroad?
Ad 3) I am not holding my breath that the Dictator will be gone soon, but if you followed news from Belarus, it seems Lukasheko has had no real plan for that.
9 Likes
Maybe it was all just about money.
7 Likes
Squaddie, “Sarge, we found seven billion roubles in a van.”
Sarge, “Sir, we found six billion roubles in a van.”
Lieutenant, “Captain, we found five billion roubles in a van.”
Captain, “Prigozhin, we found four billion roubles in a van.”
Prigozhin, “Chickenfeed!”
12 Likes
I also wonder that.
One possibility is that Lukashenko is weak in Belarus and stays in power there thanks to Russian military support. Maybe Prigohozin sees himself in power there. That would help Putin, to have a Russian nationalist in power, but not in Russia.
Just my speculation on this…
5 Likes
Not a very dramatic ending, but one with a rippling effect.
Could you imagine a General of an Army base mobilizing troops to DC to complain about conditions and supplies while shooting down a few helicopters on the way? In what world would “Turn around and go home and we will give amnesty to your troops.” play out?
Prighozin won’t be safe in Belarus. Putin definitely weakened domestically. As we said about Jan 6, insurrection with out punishment means they will just do it again.
It is going to be interesting to see how things fall out and if Ukraine will capitalize on it.
Good luck!
7 Likes
Yah, what he got out of it was not being thrown in a Russian gulag. Amazingly, Putin agreed not to prosecute him or his men, which says a lot about how scared Putin is and how fragile his regime is getting. That he’s willing to make a deal with men like that that challenged him so openly is very telling. Strongmen-based regimes don’t make deals unless they’re really desperate.
11 Likes
What strikes me as interesting is that he would see the risk of a serious fight as sufficient to merit taking the deal when he’s well aware that there are things worse than either being killed in action or getting charged and ending up as the local celebrity of whatever prison you get sent to; and those things happen frequently and systematically.
Apparently they’ve figured something out, at least in the immediate term, and I can only defer to their superior subject matter expertise; but I just can’t imagine that Putin has the ability to provide credible “won’t be black-bagged and tortured by the FSB” assurances; even if he’s scared enough to want to.
2 Likes
Maybe he turned around because Putin said he would nuke him? (And sounded convincing.)
1 Like
8 Likes
General MacArthur may have been the closest example, of a military leader with a lot of the US military power who was contradicting the president, but he may have hoped for a political instead of a military victory. It’s of course not the same situation, but there are parallels.
2 Likes
Long thread of what’s happening in Russian media.
(It seems good, but I have no experience with this person.)
Has anyone made a Fediverse thread unroller yet?
4 Likes
Not a general, just as it wasn’t general in this case, but frame it this way.
“Can you imagine Erik Prince mobilizing troops to DC to complain about conditions and supplies while shooting down a few helicopters on the way?”
He might get a “turn around and go home” if he was still in charge or dirty work all over the globe for the same folks currently then in power.
3 Likes
Maybe Lukashenko was not acting completely by his own, but as a proxy that looks like as an uninterested* third-party to do the mediation and also to allow Putin to save face and don’t have to make a direct concession to Prighozin.
*Some sources say that Lukashenko have some problems with his own military and depends on a stable Putin regime to keep his position.
But, some also mention that he is very close to Prighozin and he would probably have the same guarantees as he has with Putin, but, maybe what scared him was the possible transition period where he could be couped.
6 Likes
… is that an elaborate metaphor for a crypt 
8 Likes
Russian sources say Aleksey Dyumin, former bodyguard of Putin and current governor of the Tula region, might become the new Russian defense minister replacing Shoigu. They say it was him that unofficially resolved the conflict with Prigozhin. Surovikin might become Chief of GS [General Staff].
5 Likes
Yes. Easily.
Is there a betting pool on Pregozhin’s expiration date?
10 Likes
6 Likes
So - that would mean that Putin is covering for Hunter Biden?
13 Likes
