Kremlin boss willing to compromise under pressure: Wagner march on Moscow exposes Putin

Thanks and bid

But the reaction to this march on Moscow showed us an unexpected side of Putin. After the mercenaries made him sweat with their heavily armed convoy, he avoided wartime rhetoric and hate speech in his speech on Monday. On the contrary, he thanked his troops and offered the Wagner fighters solutions: join the regular army, return home or defect to Belarus.

Wagner boss Prigozhin, who initially called Putin a ‘traitor’, apparently got away with it. On Tuesday, the Kremlin announced that proceedings against him would be discontinued given the end of “criminal activities”. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (68), the main target of Prigozhin’s criticism, is allowed to stay on.

Putin thrives on scare tactics

His response exposed Putin. She confirmed to us that he only understands the language of strength. But it also showed us that Putin does not necessarily resort to extreme measures and is even willing to make certain compromises when his back is against the wall.

Ukrainian journalist and war observer Denis Trubetskoy writes about Putin on Twitter: “One must, of course, continue to act wisely, but irrational and exaggerated fears must finally be let go. Finally. Because Putin lives on the fear of others – and not really on his own strength. ”