"He went crazy"

What Meduza's sources close to the Kremlin say about Prigozhin, who declared war on Shoigu — and promised to march across Russia on a "march of justice"

On the evening of June 23, the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that the Russian military had attacked a mercenary camp, as a result of which "a huge number of fighters were killed." The Russian Defense Ministry called these words "an information provocation." Prigozhin added that the mercenaries intend to take revenge and "restore justice in Russia":

There are 25 thousand of us, and we are going to figure out why there is chaos in the country. 25 thousand are waiting as a tactical reserve, and the strategic reserve is the entire army and the entire country... Anyone who wants to, join us. We need to put an end to this disgrace. <…>

Anyone who resists... We will consider this a threat and destroy it immediately. Including any checkpoints on our way. I ask everyone to remain calm, not to give in to provocations, to stay in their homes. It is advisable not to go outside along our route.

Prigozhin did not explain what the mercenaries' "route" would be. The president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Vladimir Putin is aware of the situation - and "all necessary measures are being taken." The FSB has already opened a criminal case against the founder of the Wagner PMC.

Meduza’s sources close to the Kremlin responded to Prigozhin’s statements mostly with obscenities.

"It is clear that he did not coordinate anything like that with the AP [the Russian presidential administration]. The president now trusts the leadership of the Ministry of Defense,the counteroffensive [of Ukraine] turned out to be not such a formidable thing. In any case, that is how it is being broadcast outwardly. Whether Prigozhin is coordinating with some security agency or personally with Putin for some unexpected steps, I do not know," says one of the interlocutors close to the presidential administration.

Another source believes that Prigozhin “may be bluffing,” and his bellicose talk will not lead to any real action: “He’s gone crazy. He makes [such] statements, and a systemic person shouldn’t even have such thoughts.”

At the same time, the interlocutor stipulates that Prigozhin is “unpredictable and difficult to control” and it is practically impossible to calculate his next steps: “If he is not bluffing, the security forces will sort it out.”

A Meduza source in a pro-government media outlet noted that so far his publication has received a “recommendation” from the Presidential Administration to disseminate only the official position of the Defense Ministry. This information was confirmed by a source in one of the state media outlets.

Back in early May 2023, when Prigozhin was actively blackmailing the Defense Ministry and the Kremlin with a possible departure from Bakhmut and talking about a certain “happy grandfather” who could turn out to be an “asshole,” his statements caused great concern in the presidential administration. At the time, Meduza’s sources close to the Kremlin called such statements a “serious threat.” They emphasized that Prigozhin was no longer “on the same team” with the Russian government.

Andrey Pertsev

Cover photo: Prigozhin's press service / AP / Scanpix / LETA