Translated material
Before the rebellion, Prigozhin planned to perform in the State Duma to return Putin's arrangement - The Moscow Times
The head of the Wagner PMC Evgeny Prigozhin planned to speak at a meeting of the State Duma of the Russian Federation criticizing the leadership of the Russian army. Surrounded by Prigozhin considered the possibility that the head of the mercenaries would come to the meeting, accompanied by the then current commander -in -chief of the VKS Sergey Surovikin. This was written by The Moscow Times with reference to anonymous sources in the State Duma, the leadership of the Private Party "Just Russia", as well as a familiar Prigozhin.
“He was going to voice the entire gloom in his, by the Ministry of Defense, how many victims were actually among our fighters. Assistants were preparing his arrival,” said Prigozhin's acquaintance.
According to the source of the publication in the Russian parliament, Prigozhin came to the State Duma in the spring of 2023 and tried to get permission to come from the rostrum. He turned to the State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, but was refused because of the Kremlin’s ban on any Prigoter's activity .
- Read further: The death of Prigozhin: the Kremlin’s revenge for "humiliation" and the uncertain future of his PMC
By the summer of 2023, due to his public conflict with the Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu and the head of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin lost direct access to Vladimir Putin.
“Even in those rooms, where he used to literally open the door with his foot, the entrance was ordered to him,” the government official told the publication.
After that, in order to regain the location of the president, Prigozhin decided to organize a speech with the help of his supporters in Fair Russia, secretly from the leadership of the Duma and the party. The head of the Wagner PMC believed that his sharp statements would force Putin’s assistants to report to him about what happened. Prigozhin media holding operators and journalists were supposed to prepare publications in order to arrange a “ grandiose scandal ”.
But on June 22, the day before the planned performance, Prigozhin refused to participate in the event without explanation. Instead of a speech in the State Duma, the oligarch announced the next day the “ march of justice ” to Moscow and led the army of mercenaries to Moscow.