Over the span of just 36 hours, Vladimir Putin faced and successfully thwarted one of the most significant threats to his leadership in more than two decades. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of a Russian mercenary group, spearheaded an armed rebellion that seized control of a southern military town and advanced towards Moscow, coming within 125 miles of the city. However, the rebellion was swiftly extinguished, with Prigozhin being promptly exiled to Belarus, escaping criminal charges. This outcome left many Russia observers astounded.
The motivations behind Prigozhin’s rebellion and Putin’s response raise crucial questions. What do these events mean for the future of Putin’s rule and the ongoing war in Ukraine?
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Few individuals possess the level of understanding of the Putin regime that Stephen Kotkin does. As a distinguished scholar of Russian history at Stanford, Kotkin delves into Prigozhin’s complex motivations and why Putin allowed the rebellion to escalate instead of quelling it early on. We also explore reports suggesting that members of Putin’s inner circle were aware of the plot, the “unwitting referendum” caused by Prigozhin’s march that could destabilize Putin’s regime, the peculiar cease-fire negotiated by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Putin’s decision not to harm or imprison Prigozhin, and the potential impact of these events on the Ukrainian conflict and more.
(Note: This episode was recorded on Wednesday, June 28. It does not reflect any news developments that have emerged since.)
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(A full transcript of the episode will be available midday on the Times website.)
Emefa Agawu and Kristin Lin produced this episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.” Michelle Harris fact-checked with assistance from Rollin Hu, Mary Marge Locker, and Kate Sinclair. Jeff Geld and Efim Shapiro were responsible for engineering. Rogé Karma served as the senior editor, and Annie Galvin is part of the show’s production team. Original music by Isaac Jones. Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta handled audience strategy. Annie-Rose Strasser is the executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio. Special thanks to Sonia Herrero.
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