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Rene St. Cyr's avatar

Thank you Diane! A straight march into Moscow seemed suicidal; the Wagner group would need to attack on multiple fronts at the same time to be successful. Fortunately, the reality (unnecessary) of the war against Ukraine and the greedy oligarchs is being exposed. Russia's status within the UN must change and be done quickly.

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Mark Kolke's avatar

Dianne - thank you for laying out the history so well; the gangsta-style of Russian governing is not new, and these events will likely embolden NATO, Ukraine and Democrats in the U.S.. The reporting has been light so far on the connections between Putin-Trump and Prigozhin come to light; I'm sure the Republican contestants for the presidential nomination are salivating ...

Like you, I remember air raid siren tours being installed, drills to hide under our desks and watching Sputnik in the night sky - when we were children these notions of the cold war, arms race and space race are fun stories we can retell to our grandchildren.

It's perverse to say the least, that what began as Putin wanting to effectively nationalize Prigozhin's Wagner group had the reaction and repercussions it produced. What is not surprising is the reaction of anyone whose assets and cash flow are being threatened - so Prigozhin acted predictably. And pershaps Putin is now wishing Prigozhin had falled out of a hospital window ...

The remarkable thing is not that a caterer-turned contractor/oligarch/billionaire could do what he did so swiftly, but that the 'Putin and his generals' have such a vulnerable grip on Russia and possibly on the Russian people they purport to serve.

It may not be another Russian Revolution, but I expect Navalny folloeers to be making noises and Putin to slip out the back door. I posted a column on this on the weekend : E A C L N R U; another Russian revolution https://markmusing.substack.com/p/e-a-c-l-n-r-u-another-russian-revolution

Keep up the great work!

Cheers,

Mark

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