As this is a developing story, I’m skipping the archive link.
It’s astounding that Prigozhin was so naive as to think that he could attempt a coup against Putin, and then simply retire in exile to Belarus. Everybody knew something like this would happen, except Prigozhin himself apparently. People have suffered ‘unfortunate accidents’ at the hands of Putin for far less.
then simply retire in exile to Belarus
why would anyone think he was looking to retire
https://mastodon.coffee/@TidalFlats/110940255733069000
Putin:
I thought I had him in a box.
And then he got out like a fox.
And then I saw him in a house.
And I then he went to Belarus.
So I will track him here and there.
Say! I can track him anywhere!
I do not like this Wagner man!
Thank you! Thank you, SAM-I-Am.
Is every vaguely prominent leader in Russia dumb as rocks? How did he think he’d get away with an attempted coup while leaving the dictator in power?
Did he expect to get points for being bad at a coup?
I think he thought it would succeed and put him in power. When that failed he went mostly silent for a long time, probably trying to figure out how to survive. While it is no surprise to anyone (including him) that he was still a target, I think he made a reasonable (though on hindsight obviously wrong) assumption that things have cleared up enough by now to be worth risking travel.
I wonder if Prigozhin had kompromat or a dead man’s switch.
Seems plausible that this will cause issues further down the line.
