Russian Politics

Prigozhin: They Seek Him Here, They Seek Him There…

He’s like the Scarlet Pimpernel, elusive but effective

Join me as I try to follow this criminal’s trail after Putsch Day, 24 June 2023, tongue-in-cheek. The Putsch failed you say? Well, we don’t yet know for sure. The 1991 coup attempt against Gorbachev was seen at first to have failed, but within four months the USSR was dissolved.

The Trail

They seek him here,

They seek him there,

His beard is gross,

His head is bare,

Vlad could make or break him,

But Vlad just wouldn’t dare,

‘Cos Prig’s a dedicated follower of putsching.

With apologies to The Kinks.

Listen as you read about my research into his whereabouts.

But where is he?

Rostov-on-Don

On June 24th 2023 (Putsching Day) Prigozhin was in Rostov-on-Don where, reports now say, he may have captured Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s Chief of General Staff.

Would that give Prigozhin a hold — kompromat — over Putin and explain his apparent freedom of movement after Putsching Day?

I doubt it. Putin would not care about Gerasimov’s fate, would he? In fact, if Prigozhin disposed of Gerasimov he would probably be doing Putin a favour.

Belarus?

Belarus is where Prigozhin was exiled to after Putsching Day, according to Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s fount of truth.

— The criminal case against Prigozhin will be terminated, he will “leave for Belarus”

Prigozhin’s plane was tracked there, then back to St. Petersburg. Then Rostov and so on. Laying false trails? Perhaps. Was he ever on any of the flights?

Syria?

We know that Wagner has been heavily engaged in supporting Russian operations in Syria. Unfortunately I have not been able to geolocate this photograph but the flag is a giveaway. Nevertheless, it could have been staged.

Cuba?

Yes, Prigozhin definitely has the ‘Fidel’ look in this picture.

Russia’s Foreign Minister, Lavrov, recently visited Cuba and there are signs that the relationship is being rekindled. Cuba is desperate for fuel and Russia has plenty to spare with its international customer base having dwindled.

How could Cuba pay for the fuel?

How about a couple of battalions of meat?

Meat?

Coming right up, Sir!

Kazakhstan?

Prigozhin could be in Kazakhstan, on set, directing his latest war epic ‘Screwing President Putin’.

This appears unlikely, however, as Vladimir Putin called Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to brief him on what was happening in Russia, but Tokayev replied that “this is an internal matter for Russia”. (Ukrayinska Pravda via Yahoo). Nevertheless, Tokayev could be receptive to Prigozhin just to piss off Putin.

Russia?

We may now be getting nearer to the truth, if such an idea is conceivable.

On 6th July 2023, self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Lukashenko, said that Prigozhin was no longer in Belarus (Reuters), and said that he was in Russia.

Then he was more precise.

Or was he?

But he’s definitely clear about one thing:

A despot clearly in control of his own territory. Just.

Right then, so where is Prigozhin?

Finland?

The latest report is that he may be in Finland.

Rumour has it that Ivan Popov is an expert player of Stalin’s Organ.

But is it him?

Like his pal Putin, he may be using body doubles (CIA).

Really, where is he?

Seriously, Prigozhin seems to enjoy considerable freedom of movement in both Belarus and Russia — at least according to various flight tracks of his aircraft on Flightradar. Here’s a fascinating video compilation of the flight tracks.

The flight tracks include post-exile visits to Rostov and Voronezh as well as St. Petersburg and Moscow. These tracks are recorded when the plane’s transponder is switched and that’s not always the case.

We still don’t know where Prigozhin’s even more nasty Nazi ex-Spetsnaz co-owner of Wagner is. I still hold the view — low probability admittedly — that Wagner may have control of nuclear artillery shells at the Voronezh-45 storage facility, and that is what Wagner’s Dmitry Utkin was focused on achieving while everyone else was following Priogzhin’s antics on 24 June. Maskirovka.

Gulagu.net cites a source as saying that Wagner plans to seize 12 objects of Russia’s nuclear arsenal, claiming that the enigmatic Wagner commander Dmitry Utkin is responsible for this part of the armed coup. — EuromaidanPress 24 June 2023.

For sure the FSB know where Prigozhin is and whether he is dead or alive. It’s easy enough to fly a plane around empty. Or carrying false beards. Or nuclear artillery shells.

Could he be dead?

That is certainly possible although if Prigozhin is dead, then Lukshenko is acting well in the video we saw. Or in ignorance.

They seek him here

They seek him there

This power-seeking megalomaniac

Always beats his chest

Cos he’s a dedicated follower of putsching.

Prigozhin obviously likes ranting on video but we haven’t seen him beating his chest live since leaving Rostov on 25th June. But I could be wrong.

And where is Dmitry Utkin? I haven’t seen him mentioned in the news feeds since 24 June.

This Russian farce is far from over yet.

Could Chekhov have written such a play about Russian politics and intrigue?

It’s almost beyond belief.

But then, look at the state of USA politics today.

It’s almost beyond belief.

Now, I’ve moved on from listening to The Kinks as I finish this story.

It’s now the finale of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, played by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Eastern Army Band and 1st Artillery Unit complete with M101 105mm howitzers. There’s no Stalin’s Organ in this one.

It puts me in the mood for Russia’s eventual withdrawal from Ukraine’s legal territory. Check the empty seats. Russia’s next Victory Day Parade may look like that. They were down on tanks at this year’s parade.

They may be down on rulers next year.

Or maybe Prigozhin will be sitting there.

Would that be good?

I doubt it.

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