From: lessgovt@gmail.com   
      
   Putin Moves to Punish Prigozhin Allies   
   By Anton Troianovski, June 28, 2023, NY Times   
   [ . . ]   
   Matveychev insisted that the aborted rebellion was a positive for Russia   
   because its failure “strengthens the image of the authorities” and acts as   
   a “vaccine” against future rebellions.   
      
   And Remchukov, the newspaper editor, said that despite his prediction on   
   Sunday that Putin might not run for re-election next year because of the   
   rebellion’s blow to his image, he has seen Moscow’s Kremlin-connected   
   elite rally to Putin’s side as    
   he seeks to telegraph strength.   
      
   “Putin is now totally focused on sending the message to the elites that ‘I   
   can protect you,’” Remchukov said. “Now there will, I think, be some   
   very energetic actions to show this, because his whole logic is to show that   
   this was nothing but    
   treason.”   
      
   Others saw an ongoing challenge for Putin, especially as the war drags on and   
   members of the elite look to blame each other for setbacks at the front.   
      
   “This is a signal that the system of governance is not handling the wartime   
   stress well,” Vinogradov, the Moscow analyst, said. “Especially not in the   
   last two months, when everyone was awaiting a successful Ukrainian   
   counteroffensive and preparing    
   to turn on one another — and even the lack of that success didn’t change   
   this at all.”   
      
   For the Russian public, and the military rank and file, the aftermath of the   
   rebellion is a moment of whiplash, with the Wagner forces — which had scored   
   Russia’s only recent battlefield success and had been celebrated by pro-war   
   bloggers and at    
   times the state media — being recast as traitors.   
      
   Leonid Ivashov, a retired senior Russian general who has spoken out against   
   the war but has remained in Russia, summarized the overarching question   
   hanging over society and the military thus: “What is going on?”   
      
   “Many can’t understand what the government actually wants,” General   
   Ivashov said in a phone interview. “The first question is: What is happening   
   in the country and the army?”   
      
   https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/28/world/europe/putin-prigozhin-russia.html   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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