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Because it takes more than money and the word of the top man to successfully turn around and attack your own homeland. Yes, they're mercenaries, but they're la

Because it takes more than money and the word of the top man to successfully turn around and attack your own homeland. Yes, they're mercenaries, but they're largely Russian mercenaries, subject to much of the same propaganda. Prigozhin's people don't just blindly follow. Granted, Russia did a lot of the convincing for them it seems with lack of support and alleged friendly fire incidents, but still. The reason this wasn't really an option on the proverbial table is because things had to get bad enough first for Russia/it's mercs to even acknowledge that table existed. Afterall, keep in mind who these people are, and how many countless and considerable, merited justification the western powers sitting at that table have to drag their ass to court and/or a firing line. Keep in mind, dropping fat stacks on said table doesn't mean much to a Russian in Russia in the current climate if those stacks are American dollars (and the recipient wishes to remain within the Russian sphere of influence, and promises of payment upon completion are less compelling than cash that can be spent upfront to pay for a coup for example). And it might be hard for foreign powers to come up with enough rubles that would both be worth it and wouldn't throw up a lot of red flags before hand. Now, if anyone can do it, it's the alleged shadowy figures we're alluding to here, but the ultimate point is that such a thing is not something that happens quick, or easy, or when things are going "good" for the people you're trying to turn traitor. The reality is this hasn't happened because it's a whole lot more complicated than simply showing up with enough cash in your pocket, because even that alone is a huge undertaking all thing considered. For the record I don't necessarily think this is the primary impetus for the coup, but I'd be shocked if there weren't very serious powers making serious efforts to achieve something like this, and as a result, likely had non-trivial influence here. I highly doubt it's as simple as Wagner just getting bought out though. If anything I'd say this as much opportunism and initiative by Prigozhin himself as it as any foreign powers work. EDIT: Think I had a stroke typing this originally, cleaned up all the typos, sorry.

acdha 3y ago
> For the record I don't necessarily think this is the primary impetus for the coup, but I'd be shocked if there weren't very serious powers making serious efforts to achieve something like this, and as a result, likely had non-trivial influence here. I highly doubt it's as simple as Wagner just getting bought out though. If anything I'd say this as much opportunism and initiative by Prigozhin himself as it as any foreign powers work. I’ve been wondering what China has been doing. It seems very plausible to imagine them making some overtures along the lines of “keep Russia stable and exporting resources to us and we’ll recognize your government and make you phenomenally rich”. He’s a nationalist but also keenly aware of how expensive a military force is so he must have some idea of a path to legitimacy.

acdha 3y ago

> For the record I don't necessarily think this is the primary impetus for the coup, but I'd be shocked if there weren't very serious powers making serious efforts to achieve something like this, and as a result, likely had non-trivial influence here. I highly doubt it's as simple as Wagner just getting bought out though. If anything I'd say this as much opportunism and initiative by Prigozhin himself as it as any foreign powers work. I’ve been wondering what China has been doing. It seems very plausible to imagine them making some overtures along the lines of “keep Russia stable and exporting resources to us and we’ll recognize your government and make you phenomenally rich”. He’s a nationalist but also keenly aware of how expensive a military force is so he must have some idea of a path to legitimacy.