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Prigozhin is showing that in terms of controlling the narrative he's in a different league than most of his compatriots. I see this as a continuation of what t
by Tade0 3y ago
Prigozhin is showing that in terms of controlling the narrative he's in a different league than most of his compatriots.
I see this as a continuation of what this whole debacle is all about: regime change.
A large part of the official motivation behind this invasion is preventing civil war in Russia. That's why Ukraine was supposed to be "stabilized".
Putin presents himself as a source of stability and that's how he's perceived for the most part.
To attempt to upend this order is to be either foolish, or very certain of one's position with hard data to back that up. Prigozhin still hasn't been defenestrated, so I suppose it's more the latter than the former.
- vkou 3y agoThere are no factions in Russia capable of starting and winning a civil war. The country's military is deliberately fragmented into many small departments, each with their own standing infantry forces, and its security apparatus is tasked to ensure that they don't all rebel together. There may be some serious internal power struggle that an outside observer cannot see, but it's far more likely that the invasion was not a desperation move, but just one of the many steps that Putin makes to increase his internal perception of legitimacy. There's no reason, besides our domestic propaganda and wishful/magical thinking to believe that it was a desperation move from him. His internal-to-Russia legitimacy was quite high prior to the war. (And it's hard to tell what it is now, because of the crackdown on speech and dissent. So you get political pundits who are talking out their ass four fifths of the time assuring is that no, this time, he's totally on the brink of being out, pinky swear...) ---- Bonus points: If most of your military command is staffed by spineless bootlickers, who were promoted for their loyalty, as opposed to competence, they are very unlikely to join any rebellion against you. There's a good reason for a nation that is secure from outside invasion to have an incompetent military...
- pixl97 3y agoWell, great way to cancel your bonus is to attack another country with that incompetent military.
- vkou 3y agoRussia, as a nuclear nation, is 100% secure from external invasion. It doesn't need a military that is able to fight, it needs a military that knows that it has to be loyal to the big guy. This past day was weird, but seems to be the exception that... Proves the rule?
- Tade0 3y agoI suppose it doesn't count as "external" if it's also Russians.