Sure, Wagner being "independent" in Africa was helpful. The cause of this dispute, however, was the Russian MoD (Shoigu and Gerasimov) had decided that all Wag

Sure, Wagner being "independent" in Africa was helpful. The cause of this dispute, however, was the Russian MoD (Shoigu and Gerasimov) had decided that all Wagner employees operating in Ukraine and Russia were going to become part of the regular Russian military. Before Prigozhin's ersatz mutiny. see eg https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-military-trying-to-take-control-of-wagner-mercenary-group-2023-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-military-trying-to-ta... Thus there was no remaining pretense of independence, at least wrt Wagner forces operating in Ukraine. I also don't think it embarrassed Putin, or at least not in the manner that (I suspect) you think. Putin's role is to intermediate disputes between the various competing boyars beneath him. He had let the Shoigu + Gerasimov vs Progozhin dispute fester instead of picking a winner. Hence Progozhin's march. The embarrassment stems from not fulfilling the role that only Putin can play in their political system (ie the final determination of disputes from the various independent actors operating underneath him, including both formal state agencies and oligarchs/informal agencies.) Also, Prigozhin's post-march endgame was obvious: he continues to operate Wagner in Ukraine, and -- if possible -- removes Shoigu + Gerasimov. With an eye to developing his own independent power base in Russia, which Prigozhin didn't previously have.