Monday, June 26, 2023

A Remarkable Non-Event

Prigozhin had his Wagner troops head toward Moscow, though they stopped before getting too close. They did enter the city of Rostov-on-Don and were welcomed by the locals. Something similar may have happened in Voronezh. Reports suggest nowhere along their march were they opposed in any significant way by the Russian citizenry. 

As Sherlock Holmes remarked in The Silver Blaze, it was remarkable the dog did not bark. Russian people who did not defend their capital against what appeared to be rebel troops are similarly remarkable, and noteworthy. This passivity has to worry Putin. 

It is the clearest indicator we've had of the mood of the Russian people, they appear amenable to regime change. If we noticed it half a world away, you can be sure certain ambitious Russian generals and oligarchs also noticed and understood the opportunity it represents.