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June 25, 2023 1:30 p.m.
In a fast paced 24 hours, the Wagner Group Russian mercenary army staged an armed mutiny, crossed the border from Ukraine into Russia and drove toward Moscow before strike a compromise deal with President Vladimir Putin.
I saw the gun in the first act of this Chekov play but I missed the klaxon, seltzer bottle and cream pie.
“Rostov residents pose for selfies with Wagner mercenaries.”
I’m sorry, but the Wagner Battalion is made up of convicted murderers and rapists. They’ve thrown journalists out windows, tortured countless civilians to death, and committed unspeakable war crimes around the world.
Survivors and witnesses have described, “torture, killing and disembowelment of a number of women, including pregnant ones.” These aren’t heroes; they’re stone-cold killers who should be tried for crimes against humanity, not cheered and selfied by Rostov residents or anyone else.
Now consider that they are the rock stars in the matter as compared to Putin. Russians seem to have some seriously skewed priorities, but they are still priorities.
Putin and the rest of the leadership have been praising Russian soldiers and urging public patriotic defense of the Motherland against Nazis in the West since the start of the Ukraine war. Schoolkids are taken on trips to WW2 war museums. The same kids make gifts for soldiers in school.
I’m not trying to absolve anyone of honoring murderers and rapists here, just thinking this could be the result of indoctrination of the public over the last year to praise any Russian soldiers, and the Wagner ones just happened to be the ones in that area. Russian media isn’t going to be telling them about the Wagner war crimes.
They also don’t have a lot of information, hard to say if they know what’s going on or just believe the lies they are constantly fed.
This odd one wasn’t included in the article -
did Wagner fighters stop for coffee on their way into the Rostov MOD headquarters? (photograph credited to Reuters, seen @NYT) pic.twitter.com/tueZJWfpGg
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) June 24, 2023
Barista: “Venti mocha half-caf up for ‘Winger Grape’!”
Guessing the coffee was gratis and nobody left a tip.
There seem to be questions.
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1673013402132705285?cxt=HHwWisCzqei03rcuAAAA
The cumulative effect of these pix is depressing as hell. That the Wagner troops are feted by Russians should remind us just how humble the cognitive skills of our species are.
How very Trumpean.
Ironically their original military leader and purported founder, Dimitry Utkin, was an actual Nazi. Hence his nom-de-guerre “Wagner” which is why it’s called Wagner Group.
Prig-shit was the mafia boss and convicted violent criminal who put everything together and worked the inside. At some point Utkin started being a liability due to exposure so he was installed as CEO of Prig’s empire. Except it wasn’t actually him, it was some barely-adult debtor who Prigozhin had legally change his name. When that clone didn’t work out, he just did it again with a dude who was more age appropriate but no more experienced.
I’m struck by the number of seemingly military-age men hanging out, taking video, glad-handing, etc., while all this is going on. I thought the whole country was mobilized. And what do the soliders/mercenaries think when they see those people?
Al fresco dining at “Meat Story”?
Are there Wagner Group vegan mercenaries? I would think not very many.
That was quite the summary!
They walked for 8 hours at average speed of a regular bus.
Russian bus very strong, very sturdy, but very slow. Safety features? Design bureau was told not to bother.
In this case? Glad I’m not in jail anymore.
Though to be fair these soldiers (?) were likely the worst war-criminals who wouldn’t be happy in an environment where they’re not cutting off peoples heads and throwing them off of rooftops. I imagine there isn’t a lot of civilian-envy going on, but if I were female (which actually I am) I’d steer well clear of them.
