Yevgeny Prigozhin let rip on his favourite subject: the incompetence and vanity of Russia's defence minister, Sergei Shoigu. Seated in front of a Wagner flag and sipping from a mug of tea last Thursday, he called his bitter enemy a scumbag, a craven PR man and oligarch who had never held a weapon in his life.
The defence ministry had duped Vladimir Putin into last year's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Prigozhin added. The decision had nothing to do with "denazification" or "demilitarisation", or an imminent Nato attack on Russia - the official reasons for the war; it was all about Shoigu's wish for a second "hero of Russia" medal.
So far, so normal. Prigozhin's online rants against Russia's military leaders had been going on for months. He had accused Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the commander-in-chief, of depriving his Wagner troops of ammunition, of sacrificing Russian soldiers in disastrous missions and of seizing eastern Ukraine in order to plunder it.
The feud escalated dramatically on 10 June, when Shoigu announced that Wagner soldiers would have to sign contracts with his ministry. In effect, Wagner would cease to exist. Putin seemingly endorsed the proposal.
Prigozhin, once Putin's trusted ally, was at a personal crossroads. He might accept the Kremlin's decision. Or he could fight back.
The answer came last Friday evening when he posted another provocative video on his Telegram channel. It showed the apparent aftermath of a missile strike on a leafy Wagner camp somewhere in occupied Donbas. A breathless soldier jogged past shredded trees and what looked like a body. "Fuck! Oh fuck!," he said.
This story is from the June 30, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 30, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
No 298 Bean, cabbage and coconut-milk soup
Deep, sweet heat. A soup that soothes and invigorates simultaneously.
Cottage cheese goes viral: in reluctant praise of a food trend
I was asked recently which food trends I think will take over in 2025.
I'm worried that my teenage son is in a toxic relationship
A year ago, our almost 18-year-old son began seeing a girl, who is a year older than him and is his first \"real\" girlfriend.
BOOKS OF THE MONTH
A roundup of the best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror
Dying words
The Nobel prize winner explores the moment of death and beyond in a probing tale of a fisher living in near solitude
Origin story
We homo sapiens evolved and succeeded when other hominins didn't-but now our expansionist drive is threatening the planet
Glad rags to riches
Sarcastic, self-aware and surprisingly sad, the first volume of Cher's extraordinary memoir mixes hard times with the high life
Sail of the century
Anenigmatic nautical radio bulletin first broadcast 100 years ago, the Shipping Forecast has beguiled and inspired poets, pop stars and listeners worldwide
How does it feel?
A Complete Unknown retells Bob Dylan's explosive rise, but it als resonates with today's toxic fame and politics. The creative team expl their process-and wha the singer made of it all
Jane Austen's enduring legacy lies in her relevance as a foil for modern mores
For some, it will be enough merely to re-read Persuasion, and thence to cry yet again at Captain Wentworth's declaration of utmost love for Anne Elliot.
