Rob Rogers for June 26, 2023

Could be another political implosion? Maybe the next Russian downsizing? Putin has probably drained the budget for next decade. But not to worry. His personal wealth is safely salted away.

Vlad has tiny little hands like someone else we know.

Never hire a mercenary group that’s as wealthy and well armed than you.

Looks like Prigozhin stole the trucks full of money Putin left to pay his soldiers and ran off to Belarus.

Are his shock troops wandering around broke in Russia?

Just another day in Russia.

Mr. Putin’s way of leadership is to pit his underlings against each other in order to keep them occupied and keep him out of it. He let Mr. Prigozhin dis his generals and his strategies loudly, because Mr. Prigozhin didn’t confront Putin directly. Staying out of that one cost him dearly.

Putin wanted to squeeze out Prigozhin, by stating that all mercenaries would be required to become part of Russia’s forces, effectively absorbing the mercenaries and leaving Wagner and other groups with no one. Prigozhin was having none of that.

But now, any ex-Wagner troops will be offered a position in the regular Russian military. And I suppose those who refuse will find that life is short.

No one outruns the hand of fate. Ask any of his predecessors, or Hitler and Mussolini.

Historically it was a very rare Tsar who died in bed from natural causes. Putin (the wantabe Tsar) should keep that in mind.

Russian Subterfuge at its worst. A well planned plot swallowed whole by the world media. Now what really happened while our ingnorant eyes were diverted onto this rehearsed russian storyline?

Punch and Judy did it better.

Great visual, Rob!

Kadyrov, the Chechen warlord, has come out in support of Putin. Kadyrov is in his mid-40’s. Prigozhin is in his early 60’s and Putin is over 70. I wonder if we’re seeing the beginnings of the struggle as the successor to Putin.

If you can’t trust your hired killers, who can you trust?

And vodka. Lots and lots of vodka.

Iron rusts.

The Wagner Group was never the same after Natalie Wood drowned.