Between Vladimir Putin And Yevgeny Prigozhin

Even as observers often refer to the relationship between Russia President, Vladimr Putin and his long time tome ally, Wagner mercenary leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin twisted, the duo have, no doubt, come a long way.

In the main, the Russian leader has had to rely on the former chef turned mercenary head, now more of a walking dead, haven turned his back against a vicious Putin, 485 days after commencing the commission in the war against Ukraine.

Prigozhin, a former hotdog seller with a catering business that enjoyed contract with the Kremlin, went through to become a warlord that had the ears of the Russian leader. That is, until the rivalry between him and Russia's defense chiefs began to clog whatever progress there was in the war efforts.

Smarting from what he regarded as the military command’s non-commitment to the war course, a call that was ignored by Kremlin, Prigozhin began act against his old friend's position. First he began churning out scathing claims against the country’s military establishment, claims that were ignored by his friend and Kremlin generally. Obviously vexed, he decided on Friday, to roll out his forces against his old friend, vowing to overrun Moscow if Russia military heads are not sacked.

Before he became Russia’s infamous mercenary face, Prigozhin was more of a voice for revealing what ordinarily is beyond official establishments. To achieve the goal, he operated protocol a chain of media outlets, often regarded as his ‘troll factory’, through which he reeled out deluges of disinformation, propaganda and bogus news for the Russian establishments. He is reported to have demanded for credit for the role after admitting that indeed, he was in charge of Kremlin's dirty jobs. 

For his notoriety as Putin’s licensed disruptor, the source of Russia’s dis-ingenious information, the US placed him on its sanction list particularly for the role he played in the 2018 US presidential election.

Prigozhin seems to have also turned his media machine against his erstwhile patrons, particularly the defense establishment heads, while portraying himself as the hero, anti-elitist crusader fighting for the rights of the ordinary Russians. So far, he seems to be enjoying overwhelming support from the populace. 

But that may not be enough help right now as real troubles seem to have set in. In a late Friday night broadcast on state controlled television, Channel One, the establishment reeled out the first shot. Accusing him as brewing mutiny, the announcement ,apparently engineered by the defense Chief, not without Putin's knowledge, called on mercenaries under his command not only to disregard his command but also detain and hand him over to authorities.

“Do not carry out any criminal, traitorous order given by Prigozhin.

But the fiery mercenary leader retorted by threatening to unleash his 25,000 man-strong forces to oust defense ministry heads, while also urging patriots to join him in the quest to remove what he identified as the defense ministry’s ‘evil’. He also gave a clincher. 

“If someone gets in the way, we will destory everything that gets in the way. We reach out a hand to everyone, no need to spit in that hand. We are going all the way,” he responded.

Prigozhin is on the wanted list at the moment, for trying to stage an armed campaign against the state. That would also mean that he is also an enemy of his old friend.

Albeit, there are speculation that he may be acting Putin’s script, given his long established close relationship with the modern day iron curtain leader. As Prigozhin himself puts it in 2022,

“I have special authority from the President. I don’t give fuck.I need to win this damn war at any cost.”  

Once dubbed Putin’s chef, there is a widely held consensus that as long as he is useful to the President, the Kremlin will allow him do what pleases him. But unless something extra ordinary happens, it would appear that his old friend has thrown him to the dogs. That is, if Friday's broadcast by the state-controlled television station is anything to count. For a start, his social media posts were blocked from reaching Russia as prosecutors ordered that they be taken off the country’s internet services with immediate effect.

Obviously, whatever happens next will be part of Kremlin’s high stake drama. What is however clear is that Putin and Prigozhin will no longer see, eye to eye.