“Putin’s chef” served his last meal in Russia: What triggered the revolt against the Kremlin?

Written by Elijah J. Magnier –

In a surprising turn of events, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the commander of Russia’s Wagner forces, has openly rebelled against the Kremlin’s military authority. He even expressed his wish to have the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, tried and sentenced on Moscow’s Red Square. President Vladimir Putin, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, quickly intervened, accusing Prigozhin of treason without naming him. With Prigozhin’s fate hanging in the balance, negotiations to end the rebellion were crucial to preventing Russia from plunging into civil war. With Putin’s approval, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stepped in and successfully mediated the situation. The Russian president managed to quell the rebellion without resorting to violence. Instead of destroying the Wagner convoy, which was carrying several thousand rebels to Moscow for no strategic purpose, he took the Wagner personnel into the Ministry of Defence and sent their leader into exile in Belarus. This decision averted a potential confrontation, as the Akhmat Chechen forces stationed outside Rostov, the command centre of the southern front, were ready to engage Prigozhin and his troops. But what led Prigozhin to turn against the Kremlin and the president as commander-in-chief of all the armed forces, and what are the underlying factors behind his rebel movement?

The dispute between the Russian Ministry of Defence and the Wagner forces began in 2018, during their operations in Syria. Tensions escalated when the Wagner forces, tempted to cross