Russian officials emphasise unity after aborted mutiny
Published: 04:06 PM,Jun 26,2023 | EDITED : 08:06 PM,Jun 26,2023
MOSCOW: Senior Russian officials rallied around President Vladimir Putin on Monday, with questions still unanswered about a mutiny by mercenaries that appeared to pose the greatest threat to his grip on power of his 23-year rule.
On the first working day after fighters of the powerful Wagner Group seized a military headquarters and marched on Moscow, officials still gave no details about the deal that abruptly ended the mutiny.
Mikhail Mishustin, who leads Putin's cabinet as his appointed prime minister, acknowledged that Russia had faced 'a challenge to its stability', and called for public loyalty.
'We need to act together, as one team, and maintain the unity of all forces, rallying around the president,' he told a televised government meeting.
There was no word about the revolt from Putin himself, who had said that the rebellion put Russia's very existence under threat and vowed to punish those behind it. The Kremlin released a video from him congratulating participants of an industrial forum, containing no indication of when it had been filmed.
In another move apparently intended to convey normality, authorities released video showing Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. The mutineers had demanded he be sacked, leading to speculation that his removal might have been part of the arrangement that ended the revolt.
There was still no public sign of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of Wagner and mutiny leader, last seen on Saturday smiling in the back of an SUV as he left the southern city of Rostov-On-Don, captured by his men before he ordered them to stand down.
Russia's national Anti-Terrorism Committee said the situation in the country was stable. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who had told residents to stay indoors as the mutinous fighters raced to within a few hundred kilometres of the capital, said he was cancelling a counter-terrorism security regime.
Prigozhin and his fighters had been offered immunity from prosecution in return for their withdrawal. But state controlled news agencies reported on Monday that the criminal case against Prigozhin remained open and was still being pursued.
The extraordinary events left governments, both friendly and hostile to Russia, groping for answers to what happened behind the scenes and what could come next.
Monday has been declared a non-working day in Moscow to allow time for things to settle, and there was little evidence of increased security in the capital.
State television said Putin would attend a meeting of Russia's Security Council this week. — Reuters
On the first working day after fighters of the powerful Wagner Group seized a military headquarters and marched on Moscow, officials still gave no details about the deal that abruptly ended the mutiny.
Mikhail Mishustin, who leads Putin's cabinet as his appointed prime minister, acknowledged that Russia had faced 'a challenge to its stability', and called for public loyalty.
'We need to act together, as one team, and maintain the unity of all forces, rallying around the president,' he told a televised government meeting.
There was no word about the revolt from Putin himself, who had said that the rebellion put Russia's very existence under threat and vowed to punish those behind it. The Kremlin released a video from him congratulating participants of an industrial forum, containing no indication of when it had been filmed.
In another move apparently intended to convey normality, authorities released video showing Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. The mutineers had demanded he be sacked, leading to speculation that his removal might have been part of the arrangement that ended the revolt.
There was still no public sign of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of Wagner and mutiny leader, last seen on Saturday smiling in the back of an SUV as he left the southern city of Rostov-On-Don, captured by his men before he ordered them to stand down.
Russia's national Anti-Terrorism Committee said the situation in the country was stable. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who had told residents to stay indoors as the mutinous fighters raced to within a few hundred kilometres of the capital, said he was cancelling a counter-terrorism security regime.
Prigozhin and his fighters had been offered immunity from prosecution in return for their withdrawal. But state controlled news agencies reported on Monday that the criminal case against Prigozhin remained open and was still being pursued.
The extraordinary events left governments, both friendly and hostile to Russia, groping for answers to what happened behind the scenes and what could come next.
Monday has been declared a non-working day in Moscow to allow time for things to settle, and there was little evidence of increased security in the capital.
State television said Putin would attend a meeting of Russia's Security Council this week. — Reuters