Meanwhile, no doubt Mr Putin is working through his senior military commanders to flush out those who might have been complicit in the rebellion General Surovikin (head of Russian aerospace forces) apparently had a close relationship with Prigozhin, and it is no coincidence that Mr Surovikin has not been seen since – one can only imagine his fate. Replacing Mr Gerasimov and Mr Shoigu might improve Russia's operational effectiveness but would risk his enemies closing in on Mr Putin's seat of power. Mr Putin clearly values their loyalty, particularly as he seeks to better understand what elements of his military forces were complicit in Prigozhin's rebellion. For the past 11 years General Gerasimov has been Chief of Staff of the Russian forces, and Sergei Shoigu has been the defence secretary. His number one priority is to retain his grip on power, and he clearly values loyalty over competence. Prigozhin's assertions the senior military commanders were incompetent and corrupt was probably not a surprise to Mr Putin - but his options appear somewhat limited. Russia's war in Ukraine is not going according to plan and military forces have failed to live up to pre-war expectations. But instead, Vladimir Putin's response to Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny has appeared muted at best, and indecisive at worst. Military coups can be swift and brutal and don't usually result in a peaceful retirement for the dictator.Īs a result, a Soviet-era response to a failed uprising would have been to purge a whole tranche of senior military commanders to eliminate any enduring threat and serve as a clear lesson to those selected to replace them. Sky's military analyst Sean Bell explains how Vladimir Putin has responded to the rebellion and what it means.Īutocratic dictators have a history of reliance upon and fear of their senior military commanders. Since the Wagner Group's aborted mutiny, question marks have risen over the future and fate of a number of Russian generals.
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