Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that he will crush the rebellion and that Prigozhin is guilty of treason. He has warned that those who prepared the rebellion will suffer “inevitable punishment.” This is perhaps the boldest threat to Putin’s hold on power in his 20 plus years leading the country, and the threat actually comes from within Russia.
The rebellion has been characterized as a “watershed moment” by Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor for BBC News. He notes that Putin has been in power for 23 years and has become complacent, thinking that he is invincible. However, recent events have shown that this is not the case. Putin’s justification for the Ukraine invasion last year was to boost Russians’ security, but it has led to drone attacks on the Kremlin and other parts of the country, intensive shelling of Russian regions bordering Ukraine, and saboteur groups coming across from Ukraine into Russia. Now, an armed rebellion is making its way to Moscow, demanding the removal of the defense minister appointed by Putin.
The coverage of the rebellion is a stark contrast from 1991 when networks had a number of correspondents on the ground in Moscow during the coup attempt against then-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. However, news organizations have been guarded about their plans for personnel to travel in and out of the country, given the limits on press freedom. Most major news outlets have had limited numbers of correspondents, if any, on the ground in Russia.
The situation is made even more difficult by Putin’s crackdown on the media. The independent press and the Russian press within the country have been forced out, and many foreign journalists have chosen to leave the country. This has made it extremely difficult to get independent and verified information out of Russia, leaving news organizations to rely heavily on social media and reports from non-journalists.
As the world watches and waits for updates, one thing is clear: the situation in Russia is tense and unpredictable. We will continue to provide coverage as events unfold.
