Putin smiles at war memorial event as Wagner leader Prigozhin perishes in plane accident.
Russian President Vladimir Putin Commemorates Battle of Kursk Anniversary
Russian President Vladimir Putin marked the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk on Wednesday by attending a memorial concert, just as Russian authorities announced that Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash.
“The Battle for Kursk lasted almost two months,” Putin told a crowd at the unveiling of a new war memorial. “We will never forget how fiercely the tank crews, infantry, pilots, sappers, and gunners, all those who fought for victory in the Battle of Kursk, crushed the enemy.”
Prigozhin’s Rebellion and Putin’s Response
Two months is also the amount of time that Prigozhin lived after launching his quick and abortive uprising on June 23, an operation that he cast as an act of targeted insubordination against Russian defense officials. Putin and Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko orchestrated an agreement to avoid a bloody confrontation in Moscow, but only after Putin and his colleagues denounced Prigozhin for leading an “armed mutiny” against Russian authorities.
“I sincerely congratulate all people of Russia on this event, and, of course, primarily our dear veterans and, with special feeling, the people of the Kursk, Belgorod, Oryol, and Voronezh regions,” Putin said, in reference to the Second World War battle.
Prigozhin apparently believed that, despite his rebellion, he remained an important part of Russia’s power structure, as he released a video on Monday boasting of his contributions to Russian power in Africa.
“PMC Wagner … makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa more free,” Prigozhin said. “We’re recruiting real heroes and continue to carry out the tasks that have been set and that we promised to deal with.”
Putin, for his part, welcomed Prigozhin and other Wagner Group commanders to the Kremlin less than a week after the uprising, which his team characterized as a valuable opportunity to clear the air.
“The commanders themselves outlined their version of events, emphasizing that they are soldiers and staunch supporters of the head of state and the supreme commander-in-chief,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when Putin’s team acknowledged the encounter on July 10. “They also said that they are ready to continue fighting for the motherland.”
Yet the festering acrimony had already surfaced days earlier, as some Russian authorities apparently leaked a series of embarrassing photos of Prigozhin following a raid on his home in St. Petersburg. One picture, incidentally, indicated that the mercenary chief received a “Hero of Russia” award from Putin in June 2022.
Putin Honors Tank Crew’s Performance in Ukraine
If Russia lost one of its putative heroes when Prigozhin’s plane went down, it’s also the case that Putin made three more on Wednesday, when he applauded a tank crew’s performance during the war in Ukraine.
“Dedication to the homeland, dedication to the military oath, unite all participants of the special military operation,” Putin said Wednesday. “Today, awards will be presented to the most distinguished servicemen of the 5th Army’s 127th Motor Rifle Division.”
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