On June 27, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with Defense Ministry military personnel and spoke about the previous weekend's mutiny attempt by the Wagner Group. In his speech, Putin stated that the Wagner Group was completely funded by the state: "It got all its funding from us, from the Defense Ministry, from the state budget. Between May 2022 and May 2023 alone, the Wagner Group received 86,262 million rubles from the state to pay military salaries and bonuses, including 70,384 million for payroll and 15,877 million for paying out bonuses. Insurance premiums totaled 110,179 million."[1]
However, several important Russian personalities and popular Russian channels on Telegram said that financial reasons were behind the Wagner Group's recent mutiny attempt.[2]
Below is a review of some of the comments from these channels regarding Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin's financial ambitions:
(Source: Topwar.ru)
'Krovavaya Barinya' Channel: Wagner's State Funding Was Curbed
Quoting two high officials who did not reveal their names, the Krovavaya Barinya channel, which has more than a million subscribers, claimed that the coup was connected to the June 22, 2023 "curbing" of the Wagner Groups' state funding. According to the post, the military company was spending enormous assets on salaries logistics that were coming from the state budget. As a result, fearful of dismissal and of being "broke," Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a revolt, hoping to obtain better financial conditions.[3]
Chechen Leader Kadyrov: Prigozhin's Personal Ambitions Outweighed Love For Russia
On June 24, 2023, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov commented about the attempted mutiny on his Telegram channel: "I thought that certain people could be trusted. That they sincerely love their Motherland, as true patriots to the bone should. However, it turns out that for the sake of personal ambition, profit and arrogance certain people can disregard their attachment and love for their country."
He added: "I thought that he heard me, but it turns out that this anger in him has only grown all this time. A chain of unsuccessful business deals caused a deep-rooted and long-lasting resentment in the businessman [Progozhin], which peaked when the St. Petersburg authorities refused to grant a desired plot of land to his daughter.[4] One person's arrogance could lead to such dangerous consequences and draw many people into the conflict."[5]
State Duma Defense Committee Chairman Kartapolov: Prigozhin Was Informed That Wagner Would No Longer Be Funded
State Duma deputy and Defense Committee chairman Andrey Kartapolov stated that the reason for Prigozhin's mutiny was financial. He explained that days before the mutiny attempt, the Defense Ministry had announced that all bodies that perform combat missions must sign service contracts. However, Prigozhin refused to follow the rules. "For this reason, [as he refused to sign a contract,] he was informed that Wagner would not take part in a special military operation, and therefore, it would not be allocated funding [and] material resources," Kartapolov explained. He added that Prigozhin had "stupid and exorbitant ambitions."[6]
'Chadaev' Telegram Channel: 'Prigozhin's Case Is An Example Of Corporatocracy'
On June 24, the popular Telegram channel Chadaev criticized the government for having fostered Prigozhin's ambitions: "Prigozhin's case is an example of 'corporatocracy,' i.e. the logic of running the country based on the assumption that all its citizens are employees of some kind on the payroll, who can be promoted, demoted, rewarded, scolded, fired. Such an understanding, consequently, leads to the degradation of the management system to the level of HR department of some closed joint-stock company. Even when the situation has become an open crisis... [the Defense Ministry] tried to solve the problem by purely administrative measures: by obliging all the structures to sign a contract with [it]... Now there is a parade of loyalty – everyone is reporting that they are with the President, and not with the rebels... But, dear Supreme Commander-in-Chief, after the suppression of the rebellion itself and the elimination of its consequences, as your voter, I urgently ask you to deal with its causes."[7]
[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10689, Russian President Vladimir Putin: 'All Of The Funding The Wagner Group Received Came From The State', June 30, 2023.
[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10680, Russian Anti-Liberal Philosopher Dugin On Prigozhin's Armed Insurrection: Putin's Entourage Failed To Counter A Direct Challenge, Russia Needs A New 'Ideologized Elite', June 26, 2023.
[3] T.me/bloodysx/28976, June 25, 2023.
[4] It is worth noting that prior to the mutiny attempt, Prigozhin had been very critical of St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov.
[5] T.me/s/RKadyrov_95, June 24, 2023.
[6] Mk.ru/politics/2023/06/29/kartapolov-prigozhinu-soobshhili-chto-vagner-ne-budet-finansirovatsya-i-uchastvovat-v-svo.html, June 29, 2023.
[7] T.me/chadayevru/1671, June 24, 2023.
