i wonder, had Prigoshin and his Wagner group marched all the way to the Kremlin, how things would have changed. I also wonder how he didn't expect to be murdered in some insidious fashion, since mobsters are gonna mobster.
Having read the entire article, I also wonder how the soldiers let commanders execute fellow soldiers?
That's got to take some serious psychological breakdown to not pull a sidearm and shoot the corrupt commander.
> not pull a sidearm and shoot the corrupt commander
Wouldn't you just get "zeroed" by the upstream commander or court-martialed and sentenced to a gulag?
Fear of being executed, probably. Russia has not historically been friendly to whistle blowing.
What would be your next move after shooting your commanding officer? You're a dead man yourself after that. Possibly even shot by your fellow soldiers who did drink the kool-aid. And your family back home would probably face consequences as well.
I wondered the same thing when reading about WW1 where soldiers were ordered to charge at enemy trenches and they'd predictably get mowed down immediately, then the officer would send the next group out. I can't help but think 'just shoot him', but it's a lot different actually being in that situation vs. reading about it
I’ve always wondered what made him turn around. Threatened his family? Was Prigozhin a family man?
Probably just realized he didn't want/couldn't lead a military dictatorship, which probably would've been his only option at that point.
Executed with shovels and washing machines, I bet!
Unfortunately some things never change in war crimes, see Stalingrad.