Thread by @TheStudyofWar

#WagnerGroup financier Yevgeny #Prigozhin seized the #VictoryDay holiday as an opportunity to mock #Putin and question his judgment.

Prigozhin has previously attempted to upstage Putin’s authority through similar rhetorical stunts. 🧵⬇️ isw.pub/UkrWar050923

https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1656097215922798592

2/ #Prigozhin referred to a “happy grandfather” figure who “thinks that he is good” during a discussion of ammunition shortages and #Russia’s future prospects in #Ukraine.

3/ #Prigozhin then rhetorically asked what #Russia and future generations should do and how Russia can win if the “grandfather” turns out to be a “complete asshole.”

4/ #Prigozhin also noted that unnamed figures (likely referring to #Putin and the senior Russian MoD figures) should stop showing off on Red Square.

5/ #Prigozhin is likely referring to #Putin, who is often referred to as “grandfather” (or more specifically “Bunkernyi ded” or “bunker grandfather”), and Prigozhin has previously attacked other senior Russian officials and officers by name — but has not done so against Putin.

6/ If the #Kremlin does not respond to #Prigozhin’s escalating attacks on #Putin it may further erode the norm in Putin’s system in which individual actors can jockey for position and influence (and drop in and out of Putin’s favor) but cannot directly criticize Putin.