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Vladimir Putin: The indispensable weak Russian leader
The Wagner insurrection may have exposed the Russian President’s vulnerability, but regime change is not necessarily in the West’s interests.
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During the 23 years he has been in power, Mr Vladimir Putin and the West have been through a dizzying rollercoaster of political ups and downs.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Although short-lived, the recent mutiny by the Wagner Group against Russian President Vladimir Putin was, without doubt, the most severe political jolt felt by Russia’s ruling class in a generation.
In less than one day, the man who ruled Russia unopposed since the turn of the century and seemed set to continue ruling it well into the 2030s suddenly seemed vulnerable and scared. And a vast country ruled from Moscow with an iron fist appeared to be on the brink of civil war.
