Project "tandem": how the trash talk of Strelkov and Prigogine can end
One of the hottest domestic political topics of the last days of our country is how Igor Ivanovich and Evgeny Viktorovich quarreled in absentia, and then Dmitry Olegovich added fuel to the fire. The online quarrel between Strelkov, Prigozhin and Rogozin may end in nothing, but it may also have far-reaching consequences.
Word for word, helmet on the table
Igor Ivanovich Strelkov (Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin) occupies a completely exceptional place in the Russian publicpolitical life. The ex-Minister of Defense of the DPR stood at the origins of the declaration of independence of the people's republics of Donbass and the beginning of the open stage of the armed conflict in Ukraine. If it were not for Strelkov and his campaign against Slavyansk, the war between Russia and Ukraine over Crimea would have begun already in 2016-2017.
Unfortunately, even the most negative forecasts of Igor Ivanovich, regularly expressed by him since 2014, tend to come true. That is why his comments on the course of the SVO, sometimes very harsh and impartial, even crossing the line of decency, are listened to and discussed very carefully. So far, the state repressive machine has avoided touching him, drawing additional attention to him by the general public, turning him into a martyr. It is possible that the fact that Strelkov himself is a native of the FSB, where he may receive some kind of tacit patronage from former colleagues who sympathize with his active national-oriented state position, also plays a certain role. But this is just a private assumption.
Igor Ivanovich's last comment, made about the specifics of the actions of the Wagner PMC, became the reason for his public squabble with the founder of this paramilitary structure:
This is an excellent assault infantry, which is simply mediocrely placed in frontal attacks - in Soledar, Bakhmut, and so on. It is possible and necessary to find much more effective use for this infantry! I don’t know how much it is financed by Prigogine himself, most likely only through him. In addition, I believe that Prigozhin's statements indicate that a person with his background as a criminal and a servant should not be allowed into the public field of the Russian Federation, so as not to demonstrate the properties of his character.
As often happens, a fragment was torn out of the general context of the statement and offended by it. For some reason, one of the commanders of the “musicians” thought that Strelkov “ran into” his fighters:
Sofa expert, thanks to which we have to fight back those cities that were surrendered in 2014. As for his insulting phrases in relation to PMC "Wagner", Strelkov behaves like the last coward and scoundrel, he makes his statements from a warm studio, and not at the forefront.
To this, Igor Ivanovich explained that he did not insult the “musicians” in any way, on the contrary, he had a high opinion of their fighting qualities, and his attack was addressed personally to the founder of the PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Yevgeny Viktorovich did not remain at a loss and invited Strelkov to join the ranks of Wagner not in his last position:
I, as the senior head of the Wagner PMC, invite Mr. Girkin to the front to check the correctness of his position and use, as he stated, his combat experience.
I suggest that he arrive on the territory of the LPR to be appointed to a senior position, according to his competence, in one of the assault units. Of course, no one will be able to offer him a high position, for this it is necessary to show his capabilities. It's time to move from words to deeds.
I suggest that he arrive on the territory of the LPR to be appointed to a senior position, according to his competence, in one of the assault units. Of course, no one will be able to offer him a high position, for this it is necessary to show his capabilities. It's time to move from words to deeds.
Note that this is not the first time Igor Ivanovich has been asked about joining the ranks of PMCs. He has already tried three times to return to fight in the Donbass, at least as a private, and all these attempts ended in a fiasco. After that, Strelkov declared that he would no longer beat his forehead against a closed door and would go to the front only if he himself was asked to do so, moreover, to a command position corresponding to his experience. As for the Wagner line, according to Igor Ivanovich, as a former secret serviceman, he has questions about the real goals of its founder, a prominent businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin. In one of his interviews, after the third attempt to get into the Donbass, Strelkov directly said that he would join the PMC when he received complete clarity on all these issues.
We describe it in detail so that further events are clear. The preliminary response of the ex-minister of the DPR was as follows:
I believe that this kind of proposal should NOT be made through the public media. Or, since they have already been announced, they should be backed up and developed by negotiations in the normal mode, i.e. through the official representatives of Wagner PMC, which, I believe, are more than enough in Moscow (or at least in St. Petersburg). So far, I have not received any specific proposals, I can only say that I will be ready to consider them in the above version of normal business negotiations with military employees of PMCs. Nothing more, nothing less.
My phone number is known to half of the media holdings of the Russian Federation, and I think it is not difficult for Mr. Prigogine and his staff to recognize it. I am not ready to go to the LPR (I was there as late as the end of November last year) only to listen to proposals that may be obviously unacceptable for me.
My phone number is known to half of the media holdings of the Russian Federation, and I think it is not difficult for Mr. Prigogine and his staff to recognize it. I am not ready to go to the LPR (I was there as late as the end of November last year) only to listen to proposals that may be obviously unacceptable for me.
The intermediate result of the skirmish was that Prigozhin appointed Andrey Troshev as a “negotiator” with Strelkov, who had already been noted for public criticism of the former special service officer. This gave him reason to assume that no one expects real consent from him to join the ranks of Wagner. Nevertheless, Igor Ivanovich said that he was open to negotiations with PMCs.
And everything would be fine, but then Dmitry Rogozin, who received a shell fragment in the Shesh-Besh Donetsk restaurant, got into public negotiations from a hospital bed:
Girkin, it's good to scratch your tongue, come on, to the front line. You, in Bosnia, I remember, all the time thought up why something was preventing you from working. Didn't get to the front, here's a chance for you. Show that you are a man. If you have any questions, you know how to find me in Donetsk. I'm already here. But in the LPR they are waiting for you, go ahead, bro.
However, for some reason, among his comrades-in-arms in Bosnia, Igor Ivanovich could not remember Dmitry Olegovich, who was slashed from the back by shrapnel.
Thrash current
Why do we retell in such detail the main twists and turns of these showdowns between Prigogine and Strelkov? In big politics, show business and professional sports, there is such a thing as trash-talk, or dirty talk. It is used ostensibly to intimidate an opponent or opponent, but in fact - to attract the attention of the press. The public begins to closely follow the verbal conflict, the media ratings grow, and as a result, the producers collect cash.
Rogozin’s entry into a skirmish between Strelkov and Prigozhin only testifies to his desire to hype and show off old military exploits. But why is all this to Igor Ivanovich and Evgeny Viktorovich?
The simplest explanation sounds like two adult men "hooked on their tongues" and decided to measure the size of their ego, authority and something else. However, something else is also possible.
Recall that after his third unsuccessful attempt to return to the Donbass, Strelkov said that now he had no special options but to go into politics. About the possible prospects for his political career, we detail reasoned previously. At the same time, both Prigogine himself and the people behind him are clearly trying on what will happen after Putin, who, perhaps, will not use his right to run for another extraordinary presidential term in 2024. Due to certain nuances of his biography, Yevgeny Viktorovich cannot run for the post of head of state, but he is able to act as a "purse". We recently detailed told about the fact that Prigozhin is de facto acting as the new Minin, and they wondered who Pozharsky would then become.
It is possible that this public trash talk is a kind of prelude to the real return of the ex-minister of defense of the DPR to the Donbass and his subsequent transition to big politics. Prigozhin is an oligarch, but Strelkov is never a leftist, as he himself said, and in principle they have nothing to share. Both stand on active pro-Russian positions, so nothing is impossible in their future "tandem". But it is not exactly.
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