Yevgeny Prigozhin's presumed death 'puts Putin very squarely back in charge': reporter
Leader of Wagner mercenaries was reportedly on plane that crashed on Wednesday
It's still unclear what caused a recent plane crash that may have killed Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. But according to journalist Catherine Belton, Prigozhin's presumed death "looks very good for" Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We know that Putin takes a very harsh stance on people who he considers traitors," Belton, who reports on Russia for the Washington Post, told The Current's guest host Susan Bonner.
"I'm not sure we're ever going to know the truth of what happened ... but we know that Putin had a very strong reason to desire Prigozhin's death."
Prigozhin, who led a short-lived armed rebellion against the Russian military, is believed to be among 10 people on board a plane that crashed north of Moscow Wednesday.
Downing an entire plane sends such a strong signal that I don't think we're going to see any protests for quite some time.-Catherine Belton, journalist
Belton spoke to Bonner about the crash and what Prigozhin's presumed death could mean for other Russian dissidents. Here's part of their conversation.
It strikes me that Prigozhin was once one of Putin's people. What went through your mind last night when you saw this plane crash and heard the news?
Well, I guess we shouldn't have been surprised, but we were. I mean, everyone was surprised when Prigozhin launched his mutiny and was crazy enough to launch this march on Moscow, to demand the ouster of the defence minister and the chief of staff of the Russian army. And I guess these mutinies had just as a dramatic dénouement.
No one believed a whole plane carrying most of Prigozhin's top commanders could just fall out of the sky like that, but we still don't know what happened exactly.
The investigations have only just been launched.… There are all kinds of rumours swirling. We don't know whether there was a bomb planted on the plane. Others are pointing to Russia's own air defence systems being deployed.
What we do know for sure ... [is] this looks very good for Putin because it's really restored his authority.
WATCH: What Yevgeny Prigozhin's death could mean for Putin
For Putin to have appeared quite so weak in the eyes of the elite afterwards, when he was seen as having not really done anything, as having agreed to give Prigozhin safe passage, even though he directly challenged the Kremlin.
Then Prigozhin was still swanning in and out of Russia, even after that sort of collecting his money, collecting his pistols, and even getting invited to tea for the Kremlin. I mean, Putin had looked really very weak.
Yesterday, U.S. President Joe Biden said about the crash, there's not much that happens in Russia that Putin is not behind. Why now and why this way?
Various analysts and sort of business people in Russia have pointed out that Putin couldn't really act immediately against Prigozhin because this Prigozhin was somebody who really essentially acted as a shadow of the Kremlin to promote Russian influences, influence across the Middle East and Africa.
He was sort of deeply intertwined with the Russian security state, and to take him down right away would have involved too delicate unravelling of affairs. So it took some time and he didn't seem to dare to move against him.
But to take him out in this way — to shoot down an entire plane, which included some pilots and the crew, and to take out the entire top command — that's a very demonstrative signal to the rest of the Russian elite that the same fate could await them if they dare to show any independence.
What about all of the thousands of mercenaries who had played such a large role under Prigozhin in the war in Ukraine? How will they view the death of their leader?
I mean, everyone's very surprised that Prigozhin and several members of his top command were all flying on the same plane, for one. That's very strange.
Normally, they wouldn't have risked that, but they seem to think that the security had been guaranteed by Putin, Putin would keep his word, and they were flying into Russia for goodness knows what next assignment.
Was this then a purge and perhaps more than just an assassination of Prigozhin?
Well, the entire Wagner paramilitary group has now been decapitated because, at least according to the Russian aviation authorities, it was not only Prigozhin on board, but also three of his top commanders, including the founder of the Wagner Group itself, Dmitry Utkin.
WATCH: Putin and the mutiny: A chaotic 36 hours in Russia
Essentially, I think Wagner is done. The rest of the fighters, they may go and migrate to the many other private paramilitary groups that have been set up by other individuals who are deemed much more loyal to Putin and much more reliable.
So you say that you think that Wagner is done. I was going to ask you if the end of Prigozhin was perhaps the beginning of something else in Russia.
Unfortunately for the Russian elite, I mean, downing an entire plane sends such a strong signal that I don't think we're going to see any protests for quite some time.
I've spoken to some Russian businessmen today, and certainly, they're saying that the overriding mood is that of fear. It puts Putin very squarely back in charge and everyone can see the consequences of challenging him.
I think the general population might be quite kept in the dark a little bit. I mean, the Russian state media has been sort of playing down the whole event yesterday.
So I think the broader population probably has other concerns at the moment, because if you remember just last week, the ruble was devaluing pretty rapidly and it hit general Russians' pockets pretty hard.
With files from The Associated Press. Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. Produced by Howard Goldenthal
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