"On numerous occasions I wrote here about the discrepancy between “export” and “domestic” versions of Russian propaganda. English pro-Russian Twitter accounts, often written by people having no understanding of Russian language, yet cosplaying some “Donbas Devushka” or “Big Sergey”, portray a different country than pro-Russian Russians.
The Prigozhin Putsch provides a great example. In the pro-Russian English world, it was another success of Putin The Undefeatable. In a brilliant honeypot 5D chess move, he identified the traitors and reemerged as strong as ever, with Russia united behind him.
Russian Russians paint a gloomy picture. They focus on two things.
First: casualties. Pro-Russian Russian account “Readovka” reports 15 killed in action (some estimates are slightly higher), most of them pilots.
[...]
People killed by Wagner aboard these planes had families. “One boy aboard the Ka-52 had a baby daughter”, reports a pro-Russian Russian milblogger with “Z” in his nickname. I wonder what he thinks of the pro-Russian English morons who call this coup “relatively bloodless”?
The Russian Russians don’t feel “united as ever”. That’s the second thing. “The column of Wagnerites did not move along the asphalt - they moved through the people’s hearts, cutting society in two”, claims Alexandr Khodakovsky.
They also don’t feel “stronger”. They saw a burning refinery in Voronezh, they saw weird “anti-tank” ditches and barriers erected in panic on the M4 highway.
They ask: how is that even possible that a hostile column can ride towards Moscow for a whole day - unopposed? Why did Putin promise severe punishment for the rebels - and backed down with no explanation? The consensus in the Russian Russian Telegram is that the putsch made Putin and Russia look weaker, not stronger."
https://eastsplaining.substack.com/p/prigozhins-putsch
#russia #prigozhin #putsch #smuta #wagner #putin