“No good deed goes unpunished.” – Oscar Wilde? Walter Winchell? Clare Boothe Luce? Anyone?

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It has been nearly a year since the world went on a search for Yevgeny Prigozhin, longtime friend and confidant of Vladimir Putin and founder and head of the Russian “Wagner Group” of mercenaries. And I followed the progress of that search with posts titled “Where’s Yevgeny?” – Parts 1 through 7. First he was in Rostov; then in Belarus; then in St. Petersburg; then there was a sighting, however brief, in Moscow.

And then he was dead, the victim — along with nine others — of a fiery plane crash near a place called Kuzhenkino, just 60 miles north of Moscow. But there were the inevitable questions as to whether he was actually on that private plane. And finally his remains were identified — or so they said — and he was buried by his family in a private ceremony in St. Petersburg, next to his father’s grave.

But the legendary Prigozhin refused to die . . . in memory, at least. Because despite the Kremlin’s repeated pronouncements that the plane crash that took his life had been “accidental” — due either to mechanical fault or pilot error or some such nonsense — not many people really believed it. You see, Yevgeny — for all the years of friendship and loyalty to Putin — had recently staged a revolt. Not so much against Putin himself, but against the Russian military and the rampant corruption he had witnessed while serving with them in Ukraine. The revolt failed, Yevgeny disappeared for a while, and when he resurfaced, he was no longer Putin’s best friend. But he was alive . . . for a few months, at least, until that fatal day in August of 2023. And then he wasn’t.

Few people were surprised; everyone knows how touchy Vladimir Putin can be.

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All of that took place less than a year ago. And during the past couple of weeks, we have witnessed the removal from office of the long-time Russian Minister of Defense, General Sergei Shoigu, and his replacement by a civilian economist, Andrey Belousov . . . followed almost immediately by the arrest of a number of top military officers and officials on charges of . . . anyone care to guess? . . . Do I hear “corruption”? If so, you’re absolutely correct. The latest was Vadim Shamarin, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, on charges of large-scale bribery-taking. His arrest was preceded within the last month by those of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov and the Ministry’s head of personnel, Yury Kuznetsov, both also on bribery charges. (To date, General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff and Shamarin’s boss, still has his job; but I wouldn’t put money on his long-term prospects.)

Aleksandr Khramchikhin, Deputy Director of the Moscow-based Institute for Political and Military Analysis, said that “It’s a real fight against corruption. In wartime, money must be spent correctly.” [AFP News, May 23, 2024.]

(Oh-oh . . . he called it a “war.” I hope he’s not next.)

He added that “the Kremlin has long ‘understood’ that its military spending is ‘inefficient.’ ‘But it became too obvious in wartime to turn a blind eye to it.’” [AFP, id.]

(And there’s that word again. I do hope he’s all right.)

Even my favorite cutie in the Kremlin, spokesman Dmitry Peskov, had a few words to say (as always), denying that the arrests constitute a purge of the military:

“The fight against corruption is an ongoing effort. It is not a campaign. It is an integral part of the activities of law enforcement agencies.”

And if it came from the lips of my boy Dima, then of course it must be true. Right? Of course, right.

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But what does all of this have to do with the late and not-so-great Yevgeny Prigozhin? Well . . . vindication, of course! Because isn’t “corruption” what he had been shouting from the rooftops for ages? And when no one listened, isn’t that why he gathered his troops and staged a march from Rostov toward Moscow: to make them listen? And isn’t that what, ultimately, he died for?

And now, suddenly, it has “[become] too obvious in wartime to turn a blind eye to it.”

Well . . . no shit, Sherlock! Welcome to reality.

In all honesty, Yevgeny, I didn’t have much use for you when you were alive. You were a murdering, thieving, violent, hateful . . . okay, just leave it at that. But you were right about the Russian military; and you tried to do the right thing in calling it to Putin’s attention, even if not for the right reason. And for that, I’m sorry you failed, and I’m sorry you’re not alive to take pleasure in being proven right. Perhaps it will be of some consolation to your surviving family that you have at last been vindicated.

So rest in peace, Yevgeny Prigozhin. You tried.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/25/24