DISINFO: Prigozhin - Wagner rebellion was universally rejected in Russia
SUMMARY
The Wagner rebellion was rejected in all spheres by well-known public and private spokespeople, civilian and military, pro-government and pro-opposition, and even among people close to the political and military opinion of Yevgeni Prigozhin, such as general Surovikin. There are all kind of theories about the reasons, from the Wagner leader being drunk on power or that he was bought by Western secret services, and even that everything was staged by the Kremlin to covertly move troops north of Kyiv.
RESPONSE
This pro-Kremlin disinformation claim attempts to boost Vladimir Putin’s authority after the Prigozhin - Wagner Group rebellion on 23-24 June 2023.
In fact, contrary to what this disinformation story suggests, almost no prominent Russian figure or senior administrative leaders came out publicly to defend the Russian government against the uprising until it had ceased. Even the Kremlin's most outspoken propagandist Vladimir Solovyov released only a cautious video calling for Wagner to stop the rebellion but carefully avoiding to criticise the group or Prigozhin, while Margarita Simonyan remained silent for several days. Several elite members rushed to leave Russia, while average Russians were notoriously indifferent to the situation or even cheered Wagner.
This disinformation claim appeared in the same video as the claim that “Western media applauded Prigozhin’s rebellion, but they should fear a coup in Russia”