Russian Army Couldn’t Take Kyiv in Three Days, but a Single Regiment Could Occupy Rostov in One and Even Threaten Moscow, Russians Say

 Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 26 – The Russian people may not have the last word on what the Prigozhin rising and its aftermath mean for their country, but they are already weighing in with jokes and anecdotes about these things that perhaps tell more about the future than any learned commentaries.

            As she has done in recent months, Moscow journalist Tatyana Pushkaryova has assembled the anecdote that Muscovites have been telling each other in recent days (publizist.ru/blogs/107374/46141/-). Several of them are priceless, and others are worth recounting as well.

            Among the best of these:

·       It turns out, Russians are now saying, that the entire Russian army couldn’t take Kyiv in three days but that a single parachute regiment could take the city of Rostov in one.

·       Patriotic Russians have been ordered to remove from their memories everything they say over the weekend and to continue to believe that Russia is the strongest country in the world and can defeat everyone.

·       Prigozhin confirmed what everyone knew but can’t admit: the authorities created all the problems in the country including the Wagner PMC.

·       On Saturday afternoon, a suspicious person was spotted at the border with China: he carried a fake passport with the name Shoi-Gu.

·       Russia now has only two allies: dug up roads and calls from Lukashenka.

·       It turns out that Prigozhin’s action wasn’t an insurgency but only a Special Insurgency Operation, so not to worry.