WSJ Alleges Putin's Right-Hand Man Assassinated Prigozhin

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Facts

  • Nikolai Patrushev, a decades-long ally of Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin, was allegedly responsible for the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin — the former boss of the private military group Wagner, who died in a fiery plane crash earlier in the year — according to a report published in the Wall Street Journal on Friday.1
  • Patrushev, 72, served in Russia's KGB intelligence agency alongside Putin. When Putin became Russia's leader, Patrushev was appointed to head the KGB's successor agency, the FSB. He's now the secretary of Russia's Security Council and was described as 'Putin's oldest ally and confidant' by the Journal.2
  • According to the report, citing a number of current and former intelligence officials in the US and Russia, Patrushev had previously warned Putin that Prigozhin had accumulated too much political power. However, those warnings were reportedly ignored because of Wagner's successes in Ukraine.3
  • But when those tensions came to a head in June of this year, erupting in the form of a short-lived mutiny led by Prigozhin, Patrushev was reportedly directly involved in negotiations that led to him standing down. The Journal alleged Patrushev was then directly involved in a plan to assassinate Prigozhin.3
  • The publication alleged that 'a small explosive device' was placed under the wing of Prigozhin's private jet and detonated mid-flight on Aug. 23, when Prigozhin was attempting to make the journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg. All 10 people onboard were killed — including Prigozhin, members of his inner circle, but also the civilian pilots and cabin crew team.3
  • Russia has consistently denied any involvement with the plane crash, with Putin previously suggesting it was caused by hand grenades within the aircraft. On Friday, commenting on the new report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'Lately, unfortunately, the Wall Street Journal has been very fond of producing pulp fiction.'4

Sources: 1The Wall Street Journal, 2Business Insider, 3New York Post and 4Reuters.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Wall Street Journal. A number of intelligence sources, including those inside Russia, confirmed that Nikolai Petrushev was responsible for the assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Putin ally has also previously been linked to a number of high-profile assassinations, such as that of former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko, making his role in this case less surprising.
  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. This type of poor, conspiratorial journalism is hardly worth commenting on. Russia had absolutely no involvement in this plane crash. Western media continue to fabricate stories with the aim of trying to damage Russia's reputation.

Predictions