Can Wagner defeat Putin’s army in Russia?

The west is mistaken If  it thinks Wagner’s revolt will bring down Putin and force Russia to its knees in Ukraine.

The Russia of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky, of Pushkin and Chekov can not be subdued by a mercenary group.

Napoleon’s Army suffered heavy casualties in 1812 at the Battle of Borodino on the road to Moscow as the Russians pulled back despite the fact  that they were more than a match for the French. Napoleon was defeated not just by the Russian winter. More crucial in the scales was the toughness of the Russian soldier.

To understand what President Putin did in Crimea, and the way he responded to the west, it is instructive to recall not only Napoleon but also Hitler’s defeat by the Red Army. If defeat in Russia had not come about, the Normandy landings could not have taken place.

The west was mistaken if it thought that the land of the Tsars, land of fearsome Stalin, its history rich with memories of defeating Napoleon and Hitler, could be pushed into a corner forever

In Syria the Russians drew a line, and three things helped them: the al-Assad regime’s tenacity and resilience; Iran; and Hezbollah. The Crimea was the second issue on which the west was thwarted.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is working as normal in the Kremlin, his spokesman said Saturday, after the Russian Wagner mercenary group vowed to topple the country´s senior military leadership.

“The president is working in the Kremlin,” his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency, after Wagner units claimed to have captured military installations in southern Russia.

The strongman leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced Saturday he had sent Chechen units to “zones of tension” in Russia, after Wagner mercenaries launched a mutiny in the country.

“Defence ministry and National Guard fighters of the Chechen Republic have already left for the zones of tension,” Kadyrov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said on Telegram. “The rebellion must be put down, and if harsh measures are necessary, we are ready!”