INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A previous staff member of Yevgeny Prigozhins troll factory, a college student who discovered himself near the battling and a soldier from
Rostov-on-Don, the city occupied by the rebels.Two years after Wagners stunning rebellion versus the Russian military leadership,
eyewitnesses recalled their memories of among the most disorderly days in Russias recent history in remarks to The Moscow Times.I was
pleased but not for longPolina, 22, was working for RIA FAN, the St
Petersburg-based news firm widely referred to as the giant factory for its role as one of the main propaganda arms of Yevgeny Prigozhins
media empire.Late in the evening of June 23, 2023, she was jolted awake by a phone call.My phone was exploding with messages, said Polina,
who, like others interviewed for this short article, kept her surname for safety factors
My managers were asking everybody who had the ability to concern work urgently
Individuals who remained in the workplace on the graveyard shift couldnt keep up with the flood of news and immediate jobs from Prigozhins
press service.When Polina checked out that her employer had all of a sudden declared a march of justice and sent a column of Wagner
mercenaries toward Moscow, she was stunned.In profanity-laced tirades, Prigozhin implicated Russias top military brass of stealing Wagners
victories in Ukraine and knocked the Kremlins monstrous administration for obstructing the war effort.I just had curse words running through
However at the same time, I felt an odd sort of regard for the man who began this rebellion
Here was Putins previous chef, somebody who had served him personally, now taking up arms against his tsar and sponsor
It seemed like something brand-new
I was pleasantly satisfied but not for long.A tank with flowers in its muzzle is seen throughout the Wagner military mutiny in Rostov-on-Don
Fargoh/ Wikimedia CommonsShe worked from home through the night, hardly able to process what was unfolding
Meanwhile, Wagners forces fulfilled no resistance as they rolled into Rostov-on-Don, a city of 1 million individuals, and seized the
headquarters of the Southern Military District along with several government buildings.All I might do was publish journalism releases
Prigozhins group was sending us, she said
Right after, the authorities obstructed our website
Everything started glitching
I didnt even have time to catch my breath I simply lost consciousness at 4 in the morning.While Polina was scrambling to write the news,
Dmitry, a military officer, took up his post in Rostov-on-Don
I appeared for task and saw a crowd of individuals sitting in front of the TV, viewing a report that there was a rebellion and Prigozhin was
heading towards Rostov, he said
They showed an appeal from General Surovikin calling on the mercenaries to stop
We started joking that next theyd show Swan Lake, he added, a recommendation to the ballet notoriously relayed during the Soviet coup effort
Dmitry stated that viewpoints amongst his associates were mixed.Some appreciated Prigozhin for speaking freely about the issues in the
Others saw him as a conman leading an army of lawbreakers, Dmitry said.If the mutiny had been successful, some soldiers might have supported
him, he acknowledged.But not me
I swore an oath to Russia, not to a private military company, he said.I was terrified, he remembered
Not for myself, however more for my wife
I texted her to state I was great and asked her not to check out the news
Most of all, I didnt desire all of this to end in bloodshed.It would have been cinematic to die like that but I took a taxiAs Polina was
going to sleep after working all night, Wagner fighters were encountering Russian soldiers in Voronezh, another city of 1 million people in
southern Russia.Meanwhile, Georgy, a 25-year-old graduate student, was going back to his home in the Voronezh suburbs after a night at the
bar.A pal suddenly called me and said there were reports of gunfire near the city, Georgy stated
I examined Google Maps and saw that my bus was going right past that area.It would have been cinematic to pass away right after someone told
me, Be cautious, theres shooting going on, he joked
I decided to take a taxi and go a different route
Luckily, I got home without event and went to sleep at seven in the morning.A civilian hugs a Wagner fighter on a tank with flowers in its
muzzle after completion of the mutiny.Fargoh/ Wikimedia CommonsWhile Georgy slept, a military helicopter crashed just a few kilometers from
his home, an oil depot took off and a shell hit a nearby apartment or condo block
Authorities stated a counterterrorism operation in the region.I called my manager and said I couldnt can be found in to work that day
He treated it with understanding, Georgy recalled, smiling.My respect turned to outragePolina was likewise unable to go to work that day,
but for a different factor: Federal Security Service (FSB) representatives were raiding the RIA FAN office.When I woke up, I saw a message
in the work chat that theyd broken down the doors and began searching the location
My coworkers were detained
They stopped reacting to messages, she said.As she saw reports of deaths and destruction from the disobedience, she said her initial
adoration for Prigozhin paved the way to outrage.Did his media employees deserve to be detained and interrogated? Did they deserve to risk
I was in limbo, awaiting any of my associates to inform me what had actually happened and what would happen next.Polina said that FSB
officers were looking for the individual details of everyone who worked for Prigozhins companies.They went through our computer systems
You might find everything wed divulged throughout polygraph tests when we were worked with: our addresses, passport information, phone
numbers, details about relatives, realty abroad, protest records, viewpoints about Putin and the war, Polina said
A great deal of compromising information.She stayed frozen in worry up until the evening of June 24, when Prigozhin quickly revealed he was
turning his forces around
The Kremlin had consented to spare the mutineers from prosecution for treason in exchange for Prigozhin going into exile in Belarus.My
colleagues were launched from the office
I hoped everything would be great, that we wouldnt be prosecuted
It was over before it truly started
I believed that all these sacrifices were not worth it
Everything appeared like a circus to me, simply a show
Prigozhins ego journey, stated Polina, adding that her colleagues felt similarly.No one understood what we were doing anymoreAfter that,
Prigozhin disappeared from public view.Polina returned to work, despite the fact that she did not comprehend why she was still appearing at
all.Since our site was blocked, we needed to utilize VPNs in the days that followed
Our website traffic was practically no
And there was no word from our employer Prigozhin.A memorial devoted to the Wagner Group in Moscow.Lesless/ Wikimedia CommonsNor did RIA
FANs editor-in-chief provide any clear guidance.He said, Lets keep working for now and figure it out later, she recalled.Soon, banished
Russian media began reporting that Prigozhins media holding company will shut down.In every short article, they called us Prigozhins giants,
A lot of my coworkers teased that Liberals are yelling about a giant factory, however they dont attempt to call us journalists
Yet all of those Meduzas and DOXAs are propagandists similar to us.Still, she confesses, most of the personnel were not particularly
patriotic and did not care much about Prigozhins fate.We never truly discussed politics throughout breaks or lunch in the lunchroom
I think the majority of people were working there for the money and the convenience
Everybody was mainly worried about their salaries, she said.Later, she found out that RIA FANs leading editors had actually known beforehand
that their workplace would be searched.They quietly erased their personal info from shared files before the security forces showed up
They didnt alert anybody, nor did they even recommend working from home that day
They just left, she said.A week later, all RIA FAN editorial personnel were asked to send letters of resignation.Polina states she hasnt
communicated with her previous colleagues.After they left me without an income, I didnt want to think of Prigozhin or his business ever
All I know is some guys discovered work at other outlets not associated with Prigozhins holding company
Apparently, there was a lot of demand for previous trolls.A turning point that never happenedTwo years after his rebellion and death in a
mystical airplane crash, Prigozhin himself appears to have mainly been forgotten by the public
On the anniversary of the mutiny, there were no pointers of those events on the streets of Russian cities.Today, the late Wagner leader is
mostly kept in mind through memes and the coarse, remarkable expressions he coined, particularly one from the day of the rebellion: There
are 25,000 people, and were pertaining to sort things out!Prigozhin did a lot for the front [in the war], stated Dmitry, the officer
No one really comprehends why he did what he did that day
Its an embarassment about the guys who died.His rebellion will go down in our nations history as a turning point that never ever happened,
