Why Putin's «Praetorian Guard» Was Invisible During the Wagner Rebellion

Many of Putin's soldiers chose to stay in their barracks while the mutiny unfolded. Photo: Aleksandr Zemlyanichenko/AP

With freshly pinned medals and promises of pay increases, Russian National Guard soldiers were hailed as saviors for preventing a mutiny.

But a few days earlier, when a column of Wagner mercenaries descended on Moscow, the Praetorian Guard Vladimir Putin was headed by former bodyguard Viktor Zolotov, who served for a long time, was nowhere to be seen.

After all, last month the uprising petered out 120 miles from Moscow — not because of any resistance, but because the militants and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, actually never wanted to take the Kremlin.

Forces founded by Putin himself, numbering some 340,000, chose to sit on the sidelines and watch the mutiny play out.

«Zolotov claims they were on the streets, but if that's the case, they must have developed stealth technology because no one saw them,» said Stephen Hall, professor of Russian politics at the University of Bath.

< img src=" /wp-content/uploads/2023/07/6c20cd13f196451a173d37daed6fbb70.jpg" /> Viktor Zolotov (left) is the commander of the Russian National Guard. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty

On paper, the National Guard looked formidable, outnumbered and under Putin's direct control, but in practice it was neither equipped nor trained to quell a military insurrection.

“It was not for rebellions being suppressed by the army, but by gangs and unarmed civilians,” said Professor Nikolai Petrov, visiting researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

Mark Galeotti, Russia analyst, agrees. the fact that the Russian National Guard was not prepared to fight Wagner and basically decided, like the FSB and most of the army, to stay in their barracks.

He also said that «waiting» played a role in their absence .

“It was like 1991, on the first day of the August coup,” he said of the failed coup. against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. «There was a record level of sick police calls.»

Better wait and see

As with previous coup attempts, Kremlin defenders felt it was best to wait and see who came out. before committing a crime.

Putin's problem now is that his own military and security forces have made him look weak, and this can be a serious danger, which explains why the National Guard has been showered with praise and promises tanks and artillery.

Professor Petrov described this as a kind of insurance policy for Putin against another insurgency by his security forces.

“The plan is to transform the National Guard into his new personal army, personally run by one of his most trusted bodyguards,” he said. «Now it will be better armed and can be used against any military army.»