Prigozhin’s media empire was conceived as a contractor that would perform functions for the state while remaining under external management. But it turns out that receiving billions of dollars in taxpayers’ money is no guarantee of either effectiveness or loyalty. One of the consequences of businessman and mercenary leader Yevgeny …

The way in which Prigozhin was apparently killed suggests the Kremlin wanted to show how it deals with traitors. Whatever really happened, the Russian elite will see the air crash as retribution for Wagner’s armed uprising. “They got him in the end.” This was a common reaction to the news …

Sensing the changing mood, many left-wing parties and politicians in Moldova have begun criticizing the war and reversing their pro-Russian positions. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has turned life upside down for traditionally pro-Russian political parties in Moldova. Public calls for closer ties to Russia have become extremely rare, and …