Yevgeny Prigozhin’s social media accounts have been unusually silent since Saturday. However, a Wagner-affiliated Telegram account has reposted an eerie poem titled 'Everything was decided. Almost', in an apparent message to Russia.
A day after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin agreed to turn back his forces to avoid bloodshed in Russia, his social media accounts have been unusually silent since then. However, Telegram accounts believed to be linked to the Wagner group have offered little commentary or insight into what is likely to happen next.
Yevgeny Prigozhin has told his troops heading towards the Russian capital to turn back, saying he wants to avoid shedding Russian blood.
In an audio message, Prigozhin said his fighters would return to their bases.
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The Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel Grey Zone (which has more than 500,000 subscribers) on Sunday reposted a poem titled: "Everything was decided. Almost."
The poem, written originally in Russian, has the Wagner group asking Russia: "My bloody, drunken country, what are you doing to me?"
Everything was decided. Almost.
Shoulder straps not yet broken
And the regiments were not shot,
Not yet red, but green
A field rises by the river.
They are not many and not few years old,
But their fate is sealed.
They are not generals yet.
And the war is not lost.
They have a short moment in reserve
For stormy glory and victories,
Sentimental Beauties
They are looked upon with admiration.
And at the triumphal parades
They are waiting for awards and ranks,
But these scenes are so fatal
And those faces are so pale.
Bloody, drunken,
At least sing, at least howl like a wolf!
My native country
And what are you doing with me?!
Burning family albums
In fireplaces hot on the coals,
From the walls of the Ipatiev House
Fear is already creeping in
The Messiah has already descended from heaven
And his thoughts are pure.
Russia bears its eternal cross,
Counting fresh crosses.
Yesterday exquisite dandies,
Today - the knights of war,
They are not immigrants yet.
They are also her sons.
But life went on like it never happened
And left no trace.
Burning on the horizon
Their guiding star.
Bloody, drunken,
At least sing, at least howl like a wolf!
My native country
And what are you doing with me?!
Last shot with the heart crossed
An inexorable farewell look,
But the diaries of loving women
They will be resurrected for posterity.
Oh, my God, what would happen to us,
When all this is not in vain ...
Whenever the mind is not eclipsed
Red dawn on the tower?!
Bloody, drunken,
At least sing, at least howl like a wolf!
My native country
And what are you doing with me.
After Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus intervened, Prigozhin on Saturday consented to put an end to a mutiny against Moscow's military command in exchange for assurances of the fighters' safety. The Kremlin said he would be moving to Belarus as per the agreed deal.
Despite the militia leader's agreement to cease his march on Moscow, observers claim that President Vladimir Putin has been seriously weakened by the stunning mutiny of the Wagner mercenary organisation. The rebellion led by Prigozhin presented Putin with his most significant opposition in his more than two decades of rule. It ended on Saturday, but not before the Wagner group captured Rostov-on-Don in the south and got within 120 miles of Moscow.
Also read: How Putin's reputation was punctured by Wagner mutiny