The head of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, together with fighters from his detachments, captured part of the military facilities in Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh on the night of June 24. There are tanks and armored personnel carriers on the streets, explosions and shooting can be heard in the videos published by eyewitnesses. In Voronezh, a shell flew into a residential yard, several cars were smashed, in the region, servicemen of the Russian army bombed an automobile bridge over the M-4 Don highway, two kilometers from the city of Boguchar. A case was initiated against Prigozhin for calling for an armed rebellion, but he said that he was not going to turn himself in at the request of Putin, the FSB or “anyone else.” Russian politicians and propagandists, commenting on the situation, often simply quote Putin and call for “rallying” around him, and bots also call for the same. Who and how reacted to the attempted military coup with the participation of the "Wagnerites" – in the review of The Insider.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia has "one commander in chief". “Not two, not three. One. And he urged everyone to unite. This is the main thing now,” she wrote. Zakharova claims that “the personal should be put aside for later,” even if you think you are 100% right.
“Yes, because if we don’t unite now, if everyone is for himself or for his own vision of the situation, nothing will matter anymore. Only unity. Unity under the banner of the commander-in-chief. The enemy is just waiting for our civil strife. Can't wait!"
She called on the "muzhiks" to defend everyone with weapons in their hands, while remaining on the side of the president.
Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev also published the same type of message with a call to “rally around the president”: “Split and betrayal is the path to the greatest tragedy, a universal catastrophe. We won't allow it. The enemy will be defeated!" Supports Putin traditionally and the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov. He noted that the Kadyrovites are ready to "take tough measures" if necessary.
The heads of Dagestan, North Ossetia, Karachay-Cherkessia, the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Chuvashia, as well as the Magadan, Kursk, Kurgan and Kaliningrad regions on the first day of the rebellion also began to write about support for Putin in their social networks. One of the first messages was written by Roman Starovoit , the governor of the border Kursk region. The theses are the same: "Now, more than ever, we need to rally around our national leader – Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin."
In the same line of supporters is Patriarch Kirill (Vladimir Gundyaev) . Now he is calling on PMC fighters with weapons in their hands to “think their heads”. At the same time, there were no such statements from Gundyaev during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all this time he actively supported the “special operation” and thought about how quickly NATO missiles would have reached the Russian Federation.
“I urge those who, having taken up arms in their hands, are ready to direct them against their brethren, think again. In the face of a common threat, one must maintain unity of mind, overcome grievances and personal ambitions. No matter how difficult it may sometimes be. I support the efforts of the Head of the Russian State aimed at preventing unrest in our country.”
The ex-head of Roskosmos, Dmitry Rogozin , wrote that the armed rebellion in the rear of the warring army must be "immediately stopped."
The same opinion was expressed by the leader of the Just Russia – For Truth party , Sergei Mironov. According to him, it is necessary to adhere to the position of the president and peacefully resolve the conflict.
Propaganda writer Zakhar Prilepin , despite having previously supported Prigozhin, stated that he, as an officer, "with all his heart and soul with his fighters and officers." He noted that there is the word "order", and supported the Ministry of Defense.
Propagandist Vladimir Solovyov asked if the Russians would allow "to lose the country in civil strife." He urged PMC Wagner to stop.
The speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko also declared full support for the president. According to her, the senators understand the importance of the consolidated position of society and the leadership of all regions. State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin also said that the deputies are in favor of consolidating forces and supporting the president.
However, the former "People's Governor of the DPR" Pavel Gubarev went against the official rhetoric. He wrote that Putin's Russia will cease to exist in the coming days. “We did not particularly love this state, it was always hostile to the Russians. No one will protect him,” he said. Gubarev claims that those who are ready to defend Putin and the Russian Federation have neither weapons nor resources.
President of Ukraine Vadymir Zelensky supported the actions of the founder of PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin and said that Russia showed its “weakness” against the backdrop of these events.
Bots also "commented" on the situation with the rebellion in social networks. According to the Bot Blocker project , which The Insider has at its disposal, support is mainly “expressed” to the Russian troops. There are much fewer positive comments about Wagner PMCs. Most of the bots connected by 9:00 Moscow time, they comment on news that is 12 hours old.
In support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, messages appear with the following messages: “When it is necessary to beat the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the front, Prigozhin took up clowning, staging, PR”, “There is no evidence for Prigozhin’s words, the RF Ministry of Defense did not fire at anyone”, “Prigozhin is clearly overdoing it. Traitor, breeds panic. It's time to judge him."
In favor of PMC Wagner, there are much fewer messages from bots, but they are there. Basically, they write that “this is a short-lived conflict”, “Prigozhin promised to deal with lawlessness, well done, he does it”, there are also theses – “Prigozhin reprimands the RF Ministry of Defense as small children” and he did not say that “he is going to remove Putin” .
In addition, there are those who call the story "muddy" and do not support either side in the rebellion.
On Channel One, several special newscasts were released at night. Host Ekaterina Andreeva literally read out a selection of messages from Telegram channels and official statements from news agencies, trying to present the situation as being under control.
Read more about the reaction of the West and the main events of the first day of the coup attempt in The Insider .