Online Public Relations Thoughts

Wagner Group CEO Yevgeny Prigozhin was a loose cannon since the start of the conflict in Ukraine but Putin tolerated him because he kept the front stable and he actually won territory back from the Ukrainians.  Now that he failed in an attempted coup against Putin, he is a persona non grata and a target for state media to revile.  Such are the whip changes of official public opinion in a dictatorship.  There is no nuance, no examination of causes, no hearing from both sides.  The public is told to change and in Russia, they do for the most part.  Putin still has a strong hold on power and can continue to dictate what Russians will see and hear.  Meanwhile, Ukrainians felt relief for a few hours and dared to hope, but there is no sign that the war is ending.  It will grind on, Wagner Group or not.