Variations on the theme of “Wagner” – Kommersant

The idea of ​​State Duma Vice Speaker Sergei Neverov (United Russia) to invite Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of PMC Wagner, to parliament has not yet been discussed at the level of the leadership of the lower house: as Duma sources explain to Kommersant, this is “not an institutionalized proposal”, moreover “many things have happened” since his nomination. The Duma opposition to the United Russia initiative has different attitudes: for example, the Social Revolutionaries welcome communication with a businessman, while the Communists oppose “public skirmishes” during hostilities. The presidential administration is skeptical about the possibility of Mr. Prigozhin’s visit to the Duma, and presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov stresses that the deputies themselves decide who to invite to their place.

Sergei Neverov came up with the idea to invite Yevgeny Prigozhin to the State Duma at the end of April, immediately after the businessman’s interview with the WarGonzo media project. In it, Mr. Prigozhin announced an acute shortage of ammunition that PMC Wagner faced during the bloody battles for Bakhmut (Artemovsk). “And if the shortage of ammunition is not replenished, then we will be forced to either leave in an organized manner or stay to die. Most likely, we will be forced to withdraw part of the units from this territory, ”the businessman said then.

“I propose to invite Yevgeny Prigozhin to the State Duma, listen and discuss his statement and his position, voiced in a published interview,” Mr. Neverov wrote on his Telegram channel. Mr. Prigozhin’s response, at the request of one of the media, was soon published by the Telegram channel “Prigozhin’s Cap”: “I believe that the State Duma is certainly the best place for such a dialogue.”

The leaders of the Duma and parliamentary parties did not publicly comment on the proposal of Vice-Speaker Neverov in hot pursuit. According to Kommersant’s interlocutors in the Duma, so far this initiative has not been discussed either at the level of the leadership of the chamber, or in the United Russia faction (ER). “In the party and faction, this is treated as a personal initiative,” explains a source in the United Russia. “On the part of Sergei Neverov, this was only a proposal, not an invitation. Such decisions can only be taken by the council of the State Duma or its chairman, ”says a Kommersant source in the Duma, who is well aware of the circumstances of the vice speaker’s statement. Recall that this week, after a two-week vacation, the deputies are working in the regions, and the first meeting of the council of the chamber after the break will be held on May 15.

So far, this initiative is not being considered at the level of the leadership of the parliament, since there is actually nothing to react to, notes a source close to the leadership of the Duma: “This proposal was not of an institutionalized nature. It is not clear where exactly to invite Yevgeny Prigozhin: to the plenary session? To the committee? Or a faction? In addition, the Duma should solve problems, and not take sides (Mr. Prigozhin blames the Ministry of Defense for the shortage of ammunition.— “b”), and any such events should be planned based on these goals, the interlocutor emphasizes. In his opinion, United Russia’s initiative can be discussed at the council of the Duma, but first the vice-speaker himself must come up with a specific proposal.

It was not possible to contact Mr. Neverov at the time of publication of Kommersant. At the same time, a well-informed source in the Duma recalls that “a lot of events have already happened since Neverov’s proposal, so it’s difficult to talk about the relevance of the initiative now.” It should be noted that already in May, Yevgeny Prigozhin made several more statements about the supply of PMC Wagner with ammunition and again criticized the Ministry of Defense for their shortage. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, in response, offered to transfer the positions occupied by the Wagner PMC to the fighters of the Akhmat unit. In his last appeal dated May 9, Mr. Prigozhin said that the PMC received only 10% of the requested ammunition and, in the absence of new supplies, would begin leaving Bakhmut on May 10.

The Duma oppositionists do not have an unequivocal position on the advisability of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s visit to the State Duma. The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov, commenting on the businessman’s appeal on May 5 about a possible departure from Bakhmut, called for the “Supreme Commander, the Security Council and the Ministry of Defense” to carefully read it. At the same time, the first deputy head of the Communist Party faction in the State Duma, Nikolai Kolomeitsev, believes that there is no need to invite Mr. Prigozhin to the Duma: “Do we have Prigozhin in command? Well, what will he tell us? All this is PR. Commanded by Gerasimov (Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.— “b”), so he should be invited. And the press secretary of the leader of the Communist Party, deputy Alexander Yushchenko, told Kommersant that, according to the communists, any actions necessary to provide military units should be taken immediately, but “public skirmishes” during hostilities are unacceptable. “You can also meet in the State Duma to solve the problem, but there must be a clear goal. Everything must be done to prevent such skirmishes,” the deputy stressed.

Deputy Vasily Vlasov (LDPR) told Kommersant that, on his own initiative, he sent letters to all the leaders of the Duma factions, Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the Duma defense committee, and to the Ministry of Defense with a proposal to hold a meeting with Yevgeny Prigozhin. “I suggested finding a suitable format. This could be a meeting in the Duma, at the site of the Defense Committee or in the Ministry of Defense,” the liberal democrat explained. According to him, if such an effective and combat-ready military company as PMC Wagner has problems with ammunition, then “all the bells should be ringed.” In turn, the deputy head of the LDPR faction, Yaroslav Nilov, told Kommersant that such issues require discussion “in a closed format at the council of the Duma.” “We are not the Ministry of Defense, we can state our position, we can speak, we can appeal. I believe that the platform of the Council of the Duma would make it possible to start such a conversation, if the deputies of the State Duma believe that it is required, ”said Mr. Nilov.

In A Just Russia – For Truth (SRZP), the idea of ​​communication between deputies and the founder of PMC Wagner is supported. “Prigozhin often raises questions about problems in the NVO zone. I believe that it is necessary to do this, since it will allow us to more quickly resolve all issues that arise on the fronts, ”the chairman of the party, Sergei Mironov, told Kommersant, adding that he himself had already met with Mr. Prigozhin “within the walls of the State Duma” in April. According to him, one can only welcome if “colleagues from United Russia want to discuss the same issues.” “The more information the deputies have about the state of affairs on the fronts, the more effective will be the solution of the tasks set during the NVO,” the leader of the SRZP is sure.

According to an informed interlocutor of Kommersant, close to the presidential administration, they do not approve of the public confrontation between Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Ministry of Defense. Kommersant’s source in the administration itself does not completely dismiss the possibility of inviting a businessman to the State Duma, but assesses his real probability as low, indicating that this may have unpredictable consequences. When asked by Kommersant whether the Kremlin has a specific position on this initiative, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the president, answered succinctly: “Parliamentarians make their own decisions about who to invite.”

Andrey Vinokurov, Ksenia Veretennikova