Volodin called the Wagner campaign against Moscow a “vanity march”

On June 27, the State Duma held its first plenary session after the military mutiny by Wagner PMC. Speaker of the lower house Vyacheslav Volodin and leaders of parliamentary factions assessed its results and proposed ways to regulate the activities of private military companies.

Volodin noted, in particular, that President Vladimir Putin has done “what is probably practically impossible.” The head of state, according to the speaker, “not only prevented bloodshed”, but also tried to make it heard by the Wagner fighters, who realize that they, as people who fought “and didn’t really think about what was happening”, were not led only to death, but also “tried to push against their people.”

“They could be used to change the situation at the front not in our favor. This is something we must not allow any more. So it was a test for all of us. And in this regard, I would like to once again express words of support to our president, because, indeed, it was a day that determined a lot for us, ”Volodin said.

Leonid Slutsky, head of the LDPR faction, spoke about the lessons that the deputies “learned from June 24”. “We have become more united. We stood around the president and the tasks facing the national economy and social policy,” he said.

Then Slutsky proposed to observe a minute of silence in memory of all those who gave their lives on June 23 and 24 “for peace in our country.” Volodin supported his initiative.

Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov offered to thank Vladimir Putin and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. According to him, in order to effectively fight “mutinies and military danger”, it is very important to demonstrate the unity of action, political will and determination. “This stopped that terrible rebellion that threatened to escalate into a large-scale civil war,” Zyuganov said.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, interrupting his colleague, invited everyone to join the above and express gratitude to the president, as well as President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, for the help he provided [в переговорах]. The State Duma deputies responded with applause.

Further, in his speech, the leader of the Communist Party drew an analogy with the events of 1917, when [к власти] “First came the Provisional Government, where only one minister was not a member of the Masonic lodge, [и только затем большевики]”. And then he recalled the events of 1993 in Russia (when the White House was stormed – Vedomosti). Some of the participants in those events were in the hall. “It seemed to me that in 30 years it is possible to draw far-reaching conclusions and not repeat these tragic mistakes. And, nevertheless, the last few days the society and the authorities have experienced a serious stress. The situation escalated to the limit, and a lot hung in the balance,” Zyuganov said.

The right to violence “should only have the state,” and only limited by laws, he concluded.

The head of the Just Russia faction, Sergei Mironov, between words of gratitude to Putin, Lukashenko and Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Yunus-bek Yevkurov, who participated in negotiations with the founder of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that in early July he would submit to the State Duma a bill banning the use of private military companies in Russia.

He proposed to legislate that they “can only be used outside the Russian Federation.” The procedure for licensing PMCs, their establishment, liquidation and armament, according to his initiative, should be regulated by the Ministry of Defense. According to Mironov, the project was developed five years ago, and he offered to accept it three times. However, the leaders of PMC “Wagner” and the Ministry of Defense had previously opposed these norms, the leader of the “SR” said.

“How could it happen that a super-professional, well-armed group of people appeared on the territory of the Russian Federation who were ready to go to Moscow, who went to Rostov?” Mironov asked. At the same time, he called the Wagner fighters “super-professionals” who should “serve our homeland.”

In addition, in his speech, Mironov asked the president to make July 1 “officially the day of combat veterans.” Earlier, he voiced this proposal in the summer of 2022 at Putin’s meeting with parliamentary factions.

The head of the United Russia faction, Vladimir Vasiliev, drew attention to the fact that in the crisis situation of the past weekend, people “did not run to buy matches.” This, according to the politician, means that an economy has been created, “which can withstand even such shocks.”

The speaker of the lower house thanked the leaders of the factions “for their position.” “Despite the difference in programs, ideologies, everyone was united in matters of protecting citizens and the interests of the country: they immediately gathered, discussed the situation, each expressed his position. This is very important in such situations,” Volodin said.

He called the Wagner PMC’s attempted rebellion a “vanity march” by one person. If those who led a huge number of armed people to peaceful cities thought about the country and the people, and only then about themselves, they would never have decided on this act, the speaker noted. At that time, “all the military on the front line fought off the counteroffensive of NATO troops and Ukrainian recruits loyal to them, who were forced to go to war,” Volodin emphasized.

The “unconditional support” given to the president proves that the current political system is effective, he said. Those who led people to their death, “wanted to seize power,” realized that “the people are not with them,” Volodin said. The country “rallyed even more” and “cooled their sore heads” – so it is important that this does not happen again, the speaker of the lower house said.

The Wagner fighters, led by the company’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, moved from the special operation zone towards Moscow on June 23. Prigozhin accused the Ministry of Defense of attacking the rear camps of the company. June 24 “Wagner” took control of military facilities in Rostov-on-Don and blockaded the city. The Ministry of Defense called Prigozhin’s statements a provocation.

Putin in a televised address called what is happening “apostasy from his people, from comrades in arms”, “a stab in the back” to the country and “internal betrayal.” On the evening of June 24, after negotiations with Lukashenka, Prigozhin announced that he had decided to stop the movement towards Moscow and return to the rear camps of PMCs. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov explained that as a result of the negotiations, an agreement was reached: the criminal case initiated against Prigozhin would be terminated, and he himself “would go to Belarus.”

The Russian military has effectively stopped the civil war, Putin said, speaking on June 27 to law enforcement officials who maintained order during the Wagner PMC armed mutiny. He also thanked Lukashenko for his efforts and contribution to the peaceful resolution of the situation.