Briefing | Nothing to see here

Pretending that everything is under control in Russia

It is getting ever harder

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner private mercenary group, in Bakhmut
A mercenary on a missionImage: Reuters

Editor’s note: On June 23rd Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, launched an open revolt against the Kremlin, accusing the Russian army of killing his troops. His mercenaries seized Rostov-on-Don, a southern city.

This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “Nothing to see here”

Ukraine strikes back

From the June 10th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Briefing

A photo collage about plastic surgery boon, featuring public figures like Joe Jonas and Kim Kardashian

Young customers in developing countries propel a boom in plastic surgery

Falling costs and converging beauty standards spur new habits

The torn down statue of former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad.

The Assad regime’s fall voids many of the Middle East’s old certainties

What if Syria abandoned its hostility to the West and stopped menacing Israel?


Top rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani speaks to a crowd at Ummayad Mosque in Damascus

Syria has exchanged a vile dictator for an uncertain future

It is not clear how stable or how benign the new regime will be


Gambling is growing like gangbusters in America

Technology and legal changes are spurring a betting bonanza

The Adani bribery case could upend Indian business and politics

The allegations against the corporate champion may end up being resolved diplomatically rather than in court

The war in Ukraine is straining Russia’s economy and society

Despite advances on the battlefield, pressure is growing