Russia coup attempt: What happened? What does the US want?

The June 23 coup attempt in Russia by the Wagner Group seemed to end almost as quickly and suddenly as it started. Yevgeny Prigozhin specifically targeted the Ministry of Defense and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and within hours Wagner forces had entered the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and entered the grounds of the command of the Southern Military District headquarters in the city.

Wall-to-wall news coverage in the US wondered what a post-Putin Russia would look like, featuring so-called experts on television and the Internet declaring a coup and a new day for Russia.

Joined by Walter Smolarek, editor of LiberationNews.org, we discuss the history of Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner group in the context of the fall of the Soviet Union, why Prigozhin criticized Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and more. We also talk about how the US might be looking to use this crisis to further its own goals in the region.

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