For One Day, an Army Drove Toward Moscow — and Putin’s Russia Couldn’t Stop It

For One Day, an Army Drove Toward Moscow — and Putin’s Russia Couldn’t Stop It

Summary and Key Points: On June 23, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group — a private army the Kremlin itself had built — seized the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and drove toward Moscow, halting just over 120 miles away. For one stunning day, Putin’s vaunted security state could not stop an armed challenge on its own soil. Rather than crush the mutiny, Putin cut a deal. The march exposed his grip as a bluff — and proved a coup in Russia, once …