John: Good evening.
I'm John yang.
The most significant challenge
to Russian president Vladimir
Putin's two decades in power
lasted only about 24 hours, but
today there are questions about
the long-term consequences.
The streets of Moscow were quiet
today as the last Russian troops
left the capital.
To the south, yevgeny prigozhin
and his Wagner mercenary group
were cheered as they left
rostovondon late last night.
They had captured the city that
morning.
The deal that defused the mutiny
calls for prigozhin to live in
exile in Belarus.
On NBC's "Meet the press,"
secretary of state Antony
blinken said the episode was a
blow to Putin's authority.
Secretary blinken I think we've
: Seen more cracks emerge in the
Russian façade.
It is too soon to tell exactly
where they go & when they get
there, but certainly we have all
sorts of new questions that
Putin is going to have to
address in the weeks and months
ahead.
John: Blinken also said it's
unclear whether the Wagner
fighters will return to the
battlefield in Ukraine.
Angela stent is a Russia expert.
She worked in the state
department during the Clinton
administration and was a top
intelligence officer during the
administration of George W.
Bush.
She's now a professor at
Georgetown university.
Angela, you heard the secretary
of state say cracks in the
façade.
Is it possible to know how deep
the cracks go?
>> It is difficult.
There is a lot we do not know
about what happened yesterday
and it could just be the first
act of a much longer drama but
clearly the fact that the troops
were able to get within 200 km
of Moscow, and they were
welcomed and cheered, does raise
serious questions about the
security services in Russia, the
military, and Putin's own
future.
He certainly looks weaker
emerging from this but there is
a lot we don't know.
Let's wait and see where and
when he shows up again.
Will it be Belarus?
We have to see.
John: You talk about the
progress he made while advancing
on Moscow.
Was there a carrot or stick that
made him stop?
>> Again, we do not know a lot
but it is possible he thought
there would be more support for
him from some of the top people
in Moscow and it is possible
that it became clear that that
wasn't so, they could rethink
what they were doing because it
looks like they could have
reached Moscow pretty quickly
and taken over, which is what
people thought at the beginning
of the day, or it is possible a
deal was made with him yesterday
where he was promised the chief
of general staff would be fired,
which is what he had been
calling for for months, saying
they were incompetent, but that
has not happened yet so we will
have to wait and see.
John: Is a publicly chastised
Putin dangerous?
Is there concern that he would
do something rash to show he is
back in charge?
>> Someone can always have those
concerns but there must be a lot
going on that we don't know
about right now inside the
Kremlin.
What is interesting is that none
of his colleagues have come out
publicly and supported him and
he did not announce a deal
yesterday but his press
secretary did and he has been
absent today.
No public figures in Moscow.
So there has to be some concern
about what is going on inside
the -- going on inside the
Kremlin.
John: The deal was brokered by
Alexander.
Why do you think he got involved
-- Alexander lukashenko.
Why do you think he got
involved?
>> He is a Putin ally and
dependent of him and subordinate
on him.
Maybe he wanted to make it look
as if those his hands had not
touched this and left someone
else to do it so he was not the
one negotiating.
John: You said there is a
possibility the defense minister
and general chief of staff may
resign, which is what preclusion
wanted.
So did Goshen accomplish
anything?
>> What he accomplished was
showing the Russian people to
the extent that they knew what
was going on that he has quite a
lot of support.
He has come out as a populist
figure.
He said a couple days ago that
the war in Ukraine was a big
mistake in Ukraine was not a
threat and it was oligarchs in
Russia who wanted to get their
hands on assets in Ukraine and
that was the reason for the war.
The fact that that resonates and
then telling the Russians people
that their sons and brothers are
dying while the children of the
elite are sitting in the south
of France, that resonates and it
should get everyone in the
Kremlin thinking about what it
means to continue this war.
John: Yesterday was tensions
between Russians while
Ukrainians were forgotten.
What effect does this have on
the war?
>> I'm not sure that it has much
effect on the war unless Putin
were to rethink the war.
I think Ukraine will continue
the counteroffensive and Russia
will continue defending against
it so if there was an
opportunity, it might have been
yesterday but the way it ended
now I think the war will just
continue.
John: Angela from Georgetown
university, thank you very much.