This is unexpected news, as in bizarre.

Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared to attempt a coup on June 24, capturing a city, marching on Moscow, shooting down Russian aircraft, and was supposedly kicked out of Russia as a traitor.

Yet on June 29 he and his commanders from the Wagner Group had a secret 3-hour meeting with Putin, and apparently, he and his Wagner cronies are still in Russia.

This, according to Tass News Agency.

Vladimir Putin had a nearly three-hour-long meeting with Yevgeny Prigozhin and PMC Wagner commanding officers in the Kremlin on June 29, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said:https://t.co/yEFPq2IuzQ pic.twitter.com/Lh7Um4fi4K

— TASS (@tassagency_en) July 10, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a nearly three-hour-long meeting with Yevgeny Prigozhin and PMC Wagner commanding officers in the Kremlin on June 29, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

Commenting on a piece by the Liberation newspaper about Putin’s meeting with Prigozhin after what happened on June 24, the Kremlin spokesman said, “The president did hold such a meeting.”

“He invited 35 people – all the squad commanders and the leadership of the [private military] company, including Prigozhin,” he said. “The meeting took place in the Kremlin on June 29 and lasted for nearly three hours.”

Okaaaayyyyy. What? During the coup attempt, Putin called the Wagner mercenaries traitors–for obvious reasons–and the military was mobilized to defend Moscow.

Then a deal was cut with Yevgeny Prigozhin, allowing him to back off and live in exile in Belarus. Then we learned that he never showed up in Belarus, remaining in Russia.

And then a couple of days later he is meeting with Putin. And the story gets even weirder. Apparently, Putin offered new “opportunities” to help the Russian military.

Russian head scratcher. Prigozhin, head of Wagner was denounced as a traitor by Putin and now we get this story:

Story from RemyLind23 on Telegram.
Press Secretary Peskov confirmed the June 29 meeting between Putin and Prigozhin in the Kremlin. He said that 35 people were…

— Daniel Meier (@DanielMeier_) July 10, 2023

Details:
▪️At the meeting, Putin assessed the actions of the PMC “Wagner” in the course of military defense and on June 24;

▪️The President listened to the explanations of the commanders and offered them further employment and application of their skills;

▪️The commanders themselves presented their version of events and emphasized that they are staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and are ready to continue fighting for the fatherland;

The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation added that the meeting lasted three hours, but did not give any further details.

But wait! There’s more! Simultaneous with this news story coming out–straight from the Russian News Agency–we learn that Putin is bragging about cracking down on Prighozin even more, raiding his home, and characterizing him in the nastiest terms.

The Kremlin’s propaganda machine has turned against Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.

In a report on a state-run program, the Kremlin’s propaganda attack dogs played footage of what they claimed was a raid of Prigozhin’s mansion and offices.https://t.co/WZWzfVGjBZ

— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) July 7, 2023

“The investigation is continuing,” said pundit Eduard Petrov at the top of the program, referring to the probe into the mutiny led by Prigozhin last month, during which the leader of the Wagner Group of mercenaries marched his men to within 200 kilometers of Moscow in a bid to oust the country’s military leadership. “In reality, no one planned to close this case,” he added.

It was an open declaration of war on Prigozhin, and came after Russian President Vladimir Putin and his aides issued improbable assurances that the criminal case into those who had organized the mutiny would be dropped if the warlord and his Wagnerites agreed to either disarm, sign contracts with the Russian defense ministry, or leave for Belarus. On Thursday morning, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who ostensibly negotiated the exile agreement with Prigozhin and Putin, told state media the warlord was not in the country.

“We need to figure out who was on whose side,” Petrov pronounced on “60 Minutes.” “Who was on the mutineers’ side? They should be punished and brought to criminal justice. So the nation understands that if a person acts against their government, they will be punished very, very harshly. Not ‘see you later, I’m going out.’”

I won’t even pretend to understand what is going on inside Russia. Winston Churchill defined Russia as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma,” and his words ring as true today as they did when he spoke them.

I am genuinely curious to see how this all plays out, and not only for the obvious reason that what happens in Russia is a matter of world-historical importance. The stakes have risen very high with the war in Ukraine and the possibility of a collapse of the Russian government, so of course I want to know the details.

But frankly, I am just super curious about the bizarre goings-on. The story involves a hot dog vendor who becomes a warlord, a KGB agent who murders his opponents with Polonium, Russian windows that are also portals to the great beyond, threats of nuclear war, wigs, novelty mugs, and what appears to be the plot of a Mission Impossible movie.

I want to know what happens next, and if Tom Cruise is somehow involved.

Seriously, the strange turn of events makes it pretty clear that few, if any, have a clear idea of what is actually happening and why. Does Prighozin have a nuke stashed somewhere? Why would Putin meet with Prighozin, offer him more work, and then proceed to raid his home but not have him killed?

I can’t wait to see the movie.