The Wagner mercenary group attempted what the media is calling a coup. Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in the video above warns Russia to improve its treatment of soldiers. Otherwise, there would be a revolution “just like 1917,” also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. He condemned Russia for not providing Wagner with enough equipment, claiming the leaders left his men for dead. He curses the elite in Russia and tells them to send their own children to fight on the battlefield. “Children of the ordinary come back in zinc coffins,” he said, urging children of the elite to go to battle and post it on their social media platforms. “First the soldiers will stand up, and after that, their loves ones will rise up.”

The threat of a revolution against the existing government was considered an embarrassment to Putin by the media. Rumors began swirling that the CIA or some western agency must have paid off Wagner. People even wondered if the missing $6 billion in funds from the Pentagon ended up in Wagner’s pockets.  The truth of the matter is that this attempted coup only gave Putin more power.

Prigozhin does not want the oligarchs behind Putin in charge. He hates the elites, if the video above is any indication. Wagner is a tiny portion of Russia’s military. They would have been outnumbered by far. This situation allowed Putin to declare Counter Terrorist Operation (CTO) regime, a form of martial law.

CTO grants the Russian government the power to control the public. They can legally inspect individuals, cars, residences, check documentation, and anything else as there is a terrorist concern. They can seize private property for personal purposes. They can implement a lockdown or resettle portions of the population to different areas. The government no longer needs warrants to search private property. Perhaps most importantly, they can limit all communications. The Russian government could turn off internet access to the country and cut phone lines. They can also listen in to all phone calls and fully monitor the public. All this alleged coup did was provide the Russian government with complete power over the people.

Update: Russia has lifted CTO, but they can implement it again at any time. “Due to the absence of threats to life, health, property and other legally protected interests of people, the head of the counter-terrorist operation, the head of the Federal Security Service of Russia for the city of Moscow and the Moscow region decided to cancel the counter-terrorist operation legal regime in Moscow and the Moscow region from 9 a.m. on Monday,” said Russia’s National Anti-terrorism Committee in a statement.

Note that China says they would help Russia “achieve national stability” to combat Wagner. Russian allies cannot enter or aid the war in Ukraine, but helping Russia combat internal forces is a grey area.