Yevgeny Prigozhin left the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don late Saturday to a rapturous reception that resembled the departure of a rockstar, with crowds of men gathering around his car.
The extraordinary scenes underlined some of the broader support Prigozhin appears to enjoy among sections of the Russian population, despite Vladimir Putin calling him a traitor whom he vowed to “liquidate”.
One video showed residents in the city cheering as Prigozhin’s car stopped when one person approached. The smiling warlord, flanked by a convoy of armoured vehicles, then proceeded to shake the man’s hand.
“Take care of yourselves,” shouted another woman.
Some retreating Wagner group troops also tooted their horns and fired into the air, followed by loud applause from the public.
In an abrupt about-face, Prigozhin said on Saturday evening that he had called off his troops’ march on Moscow and ordered them to move out of Rostov after reaching a deal with the Kremlin.
Earlier in the day, Prigozhin’s troops had occupied key buildings in Rostov without meeting any tangible resistance. Some residents told the Guardian that they welcomed the warlord’s arrival.
“Finally, we can welcome them home,” said Evgeny, 36, a supporter of the war who has been among those crowdfunding and ferrying goods into occupied Ukraine.
“I hope he wins.”
In stark contrast, hours after Wagner troops left the city, some locals appeared to be angrily greeting the police force that took their place, shouting “traitors” and “shame!” at them.
“Putin is afraid of Prigozhin, ordinary people are clearly not,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, based in Moscow.
Kolesnikov said the events in Rostov indicated that Prigozhin’s populist, anti-elite persona who speaks truth to power had clearly resonated with many Russians unhappy with the foundering invasion.
“There is a real interest in Prigozhin and his fighters,” he said.
It was remarkable that some residents in Rostov-on-Don were openly showing their sympathies for Prigozhin in a political climate where even the slightest forms of dissent can lead to long prison sentences, he said.
“The nation longs for a change. To some, Prigozhin is a valuable alternative to Putin.”
