larry johnson calls this odds and ends which i believe a good title for all it contains;

In Russia, the case of Wagner Group vs. Ministry of Defense appears to be coming to a close.  Around eight deputy ministers of defense have been relieved of their jobs, with some of them being arrested.  The general complaint seems to be corruption.  Former Defense Minister General Shoigu was transferred to the position of Secretary of the Security Council following Putin’s re-election victory.  The new defense minister, Belousov, is a civilian and comes from an economic and business background.

During the early stage of the Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine, the Wagner Group, a private, paramilitary organization, had entered the fighting and became famous for its siege and capture of  Bakhmut, an industrial town on the shore of the Azov Sea.  The leader/owner of Wagner, Prigozhin, became a celebrity in Russia.  This success, however, was not appreciated by the regular Russian army due to a number of factors.  In basic terms, the disagreement was also over funding and control, with the Shoigu & Co. enterprise competing with the Prigozhin & Co. enterprise.  The Ministry began to squeeze Wagner to the extent that Prigozhin carried out a minor mutiny and decided to march on Moscow to seek relief.  Pregozhin stated that his disagreement was with Shoigu and that the matter needed to be brought to Putin’s attention for a solution.  This has been typical of Putin’s career, where he has acted more as a mediator, arbitrator, referee, and umpire during his long climb to the top in Russia.  The Ministry vs. Wagner business tussle was similar in principle to the business feuds between oligarchs that broke out during the Yeltsin era.

Although Prigozhin was appealing to Putin for support, Prigozhin’s actions were an embarrassment to the Kremlin.  It put Putin in a difficult spot, as he could not publicly side with Wagner and offend the Ministry which was in the middle of ramping up in a wartime situation.  But he could not side publicly with the Ministry since Pregozhin was a celebrity in Russia due to his war exploits.  As a result, the Kremlin held meetings with all concerned, issued various vacuous statements, moved people around, and essentially tried to get the whole mess out of the news.  Another Russian general, Surovikin, famous for building the defensive line named after him, was caught up in the crisis reportedly due for being too closely associated with Prigozhin.  Surovikin was removed from the Ukraine operation and ended up being transferred to a position with the Commonwealth of Independent States.........more.........