Russia is going through a “serious state crisis” which was revealed by its rebellion Wagner at the end of June and risks ushering in an ‘era of turmoil’, jailed Russian dissident warns Ilia Yasin in a written interview with Le Figaro newspaper.

The mutiny of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin “revealed many serious problems of the Russian authorities,” says Ilya Yashin, who was sentenced in April to eight and a half years in prison for his criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian system “it is based only on the personal loyalty” of military or service officials to President Vladimir Putin, and “from the moment that loyalty weakened, the system began to unravel,” says Ilya Yashin.

“Putin showed public weakness by doing harsh statements against Prigozhin, which were not followed by correspondingly harsh actions. Wagner’s fighters marched towards Moscow. But in the end, Prigozhin was not charged. He is alive, a priori, in good condition.

The criminal case concerning him has been closed. The rebels saw that in a crisis situation Putin was hesitant and that in the face of a real power he was afraid to take active measures”, says Ilya Yashin. The Russian army “retreated before a gang of mercenaries led by a gang member”.

“Power has created a serious crisis of the State, which risks starting an era of unrest. Putin is creating one with his own hands existential threat to our country“, says the imprisoned Russian dissident for whom “the role of the democratic opposition is to save Russia, to liberate it and bring it back to civilized society”.

Ilya Yashin is in Moscow’s Medved prison and “enduring”. “It is important for me to remain a Russian public voice against war and tyranny,” he says, appealing to the West to stand up to Putin. “If they don’t stop him in Ukraine, he will reach the Baltic countries and Warsaw,” he warns.