Thirty six hours after the most serious threat to his 23-year rule was resolved for now, Russian President Vladimir Putin summoned heads of Russian security services -- members of his inner circle -- to the Kremlin on Monday, June 26, 2023.
IMAGE: It was Putin's first appearance in public after the Wagner mercenary group threatened to take on the Russian army in Moscow, here and below. Photograph: Sputnik/Valery Sharifulin/Pool via Reuters
Photograph: Sputnik/Valery Sharifulin/Pool via Reuters
Photograph: Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via Reuters
IMAGE: The rumours of Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu's dismissal were dispelled by his appearance at Monday's meeting in the Kremlin.
Shoigu has long been a target of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who accuses him of not backing up Wagner troops in the war in Ukraine with Russian military power. Photograph: Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via Reuters
IMAGE: Viktor Zolotov, chief of Russia's National Guard, served as a former bodyguard to both Boris Yeltsin and Putin. Photograph: Sputnik/Valery Sharifulin/Pool via Reuters
IMAGE: Alexander Bastrykin, Russia's head of the federal Investigative Committee. Photograph: Sputnik/Valery Sharifulin/Pool via Reuters
IMAGE: Dmitry Kochnev heads Russia's Federal Protection Service, which protects the Putin empire's top officials. Photograph: Sputnik/Valery Sharifulin/Pool via Reuters
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Mahipal Soni/Rediff.com