Civil servants who fled the country amid insurrection by the Wagner group should not be working, the parliament speaker said.
The civil servants who opted to get out of Russia during the failed revolt by Wagner's private military company PMC have been betrayed their country and should be held accountable, the Speaker of the Russian state Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, has said.
We all condemn those who left the country in this difficult moment, Mr. Volodin said.
What those individuals did was a betrayal, he argued, adding that it especially concerned those employed by the Russian state.
We need to find out if some of the civil servants took such a step, committed an unseemly act because in this case, working for the state isn t for them.
Volodin has asked the Duma s Security Committee and law enforcement agencies to analyze if any of those occupying significant positions in civil service, government agencies, joint-stock companies and corporations left the country recently and make this information public. Plane ticket prices from Russia to neighboring Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan and some other destinations surged on Saturday, as some fled following reports of mutiny by the PMC.
The Wagner Group, which was instrumental in the Russian takeover of the strategic city of Artyomovsk Bakhmut from Ukraine in May, launched its mutiny late on Friday. The head of the PMC, Evgeny Prigozhin, said he had ordered the insurrection because the Russian Defense Ministry wanted to disband his company. The Wagners seized control of a Russian military headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don and sent an armed convoy to Moscow.
The revolt was stopped on Saturday night, as Prigozhin announced that his men would be returning to their field camps, following talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The talks were held in close cooperation with Putin, Minsk said.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Kremlin said Prigozhin would leave Russia and go to Belarus. Wagner's troops who participated in the mutiny will also avoid prosecution, a government spokesman said.
The Federal Security Service FSB, which monitors terrorism, said yesterday that Wagner and Prigozhin's criminal case had been dropped. Putin said the PMC soldiers now have the option of signing a contract with Russia's Defense Ministry and other security agencies, of returning home or moving to Belarus.
7 Comments
Василий
Holding civil servants accountable for leaving the country may create a culture of fear and hinder future public servants from leaving during times of crisis.
Pedalka
Public servants have the right to prioritize their safety and well-being. It is unjust to punish them for making a decision to protect themselves.
Василий
Placing blame on civil servants who left may distract from the real issues at hand, such as addressing the underlying causes of the insurrection and working towards a more stable and secure future for the country.
Pedalka
The decision to leave or stay during a crisis is deeply personal and should be respected. It is not the government's place to dictate what individuals should do in such circumstances.
Василий
Volodin's statement disregards the complex circumstances surrounding the failed revolt. It is important to consider the motivations and actions of the Wagner PMC before passing judgment on those who left.
Habibi
Dissent and disagreement are fundamental to democracy. Punishing civil servants for leaving during a crisis undermines the democratic values of open dialogue and the right to express dissenting opinions.
Shrilanka
Holding civil servants accountable for leaving ignores the fact that they may have valuable skills and knowledge to contribute to rebuilding and strengthening the country after the turmoil.