Politics | Aug 26th 2023 Edition

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group of Russian-backed mercenaries, was presumed to have been killed when a private plane he was travelling in crashed north of Moscow. Two months ago Mr Prigozhin led a rebellion of his men, resulting in a short “march on Moscow” and skirmishes with Russian troops, because he was unhappy with the direction of the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin called him a traitor; it was said to be only a matter of time before the Russian president would exact his revenge.