Putin’s Prigozhin Trap, with Anne Applebaum

On August 23rd, Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a mysterious plane crash just 60 days after his mercenary group Wagner led a failed coup attempt that Russian president Vladimir Putin called “treasonous.”   Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum argues that Putin needed a spectacular act of violence after Prigozhin’s challenge to his power. She and Ray discuss what this means for a fragile Russia.    Read Applebaum’s latest column for The Atlantic, Prigozhin’s Death Heralds Even More Spectacular Violence - The Atlantic.     Guest:   Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer-Prize winning historian, author of  Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism and staff writer at The Atlantic.   Host:     Ray Suarez   If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.