Criminal rivalries and Russian power politics [Twitter videos] (some arguably NSFW)

[Emrys]

(This was originally posted as a reply to an OP in Latest Breaking News, but I figured it would probably sink without trace there.)

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VidTranslator - targum.video AI bot
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Hey @SergAibertich, here's your video [ai] translated from Russian as requested by @57thOverlanders.

Follow @altryne to get more free transcriptions.

[Twitter video]

I disturbed myself last night by reading around the prevalence of prison culture in more mainstream Russian society. I knew Putin was a jumped-up gangster, but I hadn't joined the dots laid out for me.

In brief, there are two broad factions in the Russian criminal fraternity - those who are opposed to the state (like Grisha), and others (like Prigozhin and Kadyrov) who have thrown their lot in with it as allies and profited, but nevertheless could pose threats to the current regime.

What follows is not pleasant, and if you're prone to triggering or in a work environment, you've been warned.

The Russian criminal hierarchy ranges from "thieves-in-law" at the top to "cocks" at the bottom. Rape is endemic in Russian prisons, and is not equated with homosexuality if you're a "top". It's seen as a method of enforcement and punishment. At the bottom of the hierarchy are "cocks", who once they've been raped are regarded as untouchable except for sexual purposes.

The turf war inside Russia is developing as ex-inmate Sasha Kurara posted the two videos posted below, in which he claims that he was in prison with Prigozhin many years ago, and that Prigozhin was a "cock" and served him sexually.

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Dmitri
@wartranslated

A Russian man who introduces himself as an ex-convict who served sentence with Wagner's Prigozhyn claims the latter was providing sexual services to other prisoners.

[Twitter video]

Link to tweet

Dmitri
@wartranslated

So there's more to the story with the ex-convict who claims Prigozhyn was adventurous in prison. There's a second video where the man confidently confirms his statements.

[Twitter video]

Making these inflammatory claims that, if accepted, are terminal to Prigozhin's reputation among the criminal fraternity, is obviously a very dangerous business, but Kurara doesn't seem concerned and offers to meet anyone angered by his claims (by implication, henchmen of Prigozhin) at a location of their choosing. Undercutting Prigozhin in this way could serve the purposes of many, including Putin, who may foresee a threat to his power from the influence of the Wagner Group.

I'd foreseen the possibility of ethnic civil war in the Russian Federation as a result of the war in Ukraine's failure. These turf wars add another dimension.