When President Vladimir Putin of Russia let mercenary tycoon Yevgeny V. Prigozhin escape seemingly unscathed after launching a mutiny in June, critics around the world seized on the Russian leader's apparent show of wartime weakness. Some even said the brief rebellion presaged the start of the post-Putin era. Two months later, Prigozhin is presumed dead in the mysterious crash of a private jet in a field between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Putin is securely in the Kremlin, publicly eulogizing Prigozhin as a talented person with a "complicated fate"...
When President Vladimir Putin of Russia let mercenary tycoon Yevgeny V. Prigozhin escape seemingly unscathed after launching a mutiny in June, critics around...