CityofGlass419 t1_j61kp08 wrote
Reply to comment by reuters in A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner's prisoner army by reuters
Why does a private security company have the power to pardon prisoners?
MoltenGeek t1_j61q2w7 wrote
Russia needs cannon fodder. Someone at Wagner comes up with the idea, it gets presented to Putin, he okays it and has it written into law.
hikingmike t1_j629lkz wrote
They are contradicting so many of their laws so probably the law part isn’t even necessary.
Baneken t1_j634bkl wrote
Like the part in their constitution which explicitly forbids "wars of aggression" to be fought... Putin hand-waved this by declaring the war as "Special operation".
hikingmike t1_j65h6go wrote
I wasn't aware of that. But I did know that -
PMCs are technically illegal under Article 359 of the 1996 Russian Criminal Code, which states: “Recruitment, training, financing, or any other material provision of a mercenary, and also the use of him in an armed conflict or hostilities, shall be punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of four to eight years.”
https://www.csis.org/analysis/putins-proxies-examining-russias-use-private-military-companies
"the use of him in an armed conflict" - that implicates Prigozhin and probably Putin (just need some evidence for the link which is obviously there).
_aware t1_j61wsbv wrote
Because the owner of the PMC is one of Putin's close associates.
Baneken t1_j634g98 wrote
Nicknamed as Putin's Chef by the international press.
SVZ0zAflBhUXXyKrF5AV t1_j62bp3h wrote
Nothing can happen, especially something like this, in Russia without Putin being involved. He's told the FSB to leave Wagner alone, much to their control freak annoyance. Wagner are linked to the military and GRU, who the FSB also dislike.
Basically, Wagner is called a private army but actually do Putin's bidding through the GRU but if any questions are asked Putin has plausible deniability kind of like saying "It's nothing to do with us. They're not part of the military." We know it's a lie it's so obvious, they've been seen mixing with ordinary Russian troops, but it's one of the games Putin plays. Using plausible deniability also how Putin gives orders in the Kremlin.
That is a double edged sword though. In a different conflict, when one Wagner group got too close to an American outpost the Americans contacted their Russian counterparts who disowned all knowledge of them. The Wagner group didn't turn back so the American troops opened fire with everything they had. They heard the radio chatter of the men as they realised the Russians had left them to die rather than to own up to being associated with them. They're very expendable.
The reason for using prisoners and mercenaries in this current war is because Putin believes the Russian public won't care if that type of people get killed rather than the general Russian public.
They're also being used as cannon fodder. Some prisoners are given a tiny bit of ammo, just enough to make a noise and attract attention, and then sent out. Their sole purpose is to get shot by the Ukrainians and thus give away their positions to the Russians who sent the prisoners out to be massacred. They don't give them much ammo as there's no point, they really are meant to get shot. If they try to escape they're publicly executed in a rather gruesome way.
Minoltah t1_j62o0gn wrote
Same reason private security companies have the power to arrest people on, for example, public transport, or run prisons. Money money money, money!
maxgav3 t1_j62eq8u wrote
It's president pardon being issued to them.
LovecraftsDeath t1_j633viy wrote
Allegedly, Putin issues these pardons. Probably, a lot of time will pass before we will know the full story.
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