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With lightning speed the troops crossed the border, entered one strategic town, where they were welcomed, and advanced dangerously close to the capital. Roadblocks on the highway were cast aside, rebel vehicles waved through, aircraft sent to slow the incursion shot out of the sky.
And then it ended just as quickly as it began - just hours after commentators had been predicting civil war and an end to Vladimir Putin's rule in Russia.
Winston Churchill's famous assessment of Russia, uttered a month after Germany invaded Poland in 1939, suddenly had new currency. "I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia," he told radio listeners all those years ago. "It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma."
The dramatic events over the weekend bear out that characterisation.
One moment, a visibly shaken Vladimir Putin is condemning his old ally Yevgeny Prigozhin as a traitor and vowing to punish everyone involved in the short-lived rebellion. The next, Prigozhin is given a get-out-of-Russia card and his Wagner group mercenaries - many of whom are hardened criminals recruited from the country's prisons - promised amnesty if they return to their field camps in occupied eastern Ukraine.
Predicting what will happen next is fraught. But given the brute statistic of regime critics falling out of windows, the future for Prigozhin looks bleak, even if he is holed up in Belarus. The long arm of Russian vengeance does not recognise borders, as the Skripals learned in 2018.
And one can't help wondering what fate awaits those civilians cheering the mercenaries the loudest when they rolled in and rolled out of Rostov-on-Don. Then there are the Wagner soldiers themselves. They're armed but leaderless and history shows us guarantees mean little in Russia.
The country has a storied history of settling old scores. A crackdown on dissidence is probably the only prediction that can be made with any certainty. To save what face he has left, Putin will need to reassert himself.
Asked about the events that had the world gripped over the weekend, our Foreign Minister Penny Wong, announcing more aid for Ukraine, chose her words carefully. "This does demonstrate the divisions in Russia," she said. "It does call into question the decision which we have all criticised and which we are standing here to oppose today, which was the decision to illegally, immorally invade Ukraine."
While the world watched the Wagner rebellion on the weekend, there was no let-up in the fighting in Ukraine. In fact, it was business as usual, according to comments made to the AFP news agency.
The danger now is that Putin will have to demonstrate to the Russian people that he has the situation in hand, regardless of the Wagner rebellion. And that demonstration could be reckless and bloody.
These might be dangerous, unpredictable times for Russia but they are just as perilous for the rest of the world too.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Will Putin survive the fallout from the Wagner rebellion? Do you think the mutiny will weaken his position? Or will he do something dreadful to reassert his authority? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- The Russian embassy employee who had remained on the country's new embassy site left shortly after the Russian bid to stay there was turned down by the High Court. A Kia with diplomatic number plates arrived at the fence of the plot where the new embassy was being built and the man left his hut and was driven away, according to witnesses there.
- The ACT's cap on rent increases only works when it is backed by a significant increase to the number of properties for lease, Chief Minister Andrew Barr has said. Mr Barr said he would not recommend the scheme to states and territories that did not have the pathway to significantly increase housing supply.
- Australia will offer Ukraine an extra $110 million in military and humanitarian assistance to support its efforts to end Russia's brutal invasion. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Monday the new aid package, which includes 70 military vehicles, artillery ammunition and $10 million in humanitarian aid.
THEY SAID IT: "Rebellion without truth is like spring in a bleak, arid desert." - Khalil Gibran
YOU SAID IT: Something's wrong when the fate of hundreds lost at sea is eclipsed by the loss of a submersible carrying billionaires to the bottom of the ocean.
Ian says: "It would be very hard to stop people visiting the Titanic. For a start, national laws don't apply in the open ocean, so an international treaty would be required, to be ratified and laws put in place by national signatories. That would leave non-signatories and bad actors free to do what they wanted. However, it would be a good idea to try, even perhaps make the Titanic a World Heritage site. I suspect the apparent disconnect of interest is what's known versus what's not known, and the respective circumstances. That is, the unknown fate of five people who might still be alive at the bottom of the ocean has more intrinsic drama than the known fate of 700 deceased people on top of it."
"These trips to the Titanic by submersible by joyriders are nothing more than ghoul tourism," says another Ian. "If I were a Canadian taxpayer, I would be really annoyed by having to pay for an expensive inquiry that will demonstrate only that the Titan was not up to the task and spread a bit of blame around. I think, too, that it would be very difficult to certify a vessel such as the Titan and I can't imagine a government agency ever having the equipment or personnel necessary to do it. As with the joy flights to space, you pay your money and take your chances as there can be no guarantee that you'll return in one piece.
Roger says: "Thank you for so accurately articulating my thoughts on the ill -named Titan! The gross imbalance between the loss of hundreds of refugees off the coast of Greece and that of a hugely entitled, obscenely rich few is appalling. Explorers? Don't make me laugh, the paying customers on this ill-fated craft were merely sightseers; real explorers were the likes of Shackleton, Livingstone, Burton, Thesiger, Burke and Wills etc. Would I venture into space or to the bottom of the ocean? No way. I like the feel of the earth beneath my feet. I think that the Titanic site should somehow be protected but how on earth could that ever be policed? And I am sorry for the loss of life and the grief caused to families and friends."
"I enjoy reading the Echidna, and although I don't agree with a lot of things that you say, I believe that your article regarding the Titanic was very well written," says Michael. "As an ex-marine engineer and one who spent four years working for the other great trans-Atlantic steamship company Cunard Line back in the 1960s, I believe that the Titanic site should be off limits to anyone. So many people died on that ship it should be a dedicated grave site. A little known fact that might interest you. In Southampton UK, there is a memorial to the engineering staff of the Titanic. The reason for this is that every engineer on that ship remained at their post on that night and not one engineer was saved. I also agree with your comments about the coverage of that drama, and the lack of interest in the loss of lives in the Mediterranean."
Halina says: "My go-to each morning is The Echidna ... interesting and humorous in the unique way of the Australian people. Each article is precisely covered yet so cleverly written that I feel quite informed and often it sets the pace for lively discussions with friends over coffee. Your Titanic article was extremely thought provoking, especially the words of William Shatner which has prompted me to research this event to get more detail. Thank you for your illuminating work."