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As events unfolded in Russia over the weekend, thousands of Russians who left for Turkey after their country invaded Ukraine remained glued to their screens. They kept up with friends and family back home and relied on the Telegram messaging app and opposition news sources as the Wagner mercenary group staged a mutiny in a march to Moscow, threatening the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Elena and Maxim, a couple in their 20s, watched from Istanbul.
« It was a circus, » says Elena.
They and other Russians in Istanbul who spoke to NPR did not want their full names used because they still work for Russian companies remotely and fear retaliation for expressing their views.
Less than 24 hours after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, began his armed uprising and march to Moscow, he called it off. A deal had been made, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. Prigozhin would go to Belarus, and charges of mutiny against him would be dropped.
Russia has depended on Wagner mercenaries to advance its military goals, including in Ukraine.
Elena and Maxim are now worried that Putin could increase repressive measures, and that life for their family and friends in Moscow is going to get much harder.
