![]() ![]() On the slate are wide-scale epics, personal dramas, devastating documentaries, historical revisions and even a comedy or two. And who better to ask than the man behind Inglourious Basterds and walking war-kipedia of combat flicks, Quentin Tarantino? He’s helped us parse hundreds of films down to a mere 50 all-timers. In fact, there are so many World War II movies that we needed help narrowing them down to a mere 50. What some of the very best have in common is the first-hand experiences of their filmmakers: men like Sam Fuller, Jean-Pierre Melville and John Huston saw it all for themselves and brought that authenticity to their films. There are gripping stories of resistance movies like Army of Shadows and Kanal, a whole canon of Holocaust masterpieces and a number of seminal documentaries that employ real-life footage to bring it all home. He also noted Putin last week had praised soldiers, law enforcement and security officers and “expressed his gratitude” to them.A whole genre in their own right, World War II movies come in all shapes and sizes: from gung-ho men-on-a-mission movies like Dirty Dozen and Where Eagles Dare to the bleaker, more complex visions of war that usually emerged from the vanquished nations ( Fires on the Plain, Kelly’s Heroes, Stalingrad, et al). So far, there has been no negative impact on the FSB, which Galeotti called “Putin’s favored institution,” having been a former member.Īsked by AP during a conference call with reporters Monday why the FSB failed to stop the mutiny, Kremlin spokesman Peskov refused comment, except to say that such services “perform their functions, they do it properly.” “Now, the first time there’s a real challenge we actually see, security forces are willing to hang back and wait and see what happens,” he told AP. Mark Galeotti of University College, London, an analyst on Russian security affairs, said the rebellion tested previous assumptions that Putin could count on his security forces. Soldatov and Borogan wrote in a recent article that such a call for the mercenaries to take that action was odd, since only law enforcement agencies and security services like the FSB have the power to detain people. Russian security experts Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan said the FSB’s Rostov department “barricaded itself in its city headquarters,” while its military counterintelligence operatives assigned to Wagner ”did nothing.”Īfter Prigozhin announced his intentions June 23 to act against Russia’s defense minister, the FSB issued a statement urging Wagner fighters not to follow the rogue commander and for the troops “to detain him.” Prominent lawyer Ivan Pavlov told AP that mounting an armed rebellion is only one charge, and that Prigozhin may face others -– especially since deaths occurred - but so far, “no one is talking about it.”Īnother topic drawing official silence is how the FSB - the successor agency to the feared KGB - failed to prevent the uprising, even though it routinely boasts of averting terrorist attacks, sabotage plots and other major crimes. Whether other charges will be filed is unclear. “It is very interesting what they will write there, how they will justify people committing an armed rebellion,” Yuferev said. He said authorities must respond in 30 days, and while he doesn’t expect a substantive reply, he at least hopes to draw attention to this “erosion of the legal system of a state.” Petersburg municipal council member Nikita Yuferev called the “gradual erosion of the legal system” in Russia.Īndrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, writing about the mutiny in a column, concluded: “The fabric of the state is disintegrating.”Īfter Putin indicated the government would probe financial irregularities by Prigozhin’s companies, state TV picked up that cue. The developments around Prigozhin, who remains unpunished despite Putin’s labeling of his revolt as treason, underscored what St. Putin wondered aloud whether any of it was stolen. But President Vladimir Putin revealed the state paid Wagner almost $1 billion in just one year, while Prigozhin’s other company earned about the same from government contracts. Until last week, the Kremlin has never admitted to funding the company, with private mercenary groups technically illegal in Russia. Instead, a campaign is underway to portray the founder of the Wagner Group military contractor as driven by greed, with only hints of an investigation into whether he mishandled any of the billions of dollars in state funds. TALLINN, Estonia (AP) - Russia’s rebellious mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin walked free from prosecution for his June 24 armed mutiny, and it’s still unclear if anyone will face any charges in the aborted uprising against military leaders or for the deaths of the soldiers killed in it.
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