Prigozhin came for “the king” in the Kremlin — Vladimir Putin — exactly two months before his death.

"Wagner-linked Telegram channels said the aircraft had been shot down by Russian air defenses, and witnesses reported hearing two bangs shortly before the aircraft fell from the sky...

"What’s striking about Prigozhin’s apparent demise is that it lacked any of the ambiguity that normally accompanies the removal of those who run afoul of Putin. Commentators have sardonically referred to “Sudden Russian Death Syndrome,” when senior Russian officials and business executives mysteriously fall out of windows or commit “suicide” or simply die with no cause given — a trend that has only increased since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

But when it comes to Prigozhin, there should be little doubt about what happened: He was almost certainly executed as surely as if he had been shot by a firing squad in Red Square. That is how you hold on to power when you rule a gangster state."