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programme. how closely is china watching what's going on with the wagner group in russia? i think there is no doubt that china — think there is no doubt that china is_ think there is no doubt that china is watching what is happening in russia very closelx _ happening in russia very closely. i think the assessment is likely— closely. i think the assessment is likely to be that after this embarrassing coup attempt, putin— embarrassing coup attempt, putin has appeared weaker and the emperor has been shown to have _ the emperor has been shown to have no— the emperor has been shown to have no clothes. that said, i don't — have no clothes. that said, i don't think_ have no clothes. that said, i don't think it's going to change _ don't think it's going to change the position drastically. it's going to be governed by a desire not to lose — governed by a desire not to lose and _ governed by a desire not to lose and to the struggle of the united — lose and to the struggle of the united states, not to lose that partnen — united states, not to lose that partner. and having a more unstable _ partner. and having a more unstable labour on its border and putin— unstable labour on its border and putin has been a week since his invasion _ and putin has been a week since his invasion of ukraine failed to win — his invasion of ukraine failed
and now you've got clean-up time. >> bobby, this is -- we can't forget the biggest threat to putin's regime power in 23 years, in power. now he has to go. he really seems to want to be seen what he did last night and what he's going to do any moment now. but you have said this is akin to an emperor without clothes. can he unite, reunite his people? >> well, he still has absolute power, but he has been exposed -- >> does he have their hearts? >> that's the question. does he have the full loyalty of his closest circle of people? nobody was closer to him than prigozhin. this is a guy who used to cook for him. and rose through the ranks because of his closeness to putin. the guy closest to him sent his troops against moscow. that's, as you say, that's the strongest challenge he has faced in 23 years in power. you can't square the circle.
against the emperor, the czar in this case. >> neil: you seem to think that such a strike could happen. >> i think it's much more possible as a result of what took place. although i think that putin will work very hard to solidify his grip on power and to show that he is still firmly in control in the kremlin. >> neil: general david petraeus, thanks very much. >> thanks, neil. >> neil: all right. meantime, it will sort of like canada palooza day in new hampshire. so many spotted in different places. mark meredith was following it off. mark? >> they've been all over new hampshire today. former president donald trump making two big stops in big cities as well as florida governor ron desantis reaching out to voters, holding a town hall. will either of these events swear the difference when it comes to this primary state, which could make all the
prigozhin increasingly was taking aim at the russian military high command. particularly under the -- he was saying they were hanging the forces to. dry they weren't providing with ammunition or cover. threatening all kinds of things towards russian military on command. now the way putin has set up the regime, he's had this kind of competing and corrupt the thumb. prigozhin is corrupt. there are other war lords. their provincial leaders. but we have not seen thus far is somebody standing up from within the structure and taking on the center of power of vladimir putin. so, what's happened in the last 48 hours, for the first time in putin's 23 years of being a dominant force in russian, politics you had someone essentially declare that the emperor has no clothes. i'm going to take him. on i'm going to march with my forces. the city's rostov that he took over briefly, this is not a small city. it's over 1 million people. it's also the main logistics hub for the war in ukraine. so, he was also kind of paralyzing their capacity to
and the country's president, has amassed more power than any chinese politician since mao zedong. and before that, you have to go back to the great emperors of the ming and qing dynasties to find the equivalent power level. president xi has just celebrated his 70th birthday, a suitable moment to take a look at him and his china with the head of the bbc�*s chinese service, howard zhang. he is either a king or emperor. he's the supreme leader. there's no peer, and in, i guess, graphic display, and whether it was meeting with his own politburo comrades or with foreign dignitaries. before, if there was a politburo meeting, the supreme or the general secretary of the party or the president always stand, yes, maybe slightly forward, but normally, it's in the same line with all the other big politburo leaders. but nowadays, xijinping is on one side, all the other politburo leaders
help it fund the war in ukraine. does that stop now? what happens? >> it's a great question, and look, i think the answer right now this early on is that we just don't know. there are a couple of things we do know, though, that i think are important to highlight. first is that, you know, the wagner group and prigozhin really, as its owner and head, has exposed the weakness of vladimir putin and his regime in the sense that, you know, sort of the old cliche of the emperor has no clothes. second, he's exposed the kremlin's dependence on private military contractors, which i think is also hugely significant here. putin really hasn't wanted to use his own military. that's why he's been engaged with contracting with the wagner group and even accessing the chechens and other paramilitary groups that are much more highly trained and effective on the
how from your experience there, what are the ways that you see this playing out, peter? >> the question is whether he lasts until next spring. if you're vladimir putin at this point, you have been shown to be to some extent a paper tiger, right? you're no longer the unrivalled emperor at home who cannot be challenged. you can be challenged. in fact, you can even be forced to back down from your threats of crushing the opposition. and you've been shown to be a paper tiger on the international scene. the russian army has of course been beaten back by the smaller nation next door to you, ukraine, which nobody would have been expecting a year and a half ago. to be exposed like this as somebody less than the invincible vladimir putin leaves you vulnerable to all sorts of plots and intrigues. we have no idea what's happening behind the scenes. are there people in the circles of power who are maneuvering, who are, you know, making plans, who are intriguing. why is he not out in public? is he trying to, you know,
30-year war in europe, there was this guy who was a financier and he created sort of regiments for ferdinand ii who was fighting in the 30 years war, but he became so rich, so political, and had armies at his back that the emperor assassinated volenstein in his sleep, and i think prigozhin is a similar model. he himself is not a former soldier. he's a businessman whose business happens to be war. he's a war entrepreneur, and i think that he's also super ambitious and despite all the recent mixed signals coming out of moscow, i don't think his desire for political ambition has waned any, and since he has an army at his back, he's actually in quite political of a situation. >> so war entrepreneur, that's
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planning to move against russia's military but no one was prepared for the speed at which those events unfolded and then ultimately fizzled. so what happens next? writing about the russian economy, and jeffrey, welcome. appreciate your time. this afternoon you tweeted, don't be fooled by the prigozhin-putin deal. the emperor is now naked. you wrote a piece on putin critics. tell me why you think putin's armor has been pierced. >> thanks a lot. i should mention the other putin critics that you mentioned are the renowned bill browder, one. longest standing putin critics and putting his money behind his mouth quite courageously as well as the ambassador to russia. these are great experts and my expertise is on leadership. what we see here is this is a leader who has been in power.