 The Second Fall of the USSRVladimir Putin has spent decades trying to rebuild the USSR. He wants so badly to recreate the Soviet Union. And he just might... The collapse, anyway. I've been warning of Russia's collapse for months — years, even. And over the weekend we came close to seeing it. Wannabe warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin and his malevolent band of mercenaries, the Wagner Group, got fed up with the front lines of the Ukraine conflict and made a beeline for Moscow. I thought for sure this was it. Finally, one of the cynical, self-interested leeches Putin surrounds himself with was shooting his shot. I was shocked when he stopped and turned around. Because while Prigozhin may have walked away from Moscow, there's no walking away from an attempted coup. Indeed, such gambits rarely (maybe never) end with both sides calling a truce. Usually one party has to go — and one surely will in this case as well. The question is who. Putin will never forgive Prigozhin. He will kill him. He simply cannot and will not let this slide. As long as Prigozhin walks this Earth he will be a liability. But then why call a truce and let him flee to Belarus in the first place? Because, at least for the time being, Putin's hands are tied. Russian forces are bogged down in Ukraine, where they're currently fending off a counteroffensive. Having to draw resources away from that front to defend or liberate Moscow would essentially hand Ukraine a victory. Congress' Hidden $563 Million EV Payout Buried within the technicalities of the new Inflation Reduction Act… Exists a hidden clause that is pouring billions into "exclusive" EV service providers. And these providers are distributing a hefty part of their profit with the average American citizen. With $563 million being ripe for the taking this year alone. The first payout is slated for JULY 19th… But if you want a slice of this new initiative, you must take action now. Click here to unveil this fantastic new opportunity in the EV field while it's still available. The war would be over for Russia at that point, and it'd be surprising if they were even able to hold on to Crimea. And with that, there would be a significant, maybe even decisive, number of defections to Wagner. Remember, no matter what Kremlin propaganda says, this war is not popular in Russia. Roughly 200,000 Russians have died in this war. Most of them were conscripted to fight in the first place. The ones that fill Wagner's ranks were pulled from prisons — essentially promised pardons if they survived. The troops that remain are inadequately trained, poorly outfitted, and bereft of morale. Maybe you noticed that when Prigozhin made his move, nobody really tried to stop him. To the contrary, Wagner forces were welcomed in Rostov-on-Don by Russian citizens bringing them food and water. They were cheered on. No doubt, Prigozhin has made a name for himself in Russia. He's styled himself as a Russian hero — fighting not just the Ukrainians but the Russian bureaucracy that is working behind the scenes to sabotage him. He's convinced the most conservative and hawkish Russians that the war is being fumbled by the military's brass. But before staging his coup attempt, he also released a video in which he told the real truth — that it's an unjustified farce. The war, he said, was not to "demilitarize" or "de-Nazify" Ukraine. Rather, the eastern part of the country had been "plundered" by people from Putin's administration, the FSB, and Russian oligarchs. "The Armed Forces of Ukraine were not going to attack Russia with the NATO bloc," Prigozhin admitted. "The Russian Defense Ministry is deceiving the public and the president." That is indeed the truth. And speaking it will probably cost Prigozhin his life. But there's the rub. Goldman Sachs: AI a "$7 Trillion Opportunity" Banking giant Goldman Sachs just said... That the artificial intelligence (AI) market could be worth $7 trillion in just a few years. And one former Wall Street analysts predicts it could hand you 5,300% profits — thanks to one little-known stock. That's because this tiny firm holds over 200 patents on an AI breakthrough... One that will be in 70% of cars, 80% of hospitals, and 94% of corporations. To discover the details... If Putin kills Prigozhin, all of Russia will know exactly what happened. Sure, it might send a message — that acts of treason won't be tolerated. But it could also reignite the rebellion. Wagner forces could reconstitute themselves under a new leader, recruit more volunteers from the Russian regulars facing certain death in Ukraine, and leverage public unrest to finally overthrow Putin. That's what almost happened this weekend — and it could easily happen again. To be clear, Russia is teetering on the brink of a civil war. Putin is perilously close to losing his grip on power for the first time in two decades. Of course, even if Putin is eliminated from the equation, there's no guarantee the world at large would be any better off. He could be replaced by someone just as demented and corrupt as he is — someone like Prigozhin. We could see a return to full-fledged Stalinism or a total disintegration and fragmentation of Russian territories. Regardless of which way it goes, though, I can tell you this… It won't be pretty. It'll be chaotic and violent. And it'll be yet another shock to the global economy, which has already been shaken by pandemic restrictions, supply chain breakdowns, wartime sanctions, climate disasters, and misguided policymakers. The only certainty moving forward is more uncertainty. That's why I spend so much time looking at companies in the defense and security sector — because political and societal breakdowns necessitate solutions, and modern ones at that. I've even launched a special investing service designed to uncover and profit from the most advanced, cutting-edge military technology available — technology so useful that it's capable of crossing over to the mainstream. Find out more about that here if you're interested. Fight on,
Jason Simpkins Jason Simpkins is Assistant Managing Editor of the Outsider Club and Investment Director of Wall Street's Proving Ground, a financial advisory focused on security companies and defense contractors. For more on Jason, check out his editor's page. Want to hear more from Jason? Sign up to receive emails directly from him ranging from market commentaries to opportunities that he has his eye on. *Follow Outsider Club on Facebook and Twitter. |
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