From the New York Times, I'm Sabrina Tavernici, and this is the Daily.

An armed rebellion in Russia over the weekend stunned the world and amounted to the single

biggest challenge to Vladimir Putin's rule since he came to power 23 years ago.

Today, my colleague Anton Trinovsky, on the man who led the revolt and what his

brief but bold rebellion, tells us about the future of political power in Russia.

It's Monday, June 26.

So Anton, I think it's safe to say that we witnessed something extraordinary in Russia over

the weekend. And the first thing I wanted to do was to call you and ask you what was going on,

what it was that we were witnessing. Yes, I mean, what has transpired in Russia over the last 72

hours really is an incredibly extraordinary event that all of us will be interpreting the ciphering

for weeks, months, maybe years to come. It was an armed rebellion from all we can tell.

It was a leader of a mercenary force. His name is Yvgeny Prigotin,

marching columns of thousands of fighters armed with tanks, with artillery, with anti-aircraft

batteries into Russia. And it raised the specter of Russian fighting Russians of civil war.

It was really just breathtaking. I mean, the whole weekend, all Russian nerds, I know,

including my own husband, were just texting with Russian friends, just kind of gobsmacked at how

this could actually be happening. But let's take this just a bit. Why don't you first tell us Anton,

who is this guy, Yvgeny Prigotin? And remind us where he started, how he got to be where he was.

He is a very murky figure with a criminal past. He was born in the Soviet Union in 1961 in the city

that was then known as Lennongrad, now called St. Petersburg. He spent 10 years in a Soviet prison

for robbery and to other crimes. He then got out. And in the 1990s, it became a businessman.

He opened a hot dog stand, eventually other restaurants, convenience stores.

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