The world was mesmerized last weekend by news that the Wagner Group, headed by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, was leading an armed insurrection against the Russian government. But the crisis was over within 48 hours with little to no violence.

Importantly, not one single element of the Russian government, military, church, population or media joined with Prigozhin. They all sided with Putin, proving how united Russian society actually is behind Putin. But of course, Western media keep reporting breathlessly about how Russian society is about to be plunged into turmoil, if not civil war.

None of this was ever true. And Putin has emerged from this incident stronger than ever. The coup attempt is a good case study in how Western media pushes a narrative promoted by the State Department and CIA.