- [Narrator] The armed insurrection launched

by the chief of the paramilitary Wagner Group,

Yevgeny Prigozhin, lasted less than a day,

but it was the biggest challenge

to the rule of the Russian president.

(Vladimir Putin Speaking foreign language)

- [Narrator] On Saturday, Wagner seized

the southern military district headquarters

in the city of Rostov, the main logistical hub

for Russian forces operating in Ukraine.

They were rolling towards Moscow

when a deal set to be negotiated by the Belarusian president

between Prigozhin and Putin averted

a potential confrontation.

The Wall Street Journal's Moscow bureau chief, Ann Simmons,

explains what the short-lived mutiny means for Putin.

- This crisis is the most significant test,

I believe, that Putin has faced in his 23 year rule.

Putin had to back down to a certain degree,

because he had to go to the negotiating table.

In the morning on Saturday,

we had Vladimir Putin accusing Prigozhin

of instigating an armed rebellion.

By the evening, we were seeing that Prigozhin

is forgiven and the charge is dropped.

Now, we do not know

what kind of deal Prigozhin got out of this,

it is said that he will be going to Belarus,

but the Russian population has now seen

that President Putin isn't as invincible.

This is definitely exposed vulnerability

of his power in the eyes of the Russian elite.

In terms of what this crisis shows,

it shows that there was very little resistance

to Prigozhin on his way to Moscow.

The very fact that Prigozhin and his troops

were able to get within striking distance

of Moscow speaks volumes.

It shows on the one hand that soldiers

in the Russian military maybe weren't willing

to take up arms against Prigozhin.

His force is quite feared,

and we also have to note that a large portion

of Russia's army is now on the front lines of Ukraine.

Also, there were pictures and videos

of people actually greeting Prigozhin and his troops,

at least in Rostov in the south,

that shows that maybe there is this level of support

for Prigozhin that Putin probably underestimated.

The question now will be, how does vladimir Putin regain

the narrative that despite that slight glitch,

"Nothing has changed, I still have power."

But it's definitely clear that his power,

at least the perception of his power, has been eroded.