Putin's Authority Tested by Truce with Prigozhin.

The truce between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Wagner paramilitary group averted an armed confrontation that threatened civil war, but raised questions about Putin's hold on power and underscored tensions within the Russian establishment and armed forces. The crisis represented the most serious challenge to Putin's 23-year rule and was a direct consequence of the strains put on Russian society and armed forces by the war he unleashed against Ukraine in February last year.