Prigozhin death: Putin reasserts his authority

The plane crash that killed Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin restored President Vladimir Putin's reputation as Russia's unchallengeable leader for many of the country's elite, even as the cause of the disaster may never be fully established.

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The Wagner leader's demise removes a man who'd courted impunity after leading the mutiny that threatened the Russian president's grip on power. His elimination is a strong stabilising factor for Putin's regime because it shows that anyone challenging the president comes to a bad end, according to four people close to the authorities, who asked not to be identified because the matter was sensitive.

Many in the Russian elite had been shocked Putin had failed to immediately punish Prigozhin after the June rebellion that he'd denounced as treason.

The crash that killed all 10 people on board the private jet travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg on Wednesday took place exactly two months after the uprising the president said had brought Russia to the brink of "civil war".