Who Knew About Prigozhin’s Wagner Revolt Before It Happened?

As details emerge about the aborted rebellion in Russia last weekend led by Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, it is becoming clear that some Russian officials and foreign intelligence agencies knew about it in advance.

President Vladimir V. Putin has been moving to project his authority after Mr. Prigozhin, a wealthy tycoon and onetime ally, abruptly called off the revolt on Saturday and was offered exile in Belarus. This week, the Russian leader warned of possible consequences for officials affiliated with Mr. Prigozhin and his Wagner mercenary group, saying that “we will certainly get to the bottom of this.”

Mr. Putin has not commented publicly on whether he had advance knowledge of Mr. Prigozhin’s revolt, which he has described as treasonous. But here are some of those who knew.

Gen. Sergei Surovikin

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that General Surovikin, the former top Russian commander in Ukraine, had advance knowledge of Mr. Prigozhin’s plans, prompting questions about what support the mercenary leader had inside the top ranks of the Russian military.

U.S. officials said they were still trying to learn whether the general provided any planning to assist Mr. Prigozhin’s revolt last weekend. If General Surovikin was involved, it would be the latest sign of the infighting that has characterized Russia’s military leadership since the start of Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine. The U.S. officials said that Mr. Putin would have to decide whether he believed that General Surovikin helped Mr. Prigozhin, which would determine how he would respond.

On Wednesday, the Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, described The Times’s report as “speculations” and “gossip,” but he did not deny it, nor did he offer any expression of Mr. Putin’s confidence in the general.

Gen. Viktor V. Zolotov

General Zolotov, the head of Russia’s National Guard and a former bodyguard of Mr. Putin, said on Tuesday that there had been leaks from Mr. Prigozhin’s camp last week “about the fact that a rebellion is being prepared and will happen in the period from the 22nd to the 25th,” Russian state media reported.

While General Zolotov did not say whether he had informed Mr. Putin, he told reporters that he was “constantly in touch with the president” during the rebellion and that his troops were ready to “fight to the death” to defend Moscow. And he appeared to be taking advantage of the weekend’s events — he said he had spoken to Mr. Putin about the need to provide his force, which is separate from the military, with “tanks and long-range heavy weaponry.”

U.S. intelligence agencies

Last Wednesday, American intelligence officials told senior military and administration officials that Mr. Prigozhin was preparing to take military action against senior Russian defense officials, The New York Times reported. U.S. spy agencies had indications days earlier that Mr. Prigozhin was planning something, according to officials familiar with the matter.

Intelligence agencies kept silent about Mr. Prigozhin’s plans, the officials told The Times, believing that if they said anything publicly, Mr. Putin could accuse them of orchestrating a coup. And they clearly had little interest in helping Mr. Putin avoid a major, embarrassing fracturing of his support.