The nuances of ‘coup,’ ‘mutiny,’ and ‘insurrection’

How should we characterize what happened in Russia last month, when Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner Group began to march toward Moscow? The media have called it a “coup,” “mutiny,” “insurrection,” “rebellion,” and “putsch.” These words all refer to the same thing, roughly – a fight against an established authority – but they are not synonyms. Each has a different meaning in terms of how much popular support they garner, what their aims are, and whether they succeed.

Early news coverage described the incident as an “attempted coup.” Coup is a shortened form of coup d’état (literally “a blow of/to the state”), a French word that seems to have first been used to describe Napoleon’s takeover of France in 1799. A coup happens when a small number of people who are already in or close to power suddenly oust and replace a state’s current rulers. It seems incorrect to describe the Wagner Group’s actions this way, because Mr. Prigozhin and his mercenaries weren’t aiming to replace Russian leader Vladimir Putin – according to experts – and because they failed. A coup “connotes a well-executed, successful takeover,” as the late columnist William Safire explained about an earlier uprising in Russia. 

A putsch is like a coup, except that it derives from German (“a blow”). The cardinal example is Adolf Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, when Hitler led 2,000 supporters in an attempt to overthrow the Bavarian government. The failure of this and other agitations led some language experts to conclude that a “putsch is a failed coup,” as Mr. Safire put it. David Lane, a sociologist, asserts that a putsch is led by elites, but elites who are not currently close to power.

A mutiny takes place in the military – Merriam-Webster defines it as a “concerted revolt (as of a naval crew) against discipline or a superior officer.” Mutinies have narrower aims than coups or putsches, being focused on military affairs. From the perspective of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Wagner Group’s actions were a textbook mutiny, as Mr. Prigozhin defied direct orders and sought to replace at least one general. 

Insurrection and rebellion imply wider participation – ordinary people, rather than members of the elite or a military unit, are the drivers. An insurrection, according to Merriam-Webster, is “an armed uprising that quickly fails or succeeds,” while a rebellion is even more widespread. An insurrection or rebellion that succeeds can become a revolution.

The Wagner Group’s actions were most like a putsch. The many words used to describe the incident is a reminder of how often words are employed without considering their subtle differences.