Nikolai Petrov, a Russian politics specialist who works for the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told DW that the last days revealed that the Russian army and state were not as strong as had been considered and that this served as a "game changer."
Petrov said Putin's KGB background made meant he would follow certain rules.
"By those rules, it's very important to demonstrate to the elites who is the master in the house, meaning that Putin, who looks weaker now, should somehow present himself as the real master of Russia, which makes him, I would say, more dangerous than before this mutiny."
"I think it means that repressions in Russia will become even more intensive... partly due to the fact that the Kremlin now sees how vulnerable it is."
The need to demonstrate strength could also manifest itself in Putin ramping up the war in Ukraine, Petrov said.
"In the case of Russia, there could be three different options to be considered: a status quo option, a pacifying option, and an escalation option. Putin is in a weak position, meaning that escalation option is, I think, the most probable one."
UK ex-general warns Wagner may attack Kyiv
A former British general has warned that Wagner fighters might use Belarus as the staging point for a fresh attack on Kyiv, if enough of them follow leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Prigozhin has gone to Belarus as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and has been told he and his troops will not be prosecuted for their rebellion.
"The fact that he's gone to Belarus is a matter of some concern," former chief of general staff Richard Dannatt told Sky News.
Dannatt said it was still unclear how many of Prigozhin's fighters would follow him to Russian-allied Belarus, which was used to launch Russia's initial advance on Kyiv and Chernihiv in February last year.
The company's armed component is estimated at some 25,000 men.
If Prigozhin has "kept an effective fighting force around him then he presents a threat again to the Ukrainian flank closest to Kyiv," Dannatt said.
