He may also be reminding the Kremlin of his value. One reason may be that Russia’s tattered relationship with the West means that there is no longer a point in maintaining the open secret. But he is believed to have profited handsomely from the bloody operations by seizing control of oil fields in Syria and diamond mines in CAR. He has even sued journalists for suggesting he had links to the group. As Russia brings in new conscripts of dubious quality and morale, Wagner troops may be used to provide resolve and experience.įor many years Mr Prigozhin has vehemently denied any involvement. Mark Galeotti, of Mayak Intelligence, a consultancy that focuses on Russia, estimates that at its peak it provided 10,000 men. It made up for initial shortages of soldiers and allowed Russia to play down casualties. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine the group is believed to have played a key role in the capture of several eastern cities. Deploying mercenaries instead of its own troops has allowed Russia plausible deniability. Journalists have reported allegations of torture, rape and extrajudicial killings in its wake. The shady network of mercenaries-reportedly named after Hitler’s favourite composer and co-founded by Dmitry Utkin, a former Russian soldier with multiple Nazi tattoos-has operated almost wherever Russia has an interest, including in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic ( CAR) and Mali. In 2014 he founded Wagner, the first and largest state-linked business of private military contractors operating in Ukraine, where they bolstered the ranks of Russia’s unmarked soldiers who annexed Crimea and stayed to support pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Donbas region. These included the Internet Research Agency, which a grand jury in America termed a “troll farm” used to meddle in the 2016 presidential elections. But it was his operations outside the kitchen that cemented his nickname, “Putin’s Chef”. His good relations with Russia’s elite brought in lucrative catering contracts for schools, hospitals and the army. He soon expanded into chic eateries-his New Island floating restaurant was a favourite of Mr Putin, a former deputy mayor of the city. After his release, he set up a hot-dog stand in St Petersburg in the 1990s. He spent most of his 20s in prison, serving nine years for robbery, fraud and involving teenagers in crime. Little is known about Mr Prigozhin’s childhood. ![]() Who is Mr Prigozhin, and why does his growing prominence matter? He promised them freedom in exchange for six months of combat (if they survive that long). His admission came after a video, circulated on September 13th, appeared to show him recruiting convicts to boost Russia’s manpower in Ukraine. ![]() “I cleaned the old weapons myself, sorted out the bulletproof vests myself,” said Mr Prigozhin, referring to the early days of the Wagner Group. The close ally of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, admitted for the first time that he is the founder of Wagner, a group of mercenaries that do Russia’s dirty work. T HIS WEEK Yevgeny Prigozhin stepped out of the shadows.
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