Who Is Yevgeny Prigozhin? Know All About The Millionaire Warlord & His Powerful Mercenary Group That Has Put Russia In A Tough Spot
The mercenaries, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, President Vladimir Putin's former ally, gained control of two Russian cities on Saturday as part of their attempt to oust the military leadership in Moscow.
The mercenaries, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, President Vladimir Putin's former ally, gained control of two Russian cities on Saturday as part of their attempt to oust the military leadership in Moscow.
The mercenary group, called Wagner, has claimed that it has downed three Russian helicopters and has faced little resistance from the National Guard as of now.
In response to this development, in a televised address to the nation, Putin branded Wagner Group mercenaries and those who have taken up arms against his military as 'traitors' and declared their actions a 'stab in the back'.
He also warned those taking up arms against the state that they were committing treason and would face 'brutal action'.
Moments after Vladimir Putin swore to crush the armed rebellion by Wagner mercenaries, the group reportedly said that the Russian President made the wrong choice during his speech and that the country will soon have a new premier.
Amidst this ensuing infighting in Russia, let's take a look at the history of Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group.
Yevgeny Prigozhin - from petty criminal to millionaire warlord
Prigozhin is a mildly successful former businessman who made headlines when the Ukraine war began. Not much information is available about the millionaire's formative years and childhood.
Born in 1961, when St. Petersburg was still Leningrad, Prigozhin was jailed in 1981 for robbery and other violations. He stayed imprisoned as the Soviet Union fell and was let go after 12 years.
After his release, he opened a restaurant business in the 1990s. In this capacity, he got to know now-President Vladimir Putin, then the city's deputy mayor. His businesses grew significantly to cater to and provide school lunches.
In 2010, Putin helped open Prigozhin's factory, constructed on openhanded loans from a state bank. In Moscow alone, his company Concord secured millions of dollars in contracts to supply meals at public schools.
He also arranged catering for Kremlin events for several years ¡ª earning him the nickname "Putin's chef" ¡ª and has furnished catering and utility services to the Russian military.
In February 2018, Prigozhin was one of 13 Russians indicted by a federal grand jury for meddling in the US Presidential polls via the Internet Research Agency, a troll factory that circulated lies and waged information. The misinformation drive favoured incumbent Donald Trump, who was pursuing a rerun.
It was in September 2022 that Prigozhin admitted that he was the founder of the Wagner Group.
"I cleaned the old weapons myself, sorted out the bulletproof vests myself and found specialists who could help me with this," Prigozhin's statement famously declared.
The US government levied additional sanctions on Prigozhin momentarily after Russia invaded Ukraine in March.
Blamed for human rights violations, Prigozhin made news again when he toured Russian prisons in quest of possible recruits. Hardcore criminals, many serial offenders, were granted pardons in exchange for a tour in Ukraine as part of the Wagnar war parties.
Wagner, a powerful mercenary group
The Wagner Group (officially called PMC Wagner) is a private military organisation owned and funded by 61-year-old Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The group was first recognised in 2014, when it was supporting pro-Russian separatist forces in Eastern Ukraine, as per the BBC. At that time, it was a covert organisation primarily functioning in Africa and the Middle East. The group was believed to have had about 5,000 fighters from Russia's elite units and special forces back then.
However, earlier this year in January, the UK Ministry of Defence informed that the Wagner Group now consists of 50,000 fighters in Ukraine and has become a key component of the Ukraine campaign.
Quoting the ministry, the BBC reported that the organisation even began drafting in considerable numbers in 2022 because Russia had trouble finding people for the regular army. About 80% of Wagner's members in Ukraine have been drawn from prisons, the UN National Security Council said at the start of this year.
Even though mercenary forces are illegal in Russia, the Wagner Group registered as a company in 2022 and opened a new headquarters in St Petersburg. The war in Ukraine has helped the group to grow its influence. It is said that the group was involved in Russia's capture of Bakhmut City, which is situated in eastern Ukraine.
The private military organisation is named after its first commander, Dmitry Utkin, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Russian military's special forces.
The group has established a reputation for brutality and cruelty. Several Western countries and UN experts have even blamed Wagner mercenaries for human rights abuses across Africa, including the Central African Republic, Libya and Mali.
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