Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian mercenary leader who is ‘plotting’ to undermine Putin?

Yevgeny Prigozhin was formerly a low-profile billionaire who benefitted from having President Vladimir Putin as a prominent patron until Russia’s conflict in Ukraine thrust him into the public eye.

The 62-year-old Prigozhin has transitioned into his most hazardous position yet: preaching open rebellion against his country’s military leadership. As the head of a mercenary group who represents himself as fighting several of the Russian military’s most difficult fights in Ukraine.

Owner of the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group Prigozhin has intensified months of harsh criticism of Russia’s handling of the war by urging an armed rebellion to remove the defence minister on Friday. In response, the Russian security services launched a criminal investigation and demanded Prigozhin’s detention.

The National Guard and riot police rushed to increase security at crucial Moscow locations, including government offices and transit hubs, as an indication of how seriously the Kremlin regarded Prigozhin’s threat, Tass said. A former criminal, hot dog seller, and close friend of Putin, Prigozhin, asked Russians to join his “march to justice.”

A chef under Putin
Prigozhin and Putin have a long history together since they were both born in Leningrad, which is now St. Petersburg.

Prigozhin did time in jail during the closing years of the Soviet Union; he admits it was 10 years, but he doesn’t specify for what.

Later, he managed a sophisticated restaurant that attracted Putin’s attention before running a hot dog stand. The Russian president dined at one of them during his first term with Jacques Chirac, the president of France at the time.

In an interview that was released in 2011, Prigozhin remembered, “Vladimir Putin saw how I built a business out of a kiosk, and he saw that I don’t mind serving to the esteemed guests because they were my guests.”

His companies greatly grew to include catering and serving meals at schools. Putin assisted Prigozhin in opening his plant in 2010, which was funded by a state bank’s generous loans. His business Concord received contracts worth millions of dollars to provide meals at state schools alone in Moscow. Additionally, for a number of years, he coordinated food for Kremlin occasions, giving him the moniker “Putin’s chef,” and he has offered catering and utilities services to the Russian military.

Alexei Navalny, a leader in the opposition and an outspoken opponent of corruption, charged Prigozhin’s businesses of violating antitrust rules by competing for $387 million in Defence Ministry contracts.

MILITARY LINKAGE
Additionally, Prigozhin is the owner of the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-affiliated mercenary group that has grown to be crucial to Putin’s efforts to project Russian influence in unstable regions of the globe.

The mercenary force is alleged by the United States, European Union, United Nations, and others to have taken part in hostilities, particularly in nations in Africa. In return for substantial rewards, which sometimes include a portion of gold or other natural resources, Wagner warriors are said to act as bodyguards for warlords or national leaders. According to American authorities, Russia could potentially be exploiting Wagner’s activities in Africa to justify its conflict in Ukraine.

Prigozhin’s mercenaries in Ukraine have grown to be a significant player in the conflict, engaging Ukrainian troops in combat while acting as the Russian army’s equal.

That includes Wagner warriors conquering Bakhmut, the location of the fiercest and longest conflicts. By the end of last month, the Wagner Group and Russian troops looked to have essentially conquered Bakhmut, a triumph that, despite the cost in human life, had little strategic significance for Russia. According to U.S. estimates, Wagner fighters in Bakhmut were responsible for roughly half of the 20,000 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine since December. He hired prisoners who had previously served time in Russian jails as his warriors.

RAGE AGAINST THE GENERALS OF RUSSIA
Prigozhin was furious with the Russian military leadership as his troops battled and perished in Ukraine in large numbers. In a video that his team made public last month, Prigozhin was shown standing next to a line of corpses that he said belonged to Wagner fighters. He said that the regular Russian military was unable of providing his forces with the weaponry and ammunition they needed to battle.

Read about how the Russian Wagner leader made fun of Zelensky on Bakhmut here: “Kiss Biden on his head”

Then Prigozhin added, “These are somebody’s fathers and somebody’s sons.” The filth that doesn’t provide us with ammunition will eat their own guts in hell, he said.

‘BAD ACTOR’ IN THE US
When Prigozhin, a dozen other Russian citizens, and three Russian businesses were accused of running a clandestine social media effort to sow division before to Donald Trump’s 2016 election win, Prigozhin received less attention in the United States.

As a result of special counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian election meddling, they were charged. In relation to both his alleged election meddling and his leadership of the Wagner Group, the US Treasury Department has repeatedly imposed sanctions on Prigozhin and allies.

Prigozhin was cited by RIA Novosti as stating, in an obviously sarcastic statement, after the 2018 indictment: “Americans are highly susceptible people; they see what they want to see. I have the utmost regard for them. That I’m on this list doesn’t bother me in the least. Let them glimpse the devil if they so want.

In that incident, the Biden White House referred to him as “a known bad actor,” and State Department spokesman Ned Price stated that Prigozhin’s “bold confession, if anything, appears to be just a manifestation of the impunity that crooks and cronies enjoy under President Putin and the Kremlin.”

AVOIDING PUTIN DIFFICULTIES
As Prigozhin became increasingly vocal in his criticism of the conventional military’s tactics used by Russia in Ukraine, he continued to play a crucial role in the Russian operation and didn’t seem to face any consequences from Putin for his remarks.

According to certain media sources, Prigozhin was vying for a key political position and his influence over Putin was expanding. Analysts cautioned against exaggerating his influence on Putin, however.

On his podcast, “In Moscow’s Shadows,” Russian security expert Mark Galeotti of University College, London stated, “He’s not one of Putin’s close figures or a confidant.”

“Prigozhin complies with Kremlin demands while also benefiting greatly for himself. However, the fact remains that he belongs to the employees rather than the family, Galeotti remarked.