Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner group?
- August 23, 2023
- 0
Some key facts about Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Russian mercenary unit “The Wagner Group”, who, according to the Federal Air Transport Agency, was on the list
Some key facts about Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Russian mercenary unit “The Wagner Group”, who, according to the Federal Air Transport Agency, was on the list of passengers of the plane that crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday.
Prigogine, 62 years old rose to prominence after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when its fighters, including thousands of prisoners drafted from prisons, led the Russian offensive against the town of Bakhmut in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.
Prigogine used social media to trumpet the successes of Wagner and antagonize the military establishment by accusing it of incompetence and even treason.
In June, Prigozhin led a rebellion in which Wagner fighters seized control of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don. and shot down several military helicopters, killing their pilots as they advanced towards Moscow. President Vladimir Putin called it an act of treason that would be met with harsh reactions.
Photo: Reuters
The uprising was crushed by an agreement in which the Kremlin said that in order to avoid bloodshed, Prigozhin and some of his fighters would travel to Belarus and the criminal case against him for armed rebellion will be dropped.
The implementation of the agreement and the future of Prigozhin were in a mess. The Kremlin said it attended a meeting with Putin five days after the riots. On July 5, state television said Prigozhin was still under investigation and aired footage showing money being held against Prigozhin. cash, passports, weapons and other items were seized during a raid on one of his possessions.
However, at the end of July, Prigogine was photographed in St. Petersburg during a celebration in The city will host the Russia-Africa summit. He appeared this week in a video he believes was filmed in Africa, where Wagner has operations in several countries.
Born June 1, 1961 in St. Petersburg. Prigozhin spent nine years in Soviet prisons for crimes including theft and fraud. Released in 1990, under the conditions of the Soviet Union, he began a career as a hotelier and restaurant owner in his hometown. He is believed to have met Putin, then chief adviser to the mayor of St. Petersburg, around this time.
Using his political connections, Prigozhin secured major government contracts and became known as “Putin’s Chef” after serving dinners at Kremlin events. Just recently he joked “Putin’s butcher” would be more appropriate.
Photo: Reuters
In 2014, Prigozhin founded Wagner, a private military company whose fighters were deployed to support Moscow’s allies in countries such as Syria, Libya and the Central African Republic. The United States has sanctioned her and accused her of atrocities, which Prigogine denies.
Prigozhin admitted that he founded and funded the Internet Research Agency, a company that Washington calls a “troll farm” that interfered in the 2016 US presidential election. In November 2022, he said that he interfered in the US elections and would return. to do this.
Reuters
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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