Who Is Yevgeny Prigozhin, The Wagner Group Chief Who Openly Challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin?

Yevgeny Prigozhin is the founder of the Wagner Group – a private military in Russia - that fought both in Ukraine and, increasingly, for Russian-backed causes around the world.

NEW DELHI/MOSCOW: Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group, has shaken the Kremlin by recently ordering his army to march towards Moscow in an open challenge to his former boss and Russia’s all-powerful President Vladimir Putin. The Wagner Group chief, who has now abandoned that rebellion for exile in Belarus – a deal that leaves several questions unanswered - has issued clarifications that the ''march was not meant to overthrow power'' in Russia. Prigozhin, in an audio message, said that the purpose of the march towards Moscow was to stop the destruction of Wagner's private military company and "bring to justice those who, through their unprofessional actions, made a huge number of mistakes during the special military operation".

Prigozhin claimed that the march was a demonstration of protest and not intended to overthrow power. Explaining his decision to turn around his march on Moscow, Prigozhin said he wanted to avoid Russian bloodshed. "We started our march because of an injustice. We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow power in the country," Prigozhin claimed. Without sharing any details regarding his location and future plans, Prigozhin said that about 30 of his fighters died in the Russian army's attack on the mercenary group last week.

So, Who Is Yevgeny Prigozhin And What Is The Wagner Group?

Prigozhin is the founder of the Wagner Group – a private military in Russia - that fought both in Ukraine and, increasingly, for Russian-backed causes around the world. Prigozhin was once known as ‘Putin’s chef.’ He rose to prominence for his visible role in the Ukraine War in which his mercenaries have been fighting on behalf of Moscow after regular Russian troops suffered heavy attrition and lost territory in humiliating setbacks.

Taking full advantage of that situation, Prigozhin later blamed top Russian military commanders for the failures in Ukraine, even without fearing any retribution from the Kremlin for his open defiance. Prigozhin’s running feud with the Russian Defence Ministry widened after the Wagner fighters crossed from Ukraine into the Russian border city of Rostov-on-Don and took control of key military facilities.

Not only that, but the Wagner chief also questioned the official Kremlin version of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the Kremlin has now vowed to punish those involved in “an armed rebellion.” Prigozhin was convicted of robbery and assault in 1981 and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Following his release, he opened a restaurant business in Saint Petersburg in the 1990s.

Putin's Chef

A St. Petersburg native like his boss Putin, Prigozhin, 62, became a wealthy oligarch by winning lucrative catering contracts with the Kremlin, earning him the moniker “Putin’s chef.” Both Putin and Prigozhin have known each other since the 1990s. He came to be known as a brutal warlord after the 2014 Russian-backed separatist movement in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Around 2014, Prigozhin founded Wagner as a shadowy mercenary outfit that fought both in Ukraine and, increasingly, for Russian-backed causes around the world.

A Media Manipulator

"Prigozhin is a mastermind of media and also is the mastermind of social media," according to Kateryna Stepanenko, a Russia analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, a public policy research based in Washington, DC

Wanted By FBI

Prigozhin is also wanted by the FBI for "conspiracy to defraud the United States." The US federal law enforcement agency has announced a USD 250,000 award for information leading to Prigozhin's arrest for allegedly overseeing the political and electoral interference of the St. Petersburg and Florida-based Internet Research Agency from 2014 to 2018. The agency, for which Prigozhin was the primary funder, worked to interfere with the 2016 US presidential election, the FBI alleged.

Besides fighting in Ukraine, the Wagner troops have been very active in Africa, where some nations are turning to Wagner to fill security gaps or prop up dictatorial regimes. Over time, Prigohzin has immensely helped Putin project his influence around the world. During Russia’s intervention in the war in Syria. Wagner and its fighters helped Putin and remained on the ground in the Middle Eastern country many years later. Wagner mercenaries have been accused of atrocities, including mass murder and rape, across Africa and alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.