Evgeny Prigojine, would you dream of being a caliph instead of a caliph? The impetuous leader of the Wagner paramilitary organization suddenly revolted on Friday, June 23, around 11 p.m., threatening to march on Moscow. A rebellion finally called off after a few hours, without too many details. Although he miscarried quickly, Vladimir Putin rebelled against the “betrayal” of his former protégé.
Between the former KGB officer and Prigojine, the romance lasted more than twenty years. In 1990, Prigojine was released from USSR prisons, where he was serving a 9-year sentence for pimping, robbery and violence. As soon as he was released, the convict felt the tide turn and he decided to take advantage of Russia’s brutal opening to unregulated capitalism.
At first, Prigojine was content with a modest business selling hot dogs. A first step in the world of business and restoration quickly crowned with success. Fueled by this success, he will multiply his culinary adventures. The highlight of this business – the opening of a luxury address in the beautiful districts of St. Petersburg. Very soon, the “New Island” became a high place where bourgeois elites, politicians and first-rate businessmen rubbed shoulders. And among these influential clients, a certain Vladimir Putin.
putin’s cook
In 2001, the newly elected Russian president, Vladimir Putin, pledged to consolidate his international relations. In this sense, he decides to invite his French counterpart Jacques Chirac to Saint Petersburg. The opportunity for the two leaders to exchange at a table on the “Isla Nueva”, under the prying eyes of the owner of the establishment.
With large reinforcements of great vintages and small plates, Prigojine slowly intruded into the close circle of his client. A proximity that allowed him to win very juicy catering contracts to fill the plates of Moscow schoolchildren, Russian soldiers, but also Kremlin tenants. So many contracts that will earn him the title of “Putin’s cook”, but also -and above all- his fortune.
The Russian-language outlet Current Time estimates that the 5,000 contracts signed between the government and Prigozhin’s companies have contributed at least 2.3 billion euros to his personal fortune. These funds, the businessman decided to place discreetly in a group made up of seasoned veterans of the secret services and the Russian regular army. In 2014, this group is formally named: Wagner. A militia led by Dmitri Utkin, but financed by Prigojine, which he would only recognize a few years later.
The first opportunities to shine for these mercenaries will come as soon as Crimea is annexed by Russia, when links between the private paramilitary company and the Russian Defense Ministry may still be in question. Military companies that, in theory, are prohibited in the country.
War chief
Discreetly ensconced in the back kitchen, the Wagner leader remained low-key until 2022, first stepping into the spotlight during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. A remarkable entry, with great blows of propaganda on social networks.
The first stone of his notoriety was laid on September 26, 2022, when the “cook” formally acknowledged having founded Wagner. A declaration of paternity shared on the social networks of his company Concord Management and Consulting. He praised the “heroes who defended the Syrian people, other peoples of the Arab countries, the poor Africans and Latin Americans.”
The same month, Prigozhin boosted his propaganda machine. He illustrated himself in a video captured in a Russian prison. We see him poaching prisoners, offering them freedom if they join his ranks. The handful of minutes long video establishes a boxy character with a shaved head, stern features and firm tone.
“I represent the private military company Wagner. […] If you want to get out of prison now, you can, in exchange for which you have to give six months of your time to help the war effort on the Ukrainian front. […] If you do six months, you’re free.
Lost of control
Unlike the blitzkrieg planned by Vladimir Putin, the conflict in Ukraine has stalled and has been going on for 16 months. The longer the fighting lasted, the more Russia had to rely on Wagner to lead its offensive, without the group being formally in the hands of Moscow. This well-oiled collaboration seems to have derailed in the first days of June, since the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
As the militia fighters operated alongside the regular army, the Russian command announced its desire to gobble up Wagner. This directive came from the Defense Minister himself, Sergei Shoigu. She was immediately fired. One of the most obvious signs of Prigojine’s slow independence from power and Putin. An official crack after weeks of vague unofficial threats by the media.
However, it remains difficult to say whether Putin or Prigozhin buried the longstanding relationship. The second accused the first of having bombed his soldiers based in the Ukraine. In response, Wagner’s chief brandished his “25,000 fighters” and launched, then quickly aborted a rebellion. It’s hard to know what changed Putin’s cook, who simply announced that he wanted to avoid “a bloodbath.”
One of the counterparts was going to be the end of the investigation carried out by Moscow for the “call for an armed riot” announced on Saturday. However, despite the Kremlin’s promises, Prigozhin was still under investigation on Monday. Putin may feel that the creature he has been babysitting for years might become too powerful and, more importantly, too independent.
Source: BFM TV
