Anurag Kumar
According to the Russian civil aviation authorities, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the creator of Russia’s Wagner Group mercenary group, was on the passenger list of a plane that crashed north of Moscow. This information was provided by the Russian government. Yevgeny Prigozhin was once a low-key businessman who benefited from his connections to Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia. However, during Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, he took command of the mercenary force Wagner, which catapulted him into the spotlight of the international community. The following is all the information you require regarding Yevgeny Prigozhin.
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- The 62-year-old owner of the Kremlin-allied Wagner Group escalated months of scathing criticism of Russia’s conduct of the war by calling for an armed uprising to oust the defense minister of the country.
- Russian security services reacted immediately, opening a criminal investigation and urging Prigozhin’s arrest.
- Then Prigozhin urged Russians to join his “march to justice” but riot police and the national guard tightened security at key facilities in Moscow, including government agencies and transport infrastructure to stop the mercenary chief.
- Prigozhin and Putin go way back. Both were born in Leningrad which is now known as St. Petersburg. During the final years of the Soviet Union, Prigozhin served time in prison.
- After that, he owned a hot dog stand and then fancy restaurants that drew interest from Vladimir Putin.
- In his first term, the Russian leader took then-French President Jacques Chirac to dine at one of them. “Vladimir Putin saw how I built a business out of a kiosk, he saw that I don’t mind serving to the esteemed guests because they were my guests,” Prigozhin said in an interview in 2011.
- His businesses expanded significantly to catering and providing school lunches.
- In 2010, Putin helped Prigozhin in opening a factory that was built on generous loans by a state bank. He also organized catering for Kremlin events for several years which earned him the nickname “Putin’s chef”.
- Prigozhin’s Wagner Group has come to play a central role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
