Yevgeny Prigozhin was born on June 1, 1961 at Leningrad in Russia’s St Petersburg (erstwhile USSR). Prigozhin is one of the richest and most influential people in Russia. He has been in news after he vowed to “go to the end” to topple the Russian military leadership
The Wagner group chief accused the Russian army of launching strikes on his men and said he would “destroy everything that stands in our way”. Prigozhin has also claimed that his forces shot down a Russian military helicopter. He is currently under investigation for armed rebellion, according to the prosecutor general of Russia
Yevgeny Prigozhin reportedly spent around a decade in prison before his rise as a businessman and a mercenary chief. After his release from prison, Prigozhin became a hot dog seller in St Petersburg. Once a convict, he now owns a network of influential companies including the mercenary outfit Wagner Group
Prigozhin is a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is also sometimes called “Putin’s chef” since he owns restaurants and catering companies that provide services to the Kremlin. The Russian oligarch was the caterer of choice for the elite when Putin came to power in 2001
Despite earning big bucks and fame from the food and hospitality industry, Yevgeny Prigozhin entered a new sector two years later in 2014 — formation of a private military. He formed the Wagner Group in 2014 during Russia’s invasion of Crimea
The Wagner Group troops coordinated with Russian military but remained distant. They were also involved in the conflicts in Syria, Libya and Ukraine, as per media reports. The mercenary outfit has been accused human rights abuses including torture and summary executions
Wagner’s private military contractors were sent to Donbas in eastern Ukraine where they helped Russian separatist forces of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics from 2014-15 after the annexation of Crimea. The mercenary group’s success in these operations led to Wagner becoming a proxy army for Putin
In 2018, Prigozhin was indicted by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller for funding the Internet Research Agency (IRA). The Internet Research Agency is a Kremlin-linked troll group accused of interfering in the 2016 US Presidential election campaign and also of identity theft
Prigozhin-backed IRA is accused of using social media for spreading pro-Donald Trump propaganda and sowing discord among American voters via a network of pro-Trump Facebook and Twitter profiles
Prigozhin and the Wagner Group played a critical role in Russian operations against Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin became an active recruiter and spokesperson for the Wagner Group
As per a video that went viral in 2022, Prigozhin recruited Russian convicts to fight the war against Ukraine. In this video, he reportedly told prisoners they would probably die at the war front. Prigozhin further said they would be released with full pardon and paid a handsome amount if they survived for 6 months