Just two months ago, mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin (62) rebelled against the Russian leadership with his personal army, Wagner. To this day, myths and various interpretations recede into the background. During the advance on Moscow, the rebels demanded replacements for Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Sergei Gerasimov. But Prigozhin himself also attacked President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin boss then called Prigozhin a traitor. The rebellion ended with Wagner Boss and thousands of his gunmen being able to move to Belarus.
The group of mercenaries founded by Prigozhin carried out unofficial special assignments for Russia, first in Syria and later in several African countries. In the war of aggression against Ukraine, Prigozhin recruited prisoners from Russian prisons. The army suffered heavy losses in the battle for the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. Prigozhin accused the regular military leadership of incompetence and corruption.
Prigozhin himself was in prison and later made a career as a freighter for the Kremlin, hence his nickname “Putin’s cook”. It is also said that he was the businessman behind Troll Factories in St. Petersburg, which tried to influence Westerners through social media.
