Hot dog seller to head mercenary group: who is Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner chief to challenge Putin

Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine has pushed Yevgeny Prigozhin out of the Kremlin’s shadow to become a burning critic of the Russian military.

Moscow: Yevgeny Prigozhin, once a low profile businessman who benefited from having President Vladimir Putin as a powerful patron, came into the global spotlight with Russia’s war in Ukraine. However, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, vowed on Saturday to “go to the end” to overthrow Russia’s military leadership, a day after accusing it of launching attacks against his men.

Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine has now pushed Yevgeny Prigozhin out of the Kremlin’s shadow to become a burning critic of the Russian military.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is known as a billionaire with a huge fortune built on state contracts, though the size of his wealth is unknown.

Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?

• Prigozhin, 62, is the founder of the Russian mercenary group Wagner that spearheaded the capture of several important Ukrainian cities, including Bakhmut, and gained public fame in Russia.
• During the war in Ukraine, Wagner took on an increasingly visible role as regular Russian troops suffered heavy attrition and lost ground to humiliating setbacks.
• Prigozhin visited Russian prisons to recruit fighters and promised a pardon if they survived a six-month front-line tour with Wagner.
• During an interview in May, Yevgeny Prigozhin said he recruited 50,000 convicts, about 10,000 of whom were killed in Bakhmut; a similar number of his own fighters died there.

Hot dog vendor to head mercenary group

• Yevgeny Prigozhin was a hot dog seller and a resident of St. Petersburg before becoming part of an inner circle close to the Russian president. Prigozhin spent nearly ten years in prison during the Soviet era after being convicted of fraud and theft. Prigozhin started a fairly successful fast food company in the 1990s.
• For years, Prigozhin dismissed allegations that he had ties to Wagner, but finally admitted in 2021 that he founded the Wagner group and started a massive recruitment drive in Russian prisons for foot soldiers to fight in exchange for amnesty.

Earlier in the day, Russia’s defense ministry urged Wagner troops to “return safely to their points of permanent deployment,” CNN reported. The statement from the Russian Defense Ministry comes after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed to have taken control of military facilities in two Russian cities.

In the statement released on their official Telegram channel, the Russian Defense Ministry said, “You were tricked into Prigozhin’s criminal adventure and participation in an armed uprising,” according to CNN. It went on to say: “Many of your comrades from various squadrons have already realized their mistake in asking for help to ensure they can safely return to their points of permanent deployment.”

The Russian Defense Ministry noted that Moscow has already provided such assistance to all fighters and commanders who requested it. It went on to say it would “guarantee everyone’s safety”.

Wagner Group claimed on Saturday to have taken control of Russian military facilities in Voronezh. Earlier on Saturday, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces had taken control of military facilities, including the airport in Rostov-on-Don.