Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary leader of Russia accused of plotting a coup?

Yevgeny V. Prigozhin grew wealthy through his personal ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, winning lucrative catering and construction contracts with the Russian government while building a mercenary force known as Wagner.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he threw his fighters into battle, their ranks growing with prisoner recruits. In recent months, Mr. Prigozhin (pronounced pree-GOH-zhin) has also emerged as a public power player, using social media to turn harsh talk and brutality into his personal brand. At the same time, however, he began to make accusations against the military leadership of Russia, blaming it for not supplying his troops with sufficient ammunition and ignoring the soldiers’ struggle.

But until Friday — when Russian generals accused Mr Prigozhin of plotting a coup — Mr Putin had failed to check Mr Prigozhin’s online allegations, despite prison sentences or fines for many other critics of the war.

Spouting vulgarities, ignoring the law and showing loyalty to none other than Mr. Putin, Mr. Prigozhin, a businessman known as “Putin’s chief” for his catering contracts with the Kremlin and the Russian military, has become a symbol of Russia in wartime: ruthless, shameless and lawless. It was a major turnaround for Mr. Prigozhin, who only acknowledged last fall that he had founded Wagner.

In Moscow, he was dogged by open questions and criticism, with analysts questioning whether his recruitment of prisoners and approval of extrajudicial killings had widespread appeal.

Mr Prigozhin expanded Wagner’s presence in Ukraine after the Kremlin’s attempt to take the capital Kiev failed in the early days of the invasion early last year. The ‘private military company’ at that time was largely active in Syria and Africa, where it operated both on behalf of the Russian government and in the service of Mr Prigozhin’s own business interests.

He was also active elsewhere. In February 2018, Mr. Prigozhin was one of 13 Russians indicted by a federal grand jury for meddling in the US election through the Internet Research Agency, a troll factory that spread falsehoods and waged an information war against the United States in support of the presidential elections. campaign of Donald J. Trump.

The United States imposed sanctions on Mr Prigozhin in December 2016.

Born in 1961 when St. Petersburg was called Leningrad, Mr. Prigozhin was sent to prison in 1981 for robbery and other crimes, according to Meduza, an online investigative publication.

After serving his nine-year prison sentence, he opened a hot dog stand, which eventually led to an entrepreneurial career by starting restaurants and convenience stores.