Wagner, a shady network of mercenaries—reportedly named after Hitler’s favourite composer—has operated almost wherever Russia has an interest, including in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic and Mali
Yevgeny Prigozhin stepped out of the shadows. The close ally of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, admitted for the first time that he is the founder of, a group of mercenaries that do Russia’s dirty work. “I cleaned the old weapons myself, sorted out the bulletproof vests myself,” said Mr Prigozhin, referring to the early days of the Wagner Group. He called his private soldiers “heroes”.
Little is known about Mr Prigozhin’s childhood. He spent most of his 20s in prison, serving nine years for robbery, fraud and involving teenagers in crime. After his release, he set up a hot-dog stand in St Petersburg in the 1990s. He soon expanded into chic eateries—his New Island floating restaurant was a favourite of Mr Putin, a former deputy mayor of the city. His good relations with Russia’s elite brought in lucrative catering contracts for schools, hospitals and the army.
The shady network of mercenaries—reportedly named after Hitler’s favourite composer and co-founded by Dmitry Utkin, a former Russian soldier with multiple Nazi tattoos—has operated almost wherever Russia has an interest, including in
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