Yevgeny Prigozhin: From Vladimir Putin's 'chef' to a Kremlin dilemma

Prigozhin transformed into a brutal warlord after the 2014 Russian-backed separatist movement in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the same year when he founded the Wagner outfit.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner private mercenary group's founder, who was reportedly on board a plane that crashed on August 23 with no survivors according to Russian authorities, once used to be a close ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Humble beginnings

The Wagner chief, who was born and brought up in erstwhile Leningrad in 1961, now St. Petersburg, shared a relatively humble beginning with the Russian president. Notably, St. Petersburg is also the president’s hometown.

Prigozhin's father died when he was young, and his mother worked in a hospital, the Wagner chief had once said. During his younger days, he was sent to a sports academy. However, he didn't make the cut as a professional athlete and instead, started hanging out with a group of petty criminals.

Putin's "Chef"

Putin and Prigozhin have been close allies since the 1990s. According to Russian media reports, thee Wagner chief, nine years younger to the president, met Putin following his release from prison after serving a nine-year term for fraud and robbery.

Following his release from the prison, Prigozhin entered the catering business. Reportedly, he soon became Putin's preferred choice for providing food and catering services for various events, including his birthday parties and official dinners with visiting dignitaries, such as former US President George Bush and Jacques Chirac of France. Once, a Moscow Times report had referred to Prigozhin as Putin’s “Personal Chef".

Prigozhin started winning catering contracts for schools and the armed forces of the country. He also escorted the Russian president to his new food-processing factory in 2010. By this time, he had primarily become "a Kremlin insider", along with an expanding business empire.

Also Read: Jet crash in Russia kills 10, officials say. Wagner chief was on passenger list

Emerging warlord

Prigozhin transformed into a brutal warlord after the 2014 Russian-backed separatist movement in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. He founded the Wagner group the same year as a mercenary outfit, fighting in Ukraine, as well as for Russian-backed causes around the world. However, for years, he denied any association with the shadowy outfit despite evidences.

The Wagner mercenaries gradually started branching outside of Russia, including the Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya, Mozambique, Mali, Ukraine, and Syria. The group started becoming infamously known for scores of human rights abuses.

Gaining strength and voice

In the meantime, back home, Prigozhin's business expanded beyond catering and battlefields. The Wagner chief established a Russian troll farm in St. Petersburg - the Internet Research Agency (IRA). This outfit allegedly engaged in interfering and undermining the 2016 US presidential election. The IRA was sanctioned in 2018 by the US Treasury Department. It was accused of having “created and managed a vast number of fake online personas that posed as legitimate US persons to include grassroots organizations, interest groups, and a state political party on social media”.

Key role in Ukraine invasion

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, the Wagner outfit took little time to come into spotlight. Prigozhin lured Russian convicts to join higher ranks of the outfit, promising them handsome salaries and pardons, in a bid to strengthen the outfit.

The Ukrainian towns of Soledar and Bakhmut were brought down by Wagner outfits. During this time, Prigozhin, once a camera-shy figure, quickly turned into a social media star, actively playing a key role on the front line.

Revolt against Kremlin

While the Russian army campaign was hit by numerous setbacks in the Ukraine conflict, Prigozhin and the Wagner fighters became indispensable to the Russian side. He, however, soon started being a headache to Putin as he strongly started criticizing Russia military leaders.

He also started misusing social media to openly express his views, presenting himself as a competent and ruthless figure as compared to the Kremlin’s military establishment.

Internal tensions between Putin and Prigozhin started flaring up early this year, with the Wagner chief increasingly complaining about receiving inadequate support from the Kremlin for fighting the battle in Bakhmut, followed by his announcement in May that his troops would withdraw.

Also Read: Strategic lessons for military powers from Wagner Group’s march

Later in June, he began an all-out rebellion against the state, launching a fresh attack on the Russian armed forces, and marching his troops into the city of Rostov-on-Don.

The Russian president called his actions as “treason", to which Prigozhin had responded by saying, “We are patriots of our Motherland, we fought and are fighting".