Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder and chief of the mercenary Wagner Group, has reportedly forged a deal with the Kremlin to defuse the group’s rebellion. Wagner said he ordered his mercenaries to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to field camps in Ukraine, appearing to defuse the dramatically escalating crisis that represented the most significant challenge to President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power.
The Wagner Group, a private army led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has fought some of Russia’s toughest battles in Ukraine alongside regular Russian troops.
Here is what we know about Yevgeny Prigozhin, the hot dog seller-turned-millionaire who threatened Putin’s rule in Russia:
Prigozhin, 62, is a Russian oligarch and mercenary chief who was a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin until he launched an alleged coup to unseat him from power.
He controls a network of influential companies, including the powerful Wagner Group and several restaurants that cater for the Kremlin. This has also earned him the nickname of “Putin’s chef.”
Born and raised in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on June 1, 1961, Prigozhin once aspired to be a professional cross-country skier.
As an 18-year-old, Prigozhin was caught stealing and handed a suspended sentence. He was caught stealing again two years later and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for robbing apartments in an upscale neighbourhood along with other accomplices. He was released in 1990 – shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union – after spending nine years behind bars.
After his release from prison, Prigozhin began selling hot dogs at an open-air market in Leningrad along with his mother and stepfather. This hot dog stand would eventually lead to other successful ventures like restaurants and convenience stores.
It was during the 2000s that Prigozhin grew closer with Vladimir Putin, who, incidentally, was also born in Soviet-era Leningrad. One of Prigozhin's companies, Concord Catering, began winning lucrative government contracts.
Meanwhile, Prigozhin had grown from one hot dog stand to several fancy restaurants that drew interest from Putin. In his first term, the Russian leader took then-French President Jacques Chirac to dine at one of them.
In 2010, Putin helped open Prigozhin's factory that was built on generous loans by a state bank. In Moscow alone, his company Concord won millions of dollars in contracts to provide meals at public schools. He also organized catering for Kremlin events for several years earning him the nickname Putin's chef and has provided catering and utility services to the Russian military.
Prigozhin also owns the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-allied mercenary force that has come to play a central role in Putin's projection of Russian influence in trouble spots around the world.
In Ukraine, Prigozhin's mercenaries have become a major force in the war, fighting as counterparts to the Russian army in battles with Ukrainian forces.
Prigozhin, with his shaved head, has become one of the most recognisable faces of the war.
(With inputs from agencies)
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