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Yevgeny Prigozhin has played many roles: convicted felon and hot dog vendor. Owner of a trendy restaurant in St. Petersburg and holder of a lucrative government catering contract. Founder of the mercenary army, involved in various conflicts in Russia.
Prigozhin has kept a low profile over the years. But in recent months, the 61-year-old entrepreneur, who has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has become more public about his activities, particularly in relation to Moscow’s eight-month war in Ukraine.
This week, he gained new attention by admitting his involvement in an incident that drew scrutiny from U.S. officials — previously denied —: meddling in U.S. elections.
“Putin’s leader”
Ironic or not, the remarks have drawn widespread attention in the West. It has also sparked long-standing speculation that he is seeking a bigger role on the Russian political scene.
Prigozin said via his news service that he did not intend to “formalize his political status in any way. … If someone gave me this, I think I would say no.”
Along with Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya, he has publicly criticized the conduct of war at the top of the Moscow military.
Some media reports say that Prigozin’s influence over Putin is growing, and he is seeking a major political position. But analysts warn against overestimating his political significance.
“He is not a close figure or confidant of Putin,” Mark Galeotti, who specialises in Russian security affairs at University College London, said on his podcast “In the Shadow of Moscow.”
“Prigozhin did what the Kremlin wanted to do, and did well for himself in the process. But that’s the problem — he was part of the staff, not part of the family,” Galeotti said.
Analysts say Prigozhin’s reach has expanded but remains fairly limited.
Tatyana Stanovaya, founder of independent think tank R.Politik, called Prigozhin “in his own way” in a recent Telegram post.
Although Prigozin denies this, Stanova said he has met Putin frequently, especially recently. She added that he had close ties to certain security agencies and “with some of his functions, he could even claim the role of Putin’s private special service,” Stanova wrote.
However, she noted that his influence was “really greatly exaggerated in the West” and limited to a “narrow and peculiar” niche.
Prigozin and Putin go back a long way, both born in Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg.
During his final years in the Soviet Union, Prigozin spent time in prison — 10 years by his own admission — although he did not say what it was for.
Yevgeny Prigozhin has played many roles: convicted felon and hot dog vendor. Owner of a trendy restaurant in St. Petersburg and holder of a lucrative government catering contract. Founder of the mercenary army, involved in various conflicts in Russia.
Prigozhin has kept a low profile over the years.But in recent months, the 61-year-old entrepreneur, who has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has become more public about his activities, especially in relation to Moscow’s eight-month war. Ukraine.
This week, he gained new attention by admitting his involvement in an incident that drew scrutiny from U.S. officials — previously denied —: meddling in U.S. elections.
Prigozin and Putin go back a long way, both born in Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg.
During his final years in the Soviet Union, Prigozin spent time in prison — 10 years by his own admission — although he did not say what it was for.
His business expanded significantly into catering and serving school lunches. In 2010, Putin helped open Prigozin’s factory, which was built on a generous loan from a state-owned bank. In Moscow alone, his company Concord has won multimillion-dollar contracts to provide meals to public schools. For several years, he also organized catering for Kremlin events — earning him the nickname “Putin’s chef” — and provided catering and utilities for the Russian military.
In 2017, opposition figure and anti-corruption fighter Alexei Navalny accused Prigozhin’s company of violating antitrust laws by bidding for about $387 million in contracts from the Defense Department.
military ties
Over the years, media reports and Western officials have linked Prigozin to a Russian private military contractor called the Wagner Group, said to be a mercenary force involved in the conflicts in Libya and Syria, and at least not for Six African countries in known military operations. The group also played a major role in the fighting in Ukraine.
Prigozin has always denied having anything to do with Wagner. But in September, he acknowledged himself as the founder of Wagner in a social media statement issued by the company’s news service. He said he was looking to “form a (fighter) team to go (there) to defend the Russians” when fighting broke out between Russian-backed separatists and Kyiv troops in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
He also acknowledged that Wagner “defended the Syrian people, other peoples in the Arab countries, disadvantaged Africans and Latinos”.
A video recently emerged showing a man like Prigozin visiting a Russian penal colony to recruit prisoners to fight in Ukraine. When asked about the visits, he did not directly confirm or deny, other than to say through his news service that he had been incarcerated and therefore in multiple prisons.
Prigozin also talked about the construction of the “Wagner Line” — a trench and anti-tank defense system — in Luhansk, one of four Ukrainian provinces illegally annexed by Moscow in September, and the establishment of defensive militia training in Russia center.Belgorod and Kursk regions bordering Ukraine
Wagner has also opened a business center in St. Petersburg to great fanfare, which Prigozin touts will serve as a platform for improving Russia’s “defensive capabilities” and promises to expand elsewhere if successful.
election interference
In 2018, Prigozhin and a dozen other Russian nationals and three Russian companies were charged in the United States with a covert social media campaign aimed at inciting discord and dividing American public opinion before Republican Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. They are accused of being part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling. Prigozin was later sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department.
After the indictment, RIA Novosti quoted him as saying in a decidedly sarcastic tone: “Americans are easily influenced people; they see what they want to see. I have great respect for them. I am on this list. Not depressed at all. If they want to see the devil, let them see him.”
The Justice Department began to dismiss charges against Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering in 2020, saying they had concluded trials of the company defendants, which had no U.S. presence and would not be subject to any conviction even if convicted. meaningful punishment. May expose sensitive law enforcement tools and techniques.
In July, the U.S. State Department offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on Russian meddling in U.S. elections, including information on Prigozhin and the Internet Research Agency, the St. Petersburg troll farm that his company is accused of funding.
Prigozin has denied involvement – until Monday, eve of U.S. midtermThe news service of one of his companies posted on social media his response to questions from Russian news outlets about allegations of such interference.
“Gentlemen, we have interfered, are interfering and will interfere. Carefully, accurately, surgically and in our own way, as we know it,” the responses read. “In our precision surgery, we will remove the kidney and liver at the same time.”
Some Russian state-funded media called his remarks ironic.
In response, the White House called him “a well-known bad actor who has been sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union,” and State Department spokesman Ned Price said Prigozin’s “bold confession, if anything, appears to be just. This reflects the impunity of crooks and cronies under the leadership of President Putin and the Kremlin.”
Prigozin responded to Price’s remarks in English that, among other things, the United States has been “rudely meddling” in elections around the world for decades.
Satire or elevate his image?
Ironic or not, the remarks have drawn widespread attention in the West. It has also sparked long-standing speculation that he is seeking a bigger role on the Russian political scene.
Prigozin said via his news service that he did not intend to “formalize his political status in any way. … If someone gave me this, I think I would say no.”
Along with Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya, he has publicly criticized the conduct of war at the top of the Moscow military.
Some media reports say that Prigozin’s influence over Putin is growing, and he is seeking a major political position. But analysts warn against overestimating his political significance.
“He is not a close figure or confidant of Putin,” Mark Galeotti, who specialises in Russian security affairs at University College London, said on his podcast “In the Shadow of Moscow.”
“Prigozhin did what the Kremlin wanted to do, and did well for himself in the process. But that’s the problem — he was part of the staff, not part of the family,” Galeotti said.
Analysts say Prigozhin’s reach has expanded but remains fairly limited.
Tatyana Stanovaya, founder of independent think tank R.Politik, called Prigozhin “in his own way” in a recent Telegram post.
Although Prigozin denies this, Stanova said he has met Putin frequently, especially recently. She added that he had close ties to certain security agencies and “with some of his functions, he could even claim the role of Putin’s private special service,” Stanova wrote.
However, she noted that his influence was “really greatly exaggerated in the West” and limited to a “narrow and peculiar” niche.
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