Contents
From a convicted mugger, Yevgeny Prigozhin has become a key figure in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
2007: The world-famous cellist Mstislav Rostropovich celebrates his birthday – not just anywhere, but in the Kremlin. Present are President Vladimir Putin and many illustrious guests from all over the world. In the background stands a beefy, bald man in a suit. It is Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as “Putin’s cook”.
The entrepreneur from Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg was responsible for the catering at state banquets for years. Today he supplies Russia’s army with cannon fodder: Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary group fights in the war against Ukraine, regardless of the casualties.
It all started with a hot dog stand
The Wagner group recruited thousands of their mercenaries from the prisons of Russia. Prigozhin himself often visits the prisons to recruit the prisoners, as videos on the Internet show.
In doing so, he is returning to his roots: Prigozhin was a mugger, which is why he spent nine years in prison towards the end of the Soviet era. After his release, Prigozhin ran his own hot dog stand. Just a few years later he was co-owner of two of the hottest restaurants in Saint Petersburg.
Such steep careers were not uncommon in the wild 90s in Russia. Like many others, Prigozhin allegedly used his connections in the Russian underworld.
The Kremlin’s man for the rough
And Prigozhin always knew how to forge alliances outside of his environment. He knows pop stars and politicians whom he has entertained in his glamorous bars. The most important acquaintance he made was with Vladimir Putin, then Deputy Mayor of Saint Petersburg.
After Putin’s election as Russian President in 2000, Prigozhin was not only allowed to host Kremlin banquets. His catering company also received government contracts to supply food to schools or the army, for example.
Over time, experts say, Prigozhin became the Kremlin’s man for the rough stuff. He organized those shady activities that the state organs preferred to outsource. For example, one of Prigozhin’s companies ran the troll factories that attempted to influence social media discourse in the US.
And as of 2014, Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenaries were deployed in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass and in Syria in the service of Russia.
The enemies lurk in secret service circles
Meanwhile, Prigozhin also criticizes Russia’s military leadership and exaggerates the importance of its mercenaries. «Prigozhin decided to go public. He probably thinks it’s a chance to make a name for himself,” says Sergey Savelev of the Russian prisoner NGO Gulagu.net.
Prigozhin decided to go public. He probably thinks this is a chance to make his mark.
But those familiar with Russia do not believe that Prigozhin could become a new strong man in Russia’s government. For the power elite in the Kremlin, who mainly come from the secret service, Prigozhin is not an insider, but a crook and a parvenu. His crude demeanor has upset some figures who are ultimately closer to Putin than he is.
By the way, Prigozhin, the mugger who curry favor with Russian high society, was also a friend of the aforementioned famous cellist Rostropovich. Finding powerful allies has always been Prigozhin’s forte. With the attempt to expand his own power in the Ukraine war, however, he is now making enemies above all.