Who is Prigozhin?
Yevgeny Prigozhin, 61 years old, has quite a remarkable experience and a complicated identity. From being a thief to a chef to once being under criminal investigation, this man, who has been frequently mentioned in the media recently, is described as the 'most unpredictable person' by foreign media.
A thief in prison
According to relevant research, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has become the most 'eye-catching' person around the world currently, was born in June 1961 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) during the Soviet era, to an ordinary family. His biological father died early, and his mother and stepfather raised him.
Prigozhin once aspired to be a professional skier, but his sports career repeatedly faced setbacks. At the age of 18 (1979), Prigozhin was sentenced to two and a half years of probation for theft, and at the age of 20 (1981), he was sentenced to another 13 years in prison for theft, fraud, and other crimes. In 1988, he was granted amnesty, reducing his sentence to 10 years.
From selling hot dogs to being a "Putin's chef"
The time in prison did not waste him. In 1990, after being released from prison, Prigozhin opened a hot dog stand in Leningrad with his stepfather. He once stated in an interview that he was the "first person to sell hot dogs in Leningrad," and his monthly income was equivalent to the annual income of the average Russian citizen. With enough income, he got involved in the supermarket business and opened 10 supermarket chains in just two years.
In 1995, Prigozhin created his popular restaurant New Island, which became a place where President Putin entertained various foreign dignitaries after 2000. Later on, Prigozhin's catering company Concord Catering specialized in supplying food to the Kremlin and providing catering services at Russian banquets. Many Russian media outlets referred to Prigozhin as "Putin's chef" as a result.
Founder of the Wagner Group
The U.S. media has called Prigozhin one of the "most inscrutable people" in Russia's oligarchy.
In Russia, private military companies (PMCs) are not legally recognized. Before the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, Prigozhin repeatedly disassociated himself from Wagner.
Until the outbreak of the conflict in 2022, Prigozhin admitted that he was the founder of the Wagner Group, and he became one of the most well-known figures in Russia. The Financial Times reported in February that in the four years prior to the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, Prigozhin earned US$250 million from mining natural resources such as oil and gas, diamonds and gold in Africa and the Middle East alone.
However, Wagner and Prigozhin have also become a "thorn in the side" of the Russian military. In May of this year, during the battle to take Bakhmut, Prigozhin said Wagner paid a price of 20,000 soldiers. He denounced the Russian Ministry of Defense's reluctance to use artillery to clear obstacles for Wagner, resulting in heavy casualties among Wagner's mercenaries.
Besides these, Prigozhin also accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of differentiation and deliberately not giving Wagner enough ammunition support.
"Traitors" in the military confrontation?
The conflict between the two sides has gradually intensified. On June 23, Prigozhin gave a video speech criticizing the Russian military leadership, stating that their camp was attacked by the Russian Ministry of Defense, resulting in significant losses. He claimed that his members had returned from Ukraine to Russia and were preparing to "counter" the Russian military, even advancing towards Moscow.
Russian President Putin then delivered a televised speech, labeling the Wagner Group as 'traitors' who push Russia into a civil war.
However, there have been new developments. Prigozhin and all armed personnel of the Wagner Group have been evacuated from the headquarters of the Southern Military District of Russia. According to Russian media reports on the evening of the 24th local time, Prigozhin accepted suggestions from Belarusian President Lukashenko to cease operations within Russian territory and take further measures to ease tensions. President Putin has assured Prigozhin that he can travel to Belarus and that the criminal case against him will be dropped.
Prigozhin said, "I realize the responsibility we bear for causing bloodshed among the Russian people, so we are reorganizing and returning to our camps according to plan."
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