Photo caption: Vladimir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin, Sept. 20, 2010, Government of the Russian Federation
People who oppose Russian President Vladimir Putin often go missing or wind up dead under mysterious circumstances, say observers. But one of his opponents, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is still around even after a failed attempt to oust Putin.
Prigozhin is a former close confidant of Putin but is now a mercenary leader and outspoken critic of Russia’s war in Ukraine. In June 2023, he reportedly launched a failed rebellion to overtake Russia.
Prigozhin had been so close to Putin that his nickname is “Putin’s chef,” as he owns restaurants and catering companies that provide services for the Kremlin.
He is also the leader of a band of Wagner mercenaries. Wagner is a private military company composed of mercenaries and described as a de facto private army of Prigozhin.
But Prigozhin’s fate remains unclear. Putin has ordered raids on his buildings and the closure of his media outlets, CNN reported.
There are reports that Putin forgives his former ally after an initial secret meeting. Regardless of what has happened, Putin’s motives and strength have come into question. Putin, in the past, has made a public display of his enemies and their demise. Not so with Prigozhin.
The Kremlin revealed on July 10 that Putin indeed met with Prigozhin. Fortune reported that nearly three hours of talks with Prigozhin and Wagner commanders on June 29, just five days after the unprecedented mutiny in Russia, threatened the president’s roughly quarter-century rule.
U.S. News & World Report reported that Putin demanded that the Wagner forces be folded into the Russian military, but that demand was denied.
Many have said that since Prigozhin remains alive, a threat to Putin is a “sign of Putin’s weakness – a sign that all the options the Kremlin faces contain drawbacks,” CNN reported.
Putin is bidding his time until he finds a replacement for Prigozhin, Marina Miron, a Russia expert from King’s College London, told Reuters.
Prigozhin, after all, holds a place of power in Africa, and Russia needs a presence in Africa.
According to Fortune, sources said the Kremlin is allowing Prigozhin’s Wagner Group to keep some of its extensive operations in Africa since Russia needs to retain its influence in the resource-rich continent.
The deal reportedly includes Wagner’s operations in the Central African Republic.
Prigozhin is still around because of Africa, said Miron.
“Someone will have to assume command of [Prigozhin’s] troops in Africa,” said Miron.
“Wagner will stay in Africa, that’s for sure,” Sergei Markov, a political consultant with close Kremlin ties, told Fortune. “But whom it will report to, Prigozhin or another oligarch, has yet to be decided.”
Photo caption: Vladimir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin, Sept. 20, 2010, Government of the Russian Federation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons
