Who is “Putin’s Chef”?
Image Source: NBC News
One of the more unexpected consequences of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was the ascendancy of Yevgeny Prighozin to global prominence. Despite the fact that ‘Putin’s chef’ remained relatively obscure prior to the invasion, Prighozin has served as a key ally to the regime for the past two decades. This long-standing partnership with the Kremlin has culminated in the significance afforded to Prighozin’s main business venture: PMC Wagner.
Prior to entering the business of mercenarism, Proghozin’s first enterprise was a hotdog stand, opened soon after the completion of a 9 year prison sentence. This initial foray into the food business was soon followed by the development of a restaurant chain in St. Petersburg, but it was not until Prigozhin established a catering business in 1996 that contacts with the Russian government solidified. Concord Catering (Prighozin’s venture) remains a major caterer of Russia’s schools and military, with state contracts amounting to $3.1 billion in the span of 5 years. Prigozhin also operates a public relations firm, in addition to an online ‘troll factory’, which, according to a 2018 indictment from the Justice Department, engaged in election meddling.
But it was Prigozhin’s involvement in the world of military contracting which earned him international notoriety. Since at least 2014, Russia has come to rely on contract soldiers in order to carry out murky foreign interventions. Soldiers-for-hire mean the ability to deny complicity, while also avoiding the potential domestic blowback from high-casualty incidents. In 2019, news of the killing of five Russian mercenaries in Mozambique led to more confusion than outrage. Nonetheless, Prighozin has taken center stage in this process, cobbling together a group of contract soldiers known as the Wagner Group. Initially not an official entity, both Prighozin and the Kremlin denied its existence. But from 2014 to 2022, Wagner Group contractors were reported to be engaged in a handful of African countries, in addition to Ukraine and Syria. Although initially serving as military advisors and bodyguards, Wagner contractors quickly developed a reputation for bloodletting, exemplified in the January 2022 Aigbedo incident- wherein at least 30 civilians were murdered in a Malian village by the mercenaries.
This reputation could very well be the selling point for some states, who may see the advantages of support from a professional army with no scruples. In Mali, Wagner’s presence is the result of a partnership with the military junta, which seeks to eradicate its slow-burning Islamist insurgency. While in Libya, Wagner troops have served as a much-needed supplement to warlord Khalifa Haftar’s forces. In exchange for such services, Wagner and its subsidiaries are granted exclusive privileges and licenses to procure weapons, technology, and natural resources in these countries- acting as an unofficial carrier for Russian influence.
Although these exploits have boosted the influence of Prigozhin, it was not until the 2022 invasion of Ukraine that his importance to the Kremlin surged. As the war settled into a stalemate, the Russian military saw itself rely increasingly more on Wagner, especially as Moscow has struggled to find troop replacements for its losses. In order to increase the number of his rank-and-file, Prighozin undertook a campaign of prison recruitment, with the caterer offering a commuted sentence in exchange for service to a group of prisoners in a much-publicized video. As a result of the invasion, Wagner’s ranks have swelled from around 5,000 to 50,000, with an estimated 80% of combatants being drawn from prisons. Wagner has even registered as a company in 2022, despite the fact that mercenary forces are illegal in Russia. Wagner now is a key component of the campaign in Ukraine, leading Russian forces in the colossal Battle of Bakhmut, in which tens of thousands of Wagnerians are deployed.
Prigozhin has felt emboldened by his new leading role, making several publicized visits to the front, while also not straying from criticizing the military- speaking in a manner which has landed many in prison. In fact, Prighozin has gone as far to demand an end to the ‘special military operation’, asserting that Russia has already achieved its objectives in spite of ‘deep state’ meddling in a lengthy blog post.
In spite of his unexpected rise, talk of Prighozin’s summit to paramountcy may be exaggerated. The Wagner PMC is dwarfed by the 500,000 strong conventional presence in Ukraine, while the former is highly dependent on the Russian military for ammunition. Prigozhin is also reliant on government contracts and Putin’s goodwill, as mercenary groups remain officially prohibited in Russia. All-in-all, Prigozhin has yet to escape the moniker of ‘Putin’s chef’, even if catering to a greater number of services.
References
Lloyd Lee, Lauren Frias. “The Rise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian Founder of the Brutal Wagner Group Whose Feud with the Kremlin Is Spiraling out of Control.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 10 Mar. 2023, https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-yevgeny-prigozhin-russian-tycoon-and-vladimir-putin-confidant-2022-10?op=1#over-the-decades-the-oligarch-has-earned-the-ear-of-putin-when-putins-invasion-of-ukraine-faltered-prighozin-told-him-where-he-was-going-wrong-6.
“What Is Russia's Wagner Group of Mercenaries in Ukraine?” BBC News, BBC, 23 Jan. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60947877.
Burke , Jason, and Emmanuel Akinwotu. “Russian Mercenaries Linked to Civilian Massacres in Mali.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 May 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/04/russian-mercenaries-wagner-group-linked-to-civilian-massacres-in-mali.
“What Is Russia's Wagner Group of Mercenaries in Ukraine?” BBC News, BBC, 23 Jan. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60947877.
Slayton, Nicholas. “Wagner Group Leader Calls for End to Russia's 'Special Military Operation'.” Task & Purpose, 19 Apr. 2023, https://taskandpurpose.com/news/wagner-group-leader-ukraine-end-invasion/.
Askew, Joshua. “Could Wagner Boss Prigozhin Become Russia's next President?” Euronews, 18 Apr. 2023, https://www.euronews.com/2023/04/18/could-wagner-boss-yevgeny-prigozhin-replace-vladimir-putin-and-become-russias-next-preside.