On August 23rd of 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was the mercenary boss of the Wagner group (a Russian mercenary group that is currently fighting in Ukraine), and former close confidant of Vladimir Putin, died when his plane went down en route to Saint Petersburg from Moscow. Many world leaders quickly blamed Putin as the man behind the crash, though others question if Prigozhin is even dead.
Yevgeny Prigozhin was 62 when he died. He was born in Leningrad, USSR (now known as Saint Petersburg). His grandfather was a captain of the Red Army during WW2. He spent several years of his childhood in Zhovti, Ukraine, USSR. At age 18, Prigozhin was sentenced to work 2 ½ years at a chemical plant after he was sentenced for stealing. After his sentence, he joined a gang where he went on burglary sprees across Leningrad with other gang members. In 1980, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison at a penal colony on several accounts, which included robbery. His sentence was shortened, however, and Prigozhin was released in 1990. After failing to obtain a degree in pharmacy, he started convincing former prisoners to join the Wagner Group.
After Prigozhin was released, he became an entrepreneur and invested in several businesses, including grocery stores. In 1995, Prigozhin opened his first restaurant (his next in 1997). Progozhin earned his nickname of “Putin’s chef” after he served food for Putin, Jacques Chirac (former president of France) in 2001, and George W. Bush in 2002. Prigozhin maintained a variety of businesses while he was the Leader of the Wagner Group, which he founded with Dmitry Utkin, who was also killed during the plane crash. Throughout his career, Prigozhin has been accused of corruption and won the award of 2022 Corrupt Person of the Year.
Though the details surrounding Prigozhin’s death remain obscured, there are many reasons to believe that Putin possibly had him assassinated. Many of Putin’s critics and rivals have a habit of getting murdered under mysterious circumstances, take Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian human rights activist whose death remains unsolved, as an example.
Prigozhin was a former friend of Putin before he and his Wagner forces marched on Moscow in late June of 2023. They had captured the city of Roston-on-Dov, a populous city located in Southern Russia near Ukraine. The March of Moscow was called off on June 23, 2023, with Prigozhin agreeing to live in exile in Belarus. The rebellion was caused by increased tension between Prigozhin and the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The rebellion showcased the flaws in the Russian government and the weaknesses of Putin. So maybe Prigozhin’s untimely demise was planned by Kremlin.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Preliminary information gathered by the US government, which was still being reviewed, suggested that either a bomb went off aboard the Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet mid-flight, or the aircraft was the target of another form of sabotage.”
