Yevgeny Prigozhin

[[File:Yevgeny Prigozhin (13-06-2023).jpg|thumb|right|165px|This little priggy.]]{{crimenav}}
[[File:YevgenyPrigozhin.jpg|thumb|200px|Dentist priggy, lookin' fly.]]
'''Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin''' ('''Евгений Викторович Пригожин''') {{lived|1961|2023}} was a [[Russia]]n [[oligarch]] and founder and commander of the [[Wagner Group]] (a neo-nazi private military group). He was an important figure in the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russo-Ukrainian war]] as he led and directed Wagner forces into the battlefields of [[Syria]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], various [[Africa]]n countries, and [[Ukraine]]. Prigozhin was also responsible for overseeing a massive amount of [[war crime]]s and [[human rights]] violations during his time as the chief of Wagner.<ref>[https://www.rferl.org/amp/russia-ukraine-wagner-mercenaries-prigozhin/32473756.html Who Is Yevgeny Prigozhin?] RadioFreeEuropeRadioLiberty</ref>

Prigozhin was an ardent Russian nationalist, as he and Wagner troops adhered to an ultranationalist variant of Z Putinism (basically what the Nazi Party was to the German Workers’ Party). On top of that, [[Irony|Prigozhin, the head of a Neo-Nazi mercenary group, was a Russian of Jewish descent]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/world/yevgeny-prigozhin-caterer-turned-warlord-presumed-dead-had-jewish-ancestry-t6emgj16|title=Yevgeny Prigozhin, caterer turned warlord presumed dead had Jewish ancestry|publisher=''The Jewish Chronicle''|date=August 24, 2023}}</ref>

==From criminal to hot dog vendor to oligarch warlord==
Prigozhin started out his career in robbery, fraud and assault, spending his 9 of his first 11 years as an adult in prison.<ref>[https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/06/29/prigozhin-s-criminal-past-straight-from-the-source Prigozhin’s criminal past, straight from the source A complete translation of one of the court documents from the case that sent ‘Putin’s chef’ to prison, four decades ago] (10:43 am, June 29, 2021) ''Meduza''.</ref> After release from prison in 1990, he became a humble hot dog vendor in Saint Petersburg (then known as Leningrad during the time of the [[Soviet Union]]). Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1995 he decided to pursue founding businesses to gain prominence and grow his monetary influence (much like every other Russian oligarch was doing during that time).<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/24/yevgeny-prigozhin-the-hotdog-seller-who-rose-to-the-top-of-putin-war-machine-wagner-group Yevgeny Prigozhin: the hotdog seller who rose to the top of Putin’s war machine] The Guardian</ref> Because of this, he became known as "[[Putin]]'s chef" for serving Putin at his restaurant, but this was a misnomer as he himself said in 2023 that he could not cook, making him more Putin’s butler than his chef.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/mercenary-prigozhin-warns-russia-could-face-revolution-unless-elite-gets-serious-2023-05-24/ Mercenary Prigozhin warns Russia could face revolution unless elite gets serious about war] by Guy Faulconbridge (May 24, 20232:25 AM PDT) ''Reuters''.</ref>

Prigozhin then used his influence to become a significant member of the Russian oligarchy and an important and close ally of Putin within his inner circle. Putin often relied on Prigozhin’s military expertise to direct troops on the battlefields of various republics and countries that Wagner operated in.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/who-is-yevgeny-prigozhin-2023-08-23/ Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner mercenary chief?] Reuters</ref>

===Days in the battlefield===
Though Prigozhin himself has rarely been outside of Russia while Wagner made their presence in various countries, he did lead the organization and give orders from the bowels of the Kremlin, with Prigozhin himself following the orders of Putin. Ukraine and [[Belarus]] are most likely the only countries Prigozhin has been to outside from Russia (which makes sense because of the close geographical proximity of all three countries).

Prigozhin recruited thousands of Russians (many of them former prisoners released by the government as a pardon for their [[crime]]s if they participated in the war and fought for Russia) in Wagner's headquarters. Many of these trainees also consisted of young men and older men (with families of their own, as lamented by Prigozhin himself in videos that he filmed of showing the bodies of these soldiers), and there were high casualties in the battlefield due to a lack of training from the recruits, running short on ammo, and incompetence of Russian military leaders.

===It’s not a rebellion, it’s a special disagreement===
After losing his shit from seeing so many of his soldiers die for nothing (and the incompetence of the Russian government), Prigozhin went on a rant against Sergei Shoigu (then the Minister of Defense) and Valery Gerasimov (Chief of the General Staff), praised Ukrainian resistance fighters (contradicting the Russian government’s official narrative on the war), and planned a rebellion to overthrow Shoigu and Gerasimov using his remaining army of men to drive from occupied eastern Ukraine to Russia in Moscow.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-wagner-prigozhin-9acbdf1eda849692ca0423a4116058d1 Russian mercenary group revolt against Moscow fizzles but exposes vulnerabilities] Associated Press News</ref>

The mutiny was taken so seriously by the Kremlin that they literally blew up roads to prevent Wagner troops from arriving in Moscow, but this did little to halt them. Russian citizens witnessing the [[chaos]] unfold were surprisingly supportive of Wagner, presumably because they saw the group as a necessary evil to take down Putin and save Russia (though Russia’s future under Wagner would probably be much worse since it’s an [[ultranationalism|ultranationalist]] variant of [[Putinism]], akin to [[Nazism]]). The troops were close to their destination of Moscow but stopped at the last minute after a deal was negotiated by [[Alexander Lukashenko]] (the Belarusian president) between Prigozhin and Putin to halt the advance and call everything off. The deal basically ensured that all parties would leave unharmed as long as Wagner troops left. While Wagner’s troops were dismissed by the Kremlin to return to the battlefield in Ukraine, Prigozhin was exiled to Belarus as punishment for his planned [[coup]].<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/28/wagner-fighters-russia-africa-00154595 Thousands of former Wagner fighters are now answering to Moscow] Politico</ref>

===An early retirement===
Prigozhin was sent to Belarus as punishment for the attempted [[Coup d'état|putsch]], and was stripped of his power and his position within the Wagner Group. He remained in Belarus for several weeks until he returned to Russia. Despite the Russian government claiming that Prigozhin wouldn’t face punishment, what happened later when he returned would be the final punishment for his actions (presumably by the Russian government, because who else?)<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-prigozhin-wagner-belarus-ed3af6c3985242e69b07b6f9494cf117 Prigozhin has moved to Belarus, and Russia won’t press charges for mutiny] Associated Press</ref>

==Death==
Prigozhin was presumed dead on August 23, 2023 from a [[plane]] crash in {{wpl|Tver Oblast||.}} He was on the plane with [[Dmitry Utkin]], another Wagner leader who died in the crash.<ref>Helen Livingstone and Pjotr Sauer, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/24/who-was-dmitry-utkin-wagner-commander-plane-crash-yevgeny-prigozhin Who are the other Wagner group leaders presumed dead in plane crash?] ''The Guardian'', 24 August 2023.</ref> However, it was not initially confirmed due to the constant spread of misinformation online surrounding his [[death]], especially on Russian social media. The bodies were recovered from the crash site, and [[DNA]] tests were conducted on them. A thorough test confirmed that one of the bodies was Prigozhin, thus officially confirming his death.<ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/russia-confirms-death-wagner-leaders-110836440.html Russia confirms death of Wagner leaders Prigozhin and Utkin] yahoo!news</ref>

==See also==
*[[Vladimir Putin]] - his former boss, Prigozhin was presumably iced on his orders after the coup.
*[[Dmitry Utkin]] - fellow Wagner soldier who died alongside him in the plane crash.

==References==
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Categories: Billionaires, Conspiracy theorists, Convicted felons, Coups, Fascists, Internalized discrimination, Jews, Neo-Nazis, Right-wing activists, Racists, Ruskies, Terrorists, Vatniks, White supremacists