62 Years Yevgeny Prigozhin was convicted of assault and robbery in 1981 and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin who was challenging superpower Russia inside the country? The mercenaries, the leader of the Wagner Group, was ready to enter the nuclear-armed Russian capital Moscow with his fighters on Saturday. In fact, Prigozhin had so far been a loyal supporter of Vladimir Putin, but at one point on Saturday it seemed that Prigozhin was ready to overthrow Putin. Before understanding how this crisis started and how it ended, let's tell who this prigozhin is?
Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?
Yevgeny Prigozhin, 62, was convicted of assault and robbery in 1981 and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He opened a restaurant in St. Petersburg in the nineties. During this time, he became friends with Vladimir Putin and was called 'Putin's Chef'. Putin's stature grew and he became part of a group that respected Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. In the following days, Prigozhin formed the Wagner group of mercenaries, which took part in fighting in Crimea and North Africa and Syria in 2014.
The Wagner Group was fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine. A lot of Russian prisoners have been released and included in this group. They were lured with freedom. But thousands of these soldiers died during the war.
Yevgeny Prigozhin - from anonymity to Putin's enemy No. 1
In December 2016... The US had imposed sanctions on 15 Russians, including Prigozhin. The Wagner group helped Russia annex Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. That's why if you ask any Ukrainian leader when Ukraine's war with Russia started, his answer would be 2014 and not 2022. In February 2018, Prigozhin was indicted by a US grand jury for interfering in the 2016 presidential election. It was alleged that Prigozhin helped spread fake news in support of Donald Trump's campaign.
When did relations with Putin deteriorate?
In October last year, relations between Putin and Prigozhin began to deteriorate. After being called to fight in Ukraine, Prigozhin had opposed the Russian decision to withdraw from the strategic Russian city of Lyman in eastern Ukraine. She said the withdrawal was a major embarrassment for Russia.
In February this year, Prigozhin accused Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Putin's most senior general Valery Gerasimov of withholding ammunition and supplies to destroy his Wagner group. Relations between the Russian government and Prigozhin worsened in May last month when it threatened to withdraw its troops from the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Where, its fighters eventually defeated Ukraine in a fierce war. The most expensive battle of the Russo-Ukraine war was fought in Bakhmut.
He refused to sign the order.
Earlier this month, Yevgeny Prigozhin refused to comply with an order to sign an order. Under which its fighters were asked to sign an agreement with the Russian Defense Minister. Things reached a turning point last Friday when Prigozhin said the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a racket and did not require war. He alleged that the war was being fought only to give respect to some generals.
At last... On Friday and Saturday... Prigozhin asked Ukraine to send its troops to Russia. He captured the city of Rostov, from where the operation against Ukraine was being handled. It was said that he wanted to carry out a coup in Moscow.
Post a Comment