Prigozhin: Master at Russian roulette? 'Played cards extremely well' after 'brilliant gutsy' revolt
Issued on:
The Russian mercenary group that briefly threatened President Vladimir Putin’s authority has for years been a ruthless force-for-hire across Africa, protecting rulers at the expense of the masses. That dynamic is not expected to change now that the group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been exiled to Belarus as punishment for the failed rebellion. The Wagner Group brutalizes civilians in the Central African Republic, Mali and elsewhere to crush dissent and fend off threats to their leaders’ power. In exchange, Russia gains access to natural resources and ports through which weapons can be shipped, and receives payments that enrich the Kremlin and help it fund operations elsewhere, including the war in Ukraine. Neither Russia nor the African leaders dependent on Wagner's fighters have any interest in ending those relationships. But many questions linger in the aftermath of Wagner's stunning revolt, such as who will lead its thousands of fighters stationed across many African nations and whether Moscow will absorb these fighters into the Russian army. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on the future of Yevgeny Prigozhin and his band of ruthless mercenaries, FRANCE 24's Tom Burgess Watson is joined by Alexandre Vautravers, Historian and Expert in Strategy and Security at the University of Geneva's Global Studies Institute. Mr. Vautravers asserts that Yevgeny Prigozhin "played his cards extremely well" following "brilliant gutsy" revolt in Moscow. "Very clearly if he had stayed at the head of his organisation in Ukraine he would probably be dead today. Definitely, he knows the system well, he knows the people well, he knows the strengths and the weaknesses of the regime, the government organisations. And what he did to essentially assault the capital city when he knew that it would be impossible to guard and to defend against this initiative, this was quite a brilliant gutsy move." Mr. Vautravers characterises Prigozhin as a "survivor" who has engaged in these kinds of high-level covert military operations for years. He adds that the founder of Wagner is "very well-connected and most probably has political ambitions."