When the USSR collapsed, the former bureaucrats of the so-called Nomenklatura took the spoils and became oligarchs. Some were left with oil, others with gas, others with trains, mines, factories, hotels, land… and entire republics. Today, these oligarchs are among the richest people in the world. Yevgeny Prigozhin is one of them.

What is the Wagner group, the Russian mercenary corps in Ukraine (and how it works)

One of the first companies that Prigozhin created was a food service provider for the Russian army. But he didn’t just cook ranch for millions of soldiers; He also had very good restaurants in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and was hired by the Kremlin to feed Vladimir Putin and his guests; that’s why he is also known as Putin’s chef. Knowing the disastrous state of the army was enough for him to come up with the idea of ​​founding a private one and offering his services to Putin. That’s how he created the Wagner Group, which won the first contracts in the separatist war in Donbas in 2014. Later, Wagner’s soldiers were the protagonists of several Russian interventions in the Middle East and Africa, and they can also be seen in Venezuela taking care of Nicolás Maduro.. Prigozhin also knows Russian prison because he was in prison for thirteen years for the crimes of robbery, fraud and exploitation of minors to commit crimes. To fight in the Ukraine, he thought of filling Wagner’s ranks with prisoners, for whom he was given freedom if they fought for six months.

Until June 24, it was Wagner’s mercenaries who put up the greatest war effort in Ukraine…

Until June 24, it was Wagner’s mercenaries who endured the greatest war effort in Ukraine (between the dead and wounded they already have around 20,000 victims). But the same corruption in the army that opened the window for business was his downfall: nothing works, everyone steals, nothing reaches its destination. The mercenaries had to be supplied with equipment and ammunition from the corrupt army, which has no desire to fight and is envious of the mercenaries’ salaries, achievements, and even appearance. Just two weeks ago, Prigozhin and some 25,000 mercenaries rebelled against Putin, captured the city of Rostov and advanced towards Moscow, they say, with the idea of ​​showing them how to win the war. Putin and Prigozhin agreed on peace on Sunday the 25th thanks to the urgent intervention of the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who granted them asylum in his country.

Lukashenko had to endure half an hour of swearing while negotiating with the head of the Wagner Group to stop the rebellion against Putin

Russia has the second largest army in the world, but it is useless if there is no love for the motherland, and as a consequence hunger for victory, honesty, work and order, which prevail over the corruption that makes it inoperative. No one knows how he will continue the war without Wagner’s efficiency, because even his soldiers, who are dying like flies, do not want to fight such an unjust war. What is known, since the first war in history, is that if there is no heart, there is no courage. The same thing happens in all human activities, and above all in politics: weapons and money are nothing against love for the country. (OR)