The Rapid Rise, and Sudden Fall, of Yevgeny Prigozhin

Vladimir Putin crony and mercenary group commander Yevgeny Prigozhin led a short-lived rebellion against the Russian president. Two months later, he was dead.

 

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Yevgeny Prigozhin lived a charmed life – until he didn’t. Best known as the founder of the Wagner Group, a mercenary militia closely tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he was jokingly called “Putin’s chef” for his connection to various food service companies and his access to Putin.

 

In June 2023, under Prigozhin’s direct leadership, the Wagner Group challenged Putin’s war operations in Ukraine, capturing a Russian city on the Ukrainian border and beginning what appeared to be an armed march toward Moscow. Within a day, the purported attempt at a coup was over. Two months later, Prigozhin was dead, killed in a mysterious plane crash along with much of the Wagner Group leadership.

 

Putin's revenge against his "chef" may have been a dish served very cold. Watch this riveting MagellanTV documentary for the full story.

 

Prigozhin’s Meteoric Career

Prigozhin rose to prominence during Russia’s involvement in conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, where Wagner Group forces played significant roles. But after participating in numerous actions on the ground in Ukraine, Prigozhin was suddenly infamous for criticizing Putin’s military operations in that country. Then, the rebellion began. 

 

On June 23, Wagner forces seized control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, a key logistical hub for the war in Ukraine. Prigozhin publicly declared that the mutiny was not aimed at President Vladimir Putin but at the Russian military leadership. Despite this, the move was seen as a direct challenge to Putin’s authority. This perception was reinforced when Wagner troops started a rapid march north toward Moscow, advancing several hundred miles with little resistance.

 

A tank with flowers in the muzzle of its gun being transported through Rostov in the early hours of June 24, 2023 (Source: Fargoh, via Wikimedia Commons)

 

The rebellion posed a significant threat to the Russian government, as the Wagner forces were well-armed, battle-hardened, and motivated. However, Prigozhin’s troops halted their advance within 60 miles of Moscow only one day later, on June 24, after negotiations reportedly brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The resulting deal allowed Prigozhin and his fighters to avoid prosecution. In exchange, Wagner would stand down, and Prigozhin agreed to go into exile in Belarus.

 

The Fall of Yevgeny Prigozhin

All seemed calm. Putin appeared to accept the Wagner Group’s surrender and publicly stated that he held no personal animosity toward Prigozhin. The mercenary leader largely stayed out of the public eye, reportedly relocating to Belarus. There was speculation that he was still in control of the Wagner Group, possibly in Africa, where Wagner was involved in security contracts and resource extraction.

 

However, Prigozhin’s contacts with the Kremlin were not over. On August 23, 2023, after a possible (though unconfirmed) meeting with Putin in Moscow, Prigozhin boarded a private jet en route to St. Petersburg. But on that fateful morning, two months to the day after the ill-fated rebellion began, Prigozhin’s career – and life – came to a swift end. His plane crashed under mysterious circumstances, killing all 10 people aboard, including several senior Wagner commanders.

 

The cause of the crash has remained unclear. But his death has widely been seen as an act of retribution, cementing the notion that challenging Putin or the Russian state has lethal consequences.

 

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Title Image: Memorial set up to Yevgeny Prigozhin and other Wagner Group commanders killed in August 23, 2023, plane crash (Source: PLATEL, via Wikimedia Commons)