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Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is leading a 25,000-strong force of mercenaries towards Moscow to “bring justice” to Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu, was once a hot dog seller who became known as “Putin’s Chef”.
Prigozhin was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in 1961. In his late teens he was arrested for a string of petty crimes and ended up spending nine years behind bars.
After being released in 1990, he worked on his family’s hugely successful American-style hot dog stall, where "the rubles were piling up faster than his mother could count them”.
READ MORE: Putin calls Wagner Group advance 'treason' and says 'everyone will be punished'
Prigozhin used the money he made to buy into various other businesses, and ended up running the catering company that provided services for the Kremlin, earning him the “Putin’s Chef” nickname.
Like many of Putin’s early supporters, Prigozhin accumulated incredible wealth as the former KGB man rose to power.
One of the business he came involved in was The Wagner Group – a private military contractor that was frequently used for deniable Russian interventions in Africa and the Middle East as well as early incursions into Ukraine.
It was when the invasion of Ukraine began in earnest early last year that Russian government investment poured into the Wagner Group, and the mercenary army began a program of massive expansion.
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Prigozhin personally toured prisons across Russia, offering lifers an early end to there sentence in exchange for six months’ service in Ukraine.
But it was the group’s front-line role in Ukraine that led to clashes between the former hot-dog seller and Russia’ military hierarchy.
He blamed Shoigu for shortages of equipment and ammunition that were responsible for “tens of thousands” of Wagner casualties.
In a video rant on Telegram last month, Prigozhin named the defence minister and chief of the Russian armed forces General Valery Gerasimov.
“Shoigu, Gerasimov, where … is the ammunition?” Prigozhin demanded.
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Pointing at body bags behind him, that he said contained Wagner categories, Prigozhin raged: “The blood is still fresh. They came here as volunteers and are dying so you can sit like fat cats in your luxury offices.”
In a follow-up video, he added “The dead and wounded – and that’s tens of thousands of men – lie on the conscience of those who did not give us ammunition, and this is Defence Minister Shoigu and this is Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov”.
Now, after a rocket attack on a Wagner barracks that he believes was launched by Russian forces, Prigozhin is leading a column towards Moscow with the aim of “punishing” Shoigu and other Russian military leaders
“This is not a military coup, but a march of justice,” he insisted.
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The Russian defence ministry has denied any involvement in the rocket attack.
Putin has condemned Prigozhin’s actions, describing them as “treason” and mobilising riot police and Russia’s National Guard to guard key facilities in Moscow.
The UK’s ministry of defence has described today’s events as "the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times.”
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- Military
- Russia
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