The Persuasive Personality Cult of Wagner

Yevgeny Prigozhin is now (in)famous around the world for mounting a failed mutiny against the Russian military in a last-ditch attempt to avoid being absorbed into it, as the Kremlin reclaims its monopoly on violence and ends an experiment with outsourcing bits of the Ukraine invasion to mercenaries. The Naked Pravda has focused numerous times before on Wagner Group, and it’s now time to write the private military company’s obituary. Or is it?

How did Prigozhin manage to convince his men to embark on this misadventure? What did we learn about the Russian political elite in this crisis? And what should we expect in Belarus, where at least some remnant of Wagner Group is said to be headed? For insights into the failed insurrection and its aftermath, Meduza turns to three experts.

Timestamps for this episode:

• (3:40) Kirill Shamiev, Russian political scientist and visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations
• (19:43) Маrgarita Zavadskaya, senior research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs
• (27:17) Katia Glod, policy fellow at the European Leadership Network and nonresident fellow at CEPA’s Democratic Resilience Program

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