In 1981, a court in Leningrad sentenced him to 12 years for his connections to organized crime. The charges included robbery, fraud, & most disturbingly, the prostitution of minors
Upon his release in '90, Prigozhin cornered the hotdog/sausage market in Leningrad (St Petersburg) - seriously
This coincided w/ Putin's exit from the KGB & ascension to the role of advisor to the Mayor Leningrad, Sobchak
Likely where Prigozhin & Putin first crossed paths
2/11
Prigozhin either raised or 'found' the funding to open the high-end Old Customs House restaurant
Soon after he converted an old boat on the Vyatka River into the exclusive New Island restaurant - where Putin hosted French Pres Jacques Chirac in '01 and G. W. Bush in '02
3/11
Prigozhin made close connections with Sobchak's bodyguard Viktor Zolotov who is now director of the Rosgvardiya & Putin's former security Roman Tsepov who was assassinated in '04 via radiation poisoning after a visit to an FSB office
Prigozhin was now legit by RUS standards
4/11
Prigozhin leveraged his connections with Putin & the Siloviki to win lucrative contracts - starting with education catering & his Concord Culinary facility, which was financed by the state-owned Vnesheconombank
This was quickly followed by MoD catering contracts.
5/11
He continued to work his way further into the RUS security apparatus
Note: he is the only civilian in the first picture. His organized crime history & lack of experience lead to ill-will w/ MoD
His military contracts take funding from MoD & elevated him to oligarch class
6/11
The creation of Wagner Group is often credited to Demitri Utkin after their 1st actions in Ukrain in '14
After Wagner challenged US forces in '18 in Syria & suffered heavy losses, US intercepts showed Prigozhin was the one calling the shots
He was Wagner's owner/funding
7/11
Since then, Prigozhin's ties have only become more obvious
As for Utkin, no one seems to know where he is. Last we heard was '17 when he was awarded a role in Prigozhin's Concord org
Prigozhin appeared in the Donbas on 4/22 & again in Popasna just a few days ago...
8/11
But, as the Russians have found out - time and time again - media appearances are generally a bad idea on the frontlines of Ukraine
9/11
As Russia struggles to mobilize & Wagner and other irregulars continue to mount losses, the groups have been forced to drop their standards & engage in more aggressive recruitment strategies.
10/11
🧵: A new image (1) of Chinese forces carrying a mace-like club, "the Wolf Fang" has been circulating
Much of the analysis indicates that these are intended for use on the #Indian-#China border - I don't think that's the case. Images 2 & 3 are from '16 & '18 respectively
1/10
Recently, the Chinese government posted a requisition request for 2,600 additional wolf fangs. While it's entirely possible that some of these will make their way to the contested regions in Kashmir, the current evidence points to domestic application
2/10
On 6/15/20 China & India engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan valley leaving at least 20 dead. On 12/9/22, the 2 forces clashed again in the Tawang sector, 1,000 miles to the northwest of Galwan valley
3/10
Thread on the 2018 Battle of Khasham - reportedly from a Wagnerites perspective
During the battle, a contingent of US SOF supporting the SDF at the Conoco plant came under attack by ~500 Syrian & #Wagner fighters who had crossed the de-confliction line
Russian command was informed multiple times of suspected RUS nationals moving on the US position, but denied any involvement
When asked if reports that 200-300 of the Russian force was KIA, Coalition Director of Operations, US Gen. Braga, said it was “close to [the US] estimate”
The US-lead coalition threw the kitchen sink at them: M142 HIMARS, M777s, Apaches, F-22s, F-15Es, B-52s, AC-130 gunships, & MQ-9 Reapers
#Russia used #Wagner to probe US defenses & was meet with overwhelming firepower. Despite pleading for help from RUS MoD, they received none
Extremely NSFL images of a mass grave in #Mali near the village of Korientze. Victims were found burned & with their hands bound. Reportedly perpetrated by #Russia’s #WagnerGroup & Malian Forces
This is Russia’s foreign policy. The export of human rights abuses & instability
Unfortunately, #Russia enjoys broad support in #Mali’s capital, Bamako - which has seen multiple pro Russian/Wagner rallies under the current junta lead by President Assimi Goïta
RUS MFA Lavrov is currently visiting Mali, but just a year ago, they were denying ties to the junta
Pres Goïta took power in a coup in May ‘21 promising greater stability; just 9 months after the previous coup
He forced out #France’s Barkhane forces, undermined the UN mission, & turned to #Russia. Not to bring stability, but to secure his junta’s interests
#Russia's Wagner has released a new propaganda documentary "Best in Hell" produced by Prigozhin, who has been on something of a PR campaign
Far from framing Wagner as the saviors or just in their actions, they acknowledge "We know that we will go to hell"
1/13
The opening of the video notes the recent death of Alexie Nagin - Prigozhin attended the funeral
It's part of a concerted effort to elevate Wagner mercs to hero status in RUS. Increasingly they are awarded state medals - including Nagin & Prigozhin
Worth noting that the video includes the line "We have a contract with our homeland"
Despite the open secrete that is Wagner, private military contractors are illegal in Russia & this has been seen as Kremlin leverage over Prigozhin & his contractors