By Staff
On August 23rd a plane crashed on route to St. Petersburg, Russia. Among 10 people, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in the fiery crash.
Yevgeny Prigozhin was a Russian oligarch with close ties to president Vladimir Putin. In 2014 Prigozhin created the Wagner group. The Wagner group is a Russian funded private military group designed to help pro Russian interests. Wagner has played a large role in the Russian-Ukrainian war among other conflicts in Syria and Africa. After almost two years of assisting Russia in Ukraine, Wagner leader Prigozhin in a shocking turn of events sparked a rebellion against the Russian government. This ended in failure. Prigozhin’s punishment was to be sent to Belarus and he was absolved of control over Wagner.
There have been many rumors before the 23rd that Prigozhin had already been assassinated for his backstabbing rebellion to the president, however,It was never confirmed that Prigohzin was banned from Russia and exiled to Belarus. His movements and whereabouts were relatively unknown until the plane crash. With someone like Putin known for possibly killing many of his associates who turn on him, it would seem highly likely that Putin would kill the man who invaded his country. To me it seems abnormal that Prigozhin’s only punishment would be to leave the country.
Prigozhin died less than 30 miles away from one of Putin’s lakefront estates. Almost all journalists and insiders who have covered Prigozhins death are certain that he was assassinated although not everyone agrees on the reason why. Some say it was out of revenge, and others claim he was killed purely over business. Prigozhins rebellion in June has been said to be more of a business dispute than a political invasion of the Kremlin. Close connections to Putin still value Prigozhin as a true Russian patriot and hero. It is clear that Prigozhin was assassinated over his uncooperativeness to his deal agreed with Putin after the rebellion. Prigozhin agreed to leave Russia and turn over his mercenary group to Russian control after his failed coup. As the war progresses in Ukraine it will be interesting to see new information that comes out on Prigozhin’s death and also the effect that the dead leader of Wagner will have on the war from the grave.
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