Yevgeny Prigozhin

Yevgeny Prigozhin was the leader of the Russian Wagner mercenary group and a confidant of President Putin. He was often nicknamed “Putin’s chef” for his role as caterer to the Kremlin. Wagner played an important role in Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, more recently the mercenary leader was locked into a bitter feud with Russian defence chiefs that he accused of corruption and ordering an airstrike on his fighters. On June 23, 2023, Prigozhin and his troops staged a rebellion and launched a "march of justice" on Moscow. The mutiny was called off after a deal between Prigozhin and the Kremlin was brokered by Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian dictator. Prigozhin was presumed dead two months later on August 23 when a private jet said to have been carrying him and five other Wagner members crashed and exploded 200 miles north of Moscow.