Leaked photos show Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in absurd disguises
Leaked photos show mutinous Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in a series of absurd disguises, complete with wigs and fake beards — with some likening him to an infamous Sacha Baron Cohen character.
The images were aired Wednesday evening on the Russian state-controlled TV station “Rossiya-1,” after first being shared by several anonymous Telegram channels with known ties to the Kremlin.
In one of the mind-boggling selfies, Prigozhin sports a wig with thick, side-swept bangs.
In another, he is dressed in an army uniform accessorized with a pair of dark shades and a salt-and-pepper beard down to his chest.
The Russian news site URA reported that the disguises seen in the leaked selfies show Prigozhin dressed as a Ministry of Defense officer in Sudan; a diplomatic aide from Abu Dhabi; a senior lieutenant from Benghazi; a colonel from Tripoli; a merchant from Syria, and a field commander named Muhammad.
The release of the bizarre disguises is part of an apparent effort by Vladimir Putin’s regime to discredit Prigozhin in the wake of his failed armed mutiny.
Prigozhin, 62, allegedly used the costumes for his mercenary work overseas, according to the independent news outlet ASTRA.
Some social media commenters have likened Prigozhin’s getups to that of Sacha Baron Cohen’s character General Aladeen in the 2012 comedy satire “The Dictator.”
Prigozhin’s secret identities were exposed after the release of photos documenting Russian security forces’ June raids on the billionaire’s mansion in suburban St. Petersburg and his office — which turned up a collection of wigs stashed in a cabinet, a framed photo of severed heads and a sledgehammer bearing the tongue-in-cheek inscription: “To use in important negotiations.”
Other noteworthy findings included a roomful of sophisticated medical equipment, a massive arsenal of guns, several passports with Prigozhin’s photos but under different names, and nearly $6.6 million in cash.
Separately, law enforcement officers had seized nearly $111 million in cash and gold bars from two vehicles associated with Prigozhin, who claimed to have set aside those funds to pay his fighters and their families.
The Russian news publication Fontanka.ru reported this week that all the money and guns — including a Glock gifted by former pal-turned-arch-nemesis Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu — have since been returned to Prigozhin, who was spotted Tuesday arriving at the FSB office in St. Petersburg to personally collect his weaponry.
The images from the raids were aired on the Rossiya-1 show “60 Minutes” as part of a campaign to publicly denounce Prigozhin and paint him as a corrupt criminal following his botched rebellion last month.
Prigozhin sent his mercenaries marching toward Moscow as part of a suspected plan to capture top Russian military leaders, including Shoigu, whom he had accused of bunging the war in Ukraine.
Prigozhin ultimately aborted his short-lived insurrection after striking a deal with the Kremlin.
Journalist Eduard Popov, who presented the photos from Prigozhin’s lavish estate featuring a pool and a helipad, said that the investigation against his was still being pursued — contrary to previous claims that the government had agreed to drop all charges against the Wagner Group chief if he were to relocate to Belarus.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who brokered the deal between Prigozhin and the Kremlin, said Thursday that the mercenary boss had arrived in Belarus in June 27 but has since left.
Lukashenko claimed that Prigozhin was now back in his native St. Petersburg, or may have moved on to Russia’s capital.
“Where is he this morning? Maybe he went to Moscow,” Lukashenko said.
Prigozhin is “absolutely free” and Putin will not “wipe him out,” the Belarusian leader added.
The Kremlin likewise insisted Thursday that it was not interested in tracking Prigozhin.
“No, we do not follow his movements, we have neither the ability nor the desire to do so,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in answer to a reporter’s question.
