Head Wagner, Yevhen Prigozhin, a died on Wednesday after the plane he was on crashedjust two months after he led an armed uprising against Russia’s military leader on June 23-24 that President Vladimir Putin said could plunge Russia into civil war. Sent into exileafter agreeing with the Kremlin to delete a file opened in his name, he appeared two days ago in a video clip that was his last in which he promised Russia “even more”.

This was Yevgeny Prigozhin’s second video appearance after the failed mutiny against the military leadership in Moscow.

Prigozhin appears in front of his associates in military uniform, with a machine gun in his hands, and behind him you can see the dry land, as well as several cars with soldiers.

According to the message accompanying the video post, the shooting was allegedly taking place in Africa.

“We work. The temperature is +50°. Just the way we like it,” says Prigozhin. “Wagner’s group conducts intelligence, making Russia even bigger on all continents! And Africa is even freer. We bring justice and happiness to African peoples and make life a nightmare for ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other criminals,” says Prigozhin.

It seems that the fierce leader of the Wagner group did not succeed in making Russia “even more”.

In fact, US President Joe Biden warned in July that Prigozhin should be careful what he eats after the failed uprising, and on Wednesday night, after the plane crash, the US leader reminded him that not much is happening in Russia. without Vladimir Putin behind them.

Key facts about Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in the plane crash

– Prigozhin, 62, came to the fore after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, when his fighters – including thousands of convicts he recruited from prison – led a Russian assault on the town of Bakhmut in the longest and bloodiest battle. during the war. In social networks, Prigozhin praised Wagner’s successes and caused a dispute with the military structures, which he accused of incompetence and even treason.

– In June, Prigozhin led an uprising in which Wagner’s fighters seized control of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and shot down several military helicopters, killing their pilots, as they advanced toward Moscow. President Vladimir Putin called this action treason, which will receive a harsh response.

– The rebellion was suppressed by an agreement in which the Kremlin said that in order to avoid bloodshed, Prigozhin, together with some of his fighters, would go to Belarus and drop the criminal case against him for armed rebellion.

– Confusion enveloped the execution of the agreement and the future of Prigozhin. The Kremlin said that he was at a meeting with Putin five days after the uprising. On July 5, state television announced that the investigation against him was still ongoing and showed footage showing money, passports, weapons and other items it said were seized during a raid on one of his homes. But at the end of July, Prigozhin was photographed in St. Petersburg, when the Russian-African summit was held in the city. This week, he appeared in a video he suggested was filmed in Africa, where Wagner has operations in several countries.

– Born in St. Petersburg on June 1, 1961, Prigozhin spent nine years in Soviet prisons for crimes such as robbery and fraud. Released in 1990 amid the collapse of the Soviet Union, he began a career in catering and as a restaurant owner in his hometown. It is believed that around this time he met Putin, who was then the chief adviser to the mayor of St. Petersburg.

– Using his political connections, Prigozhin won important contracts with the state, becoming known as “Putin’s chef” after working at Kremlin events. More recently, he joked that “Putin’s differentiator” would be more suitable.

– In 2014, Prigozhin founded the private military company “Wagner”, whose fighters were mobilized to support Moscow’s allies in countries such as Syria, Libya and the Central African Republic. The US imposed sanctions on her and accused her of atrocities, which Prigozhin denied.

– Prigozhin has admitted to founding and funding the Internet Research Agency, a company Washington considers a “troll farm” that meddled in the 2016 US presidential election. In November 2022, he announced that he had interfered in the US election and would do so again.

Read also:

• Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin and how did he go from being a prisoner to calling for a military uprising in Russia