A framed document in Yevgeny Prigozhin’s home that Russian prosecutors searched last week appears to indicate that, at least on paper, the “commander” of Wagner’s group is not Yevgeny Prigozhin, independent researcher Chris Owen reports, citing information released by the Russians. Telegram channels.

The document, signed on May 1, 2014, is the charter of the group of mercenaries, in which Prigozhin is called the “director” of the Wagner paramilitary organization, and Dmytro Utkin, a former Russian special forces, is described as the “commander” of the Wagnerites.

The fact that it was Utkin who took care of the actual creation of Wagner’s group with the money provided by Prigozhin was known before, but the appearance of this document confirms for the first time that within the organization the former military man was considered a mercenary commander, and not “Putin’s cook”.

The document was photographed during searches Russian prosecutors allegedly conducted at Prigozhin’s home last Tuesday, according to the Izvestia newspaper, which published the photos two days later.

What does the “Constitution” of the Wagner group provide

The document, signed by “director” Prigogin and “commander” Utkin, outlines the duties of both, referring to the “difficult situation” in Ukraine and the “need to protect Donbas,” which is called “the heart of Russia.”

Duties of Prigozhin, as stipulated in the document:

• supply weapons;

• provide funds;

• provide guarantees to the families of dead and wounded mercenaries;

• guarantee permanent work;

• provide protection against Russian legislation prohibiting mercenary employment;

No: Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation prohibits mercenaries and organizations, but this was ignored by Russian prosecutors, who for years turned a blind eye to Wagner’s group, which was considered the Kremlin’s “private army” in the years before the start of the war. in Ukraine.

• resolve all disputes collegially;

• participate in events personally;

• not to rebel against the Russian people;

• n. 9, handwriting, indistinct.

Duties of Utkin:

• choose a team of mercenaries;

• to instruct men;

• “get rid of” deserters;

• ensure the ban on the use of alcohol and drugs;

• to make full use of military knowledge and experience and to fulfill assigned tasks;

• not to rebel against GDP no (probably means Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin);

• do not lie or deceive, always say things by name.

We will remind, at the official level, the Kremlin for years denied any connection with Wagner’s group, calling its militants Russian “patriots” who care about the country’s interests. As for Prigozhin, he admitted only last September that he founded a paramilitary organization in 2014, after the illegal annexation of Crimea and the start of the separatist war in Donbas.

The document signed by Prigozhin and Utkin was dated only two days before the end of the pseudo-referendum organized on the peninsula to legitimize the annexation.

53-year-old Utkin is a little-known figure even in the Russian information space, one of the few public photos of him dates back to December 2016, when he was awarded the Order of Courage by President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.

Utkin made an extremely rare public intervention early last month when he jumped to Prigozhin’s defense after several Chechen leaders close to Ramzan Kadyrov launched attacks on the “director” of the mercenary group.

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