Will the Wagner Group under new leadership uphold the ruthless modus operandi that propelled it to the spotlight in Africa?
The roof-capped cross standing on Evgeny Prigozhin’s stone bears a stark resemblance to those found in Old Believer cemeteries, golubets,
Olga Maltseva/AFP
Denys Brylov, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
A scholar in religious studies delves into the peculiar world of Rodnovery, a Russian neo-pagan movement that believes in Slavs’ civilising mission. Many in Wagner side with it.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late founder of the Russian private security company Wagner.
Wagner Account/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Russia was using the mercenary group to further its foreign policy aims in west Africa. There’s no reason to think Prigozhin’s death will change that.
People carry a body bag away from the wreckage of a crashed private jet near the Russian village of Kuzhenkinoi on Aug. 24, 2023. Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, reportedly died in the crash along with nine other people.
(AP Photo)
The core members of the Wagner Group, who are loyal to the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, will likely seek revenge against Vladimir Putin for his death. Is the Russian leader now living on borrowed time?
Face masks depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin displayed at a souvenir shop in St. Petersburg, Russia. Prigozhin reportedly died in a plane crash on Aug. 23.
(AP Photo, File)
Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, reportedly died when a private jet he was said to be on crashed on Aug. 23, 2023, killing all 10 people on board.
The apparent death of the warlord in a plane shot down over Russia tells us much about the fragility that surrounds Russian politics.
Wagner Group boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, rose through the ranks from Vladimir Putin’s caterer to the boss of Russia’s most powerful private military company.
Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo
A selection of the best of our coverage of the conflict from the past fortnight.
Vladimir Putin is trying to repair the damage done by his decision to pull out of the grain deal which had supplied many African countries.
EPA-EFE/Sergei Bobylev/Tass
Vladimir Putin is engaged in a bid to woo support among African leaders, but the summit masks the darker reality of Russian influence-seeking in Africa
Seeking divine help? Neither Moscow nor Minsk wants Wagner Group mercenaries stationed in Belarus to get out of control.
EPA-EFE/Alexander Demyanchuk/Sputnik/Kremlin pool
Russia has long been a ‘paramilitarised’ regime, where the state can be challenged and undermined, but is not completely destroyed, by paramilitary or criminal groups.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Africa Summit in 2019 in Sochi, Russia.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Russian authorities have given no legitimate justification for dropping criminal cases against rebel troops – undermining both President Vladimir Putin and the legal system.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on June 29, less than a week after the rebellion by the mercenary Wagner Group.
Contributor/Getty Images
Professor, International Relations and Political Science, University of Toronto and Associate of the Davis Center Harvard University, University of Toronto