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On the world political stage, military power has always been an important means of wrestling between countries. With the rise of private military companies and the current situation of frequent wars around the world, there will always be a special existence in war, that is, mercenaries. The Wagner military group is undoubtedly one of the most influential mercenary organizations in the world today. The Wagner military group initially helped military-citizen organizations in eastern Ukraine, but then gained widespread attention in 2015 for grabbing gold mines in Africa. So what prompted the rapid evolution of the Wagner military bloc into a mysterious "global" military bloc? Why is Wagner, once a beautiful man, now wanted by order of the Russian president?
Wagner's generation
The founder of "Wagner" was called Utkin, who graduated from the St. Petersburg Military Academy and joined the GRU after the collapse of the USSR, a special unit of the Main Directorate of Military Intelligence of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, on a par with the Alpha Unit.
However, because of his excellent performance in the Chechen war, he became a senior commander of the GRU. But middle-aged Utkin faces a problem that has plagued him for a long time – poverty. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's economy struggled, and he earned less than $1,000 a month, an unacceptable reality compared to his previous military status. Although he still loves military life, the harsh reality of life forces him to consider retiring, so he gives up the glory of his country and chooses to become a mercenary fighting for money. Later, he met Gushev and Sidorov, executives of foreign security companies, who co-founded the Slavic Group, a company specializing in military and security services.
In October 2012, the Slavic group successfully recruited 267 security personnel, whose first mission was to travel to northeast Syria to guard a vital oil field. However, by the time they arrived, the oil fields were already occupied by private armed forces. The situation was urgent, and the task of the Slavic group was transferred to the recapture of the oil fields.
Despite not having enough offensive weapons and not receiving the support of the promised Syrian government forces, the entire team had to accept this reality in order to survive and maintain income. In the face of the siege of thousands of armed personnel, the veteran special forces showed their extraordinary ability to experience hundreds of battles and successfully carried out the retreat operation.
They returned to Moscow in November 2013. However, this operation allowed Western countries to indirectly obtain evidence of the "meddling" of Slavic groups in the Syrian region. Since Russia did not intend to muddy the waters at all, this unexpected event put Russia in a passive position on the international stage. Therefore, the moment the team members returned home, they were arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service. However, there was one person who once again changed Utkin's fate: Wagner's real master.
The true master of Wagner
The real controller of "Wagner" is a chef, yes, you heard it right, a chef. The chef's name is Prigogin. Prigogin is not only the "soil emperor" of the Russian catering industry, but also the real controller of Wagner. Prigogin was born in Leningrad and was a fellow villager of Putin. Prigogin, a troubled teenager since childhood, was given a suspended sentence for theft at the age of 18, only to be sentenced to 12 years in prison two years later for robbery, fraud and other crimes.
While he was in prison, the Soviet Union began to be in turmoil. On the eve of the collapse of the USSR, Prigogin was released. He then took advantage of the country's chaos to quickly amass a fortune through the operation of underground casinos, and then made a big splash in the catering sector and built a restaurant empire. In the process, he met Putin, who was still mayor at the time, which also laid the foundation for his future success.
In 1997, Prigogin invested $400,000 to open a dockyard restaurant. This unique restaurant quickly made its mark in St. Petersburg as one of the most fashionable places to eat. Not only attracted the attention of the locals, but even the powerful people of Moscow came to admire it.
Then his fortunes took a turn for the worse when he opened the restaurant. The restaurant became a turning point for Prigogin, as he decided to introduce and promote foreign gastronomic culture. The restaurant quickly won over the public with its unique cuisine, well-designed dining environment and excellent service. People come here to admire Prigogin and his restaurant. The restaurant's success brought Prigogin's career to the pinnacle, and his dining empire gradually expanded to spread across the country.
From then on, Prigogin was no longer just an upstart, but gradually became an important figure in the Russian upper class. His company has also received large government food orders and signed contracts to supply military food to the Russian army, amounting to $1.2 billion a year. Prigogin's culinary skills and keen business acumen allowed him to seize opportunities and build strong relationships with important people around the world. These relationships further brought great opportunities for his career development and advancement. Prigogin, however, is not content with being just a chef. He knew that in the pursuit of more rights and freedoms, he had to excel and do what others could not. Therefore, he is constantly looking for opportunities to achieve this goal.
Later, the incident in Georgia broke out, and Russia decisively sent troops, but afterwards it attracted a blow from world public opinion. Therefore, Putin began to consider solving various problems arising from geography through international security organizations. However, finding an international security organization that can be trusted absolutely and under complete control is not an easy task. Although Putin first publicly expressed support for the creation of a private military company in Russia in April 2012, it was not easy to find the right partner. As Putin's head of the dining room, Prigogin has long seen Putin's inner thoughts.
Therefore, when Prigogin saw the message of Utkin, he immediately realized that the opportunity he had been waiting for for a long time had come. Prigogin immediately began to contact Utkin and came up with a bold idea to set up a private military company. Utkin couldn't get enough of the big man's proposal, so the two quickly agreed. Utkin immediately contacted more than 200 members of the previous group and formed the Wagner Military Group.
Since the establishment of military companies in Russia is illegal, the Wagner Military Group is not officially registered in Russia. Nevertheless, the emergence of the Wagner military bloc could perfectly solve the huge problem facing Russia: a geopolitical catastrophe. Then. And because the Wagner military bloc was founded by Prigogin himself, Russian President Vladimir Putin has implicitly supported the group.
Putin said that the Wagner military bloc can operate anywhere in the world without violating the law. From this point, it is clear that there is strong official support for the Wagner military group. Subsequently, the company ushered in great development and began to expand its "business" to the world.
In terms of organizational size, the Wagner military group has a considerable military strength. At the beginning of its establishment, the size of the army was about 300 combatants, and through the "baptism of battle" in eastern Ukraine, Syria, Central Africa and other places, its force size soared to tens of thousands. The Wagner military group has a wide distribution in the global mercenary market, in addition to Russia and Ukraine, there are many other countries of veterans, such as Serbia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Belarus and other countries signed up worldwide. In addition, the unit also has missionaries with strong religious values and rich second generations who go to the front to experience life, which is also a major feature of the personnel composition of the Wagner military group.
Central African "Emperor of Earth"
The Wagner military group has infiltrated Africa on a large scale in recent years. With mercenaries and special forces at its core, the Wagner military bloc is involved in armed conflicts in several conflict zones in Africa, characterized by covert operations and low risk. Because some African countries are fighting every day, Africa has become a paradise for the Wagner military group, and even the regimes of some African countries are influenced by the Wagner military group. They are doing things wrong here, and no law or national army can restrain them. But even so, Wagner is a "sweet potato" in Africa, and many people want their power to seize more resources for themselves.
It is well known that the Central African Republic is a region plagued by poverty, but it is rich in endless mineral wealth: gold, diamonds, oil, and other non-ferrous metals. In order to obtain military support from Wagner, the Central African Republic granted Wagner a one-time grant of mining rights to six or seven gold mines. One of the largest gold mines was previously run by a Chinese businessman, but under the deterrence of Wagner's military power, the Central African Republic had to side with them, and the Chinese businessman could only cry.
Therefore, the international community has responded differently and responded to the actions of the Wagner military group. Some countries have imposed sanctions on the company, while others have called for greater regulation and surveillance to ensure that PMC's actions comply with international law and human rights standards. The emergence of the Wagner Military Group triggered a re-examination of the role and norms of PMCs. The international community needs to put in place stricter regulations and regulatory measures to ensure that PMC acts in accordance with international norms and international human rights law.
Today's Wagner is like the "Zhongshan Wolf" in ancient Chinese fables, and what awaits it must be the end of "in a handbag".