Internet Research Agency

Wagner Group: what Yevgeny Prigozhin's death means for stability in Africa

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

The death of Yevgeny Prigozhin after his private jet crashed on August 23 has raised questions about the Wagner Group’s future.

Key Points:

The death of Yevgeny Prigozhin after his private jet crashed on August 23 has raised questions about the Wagner Group’s future.
Many in the west suspect Kremlin involvement in his death and are asking what will become of the mercenary group without its charismatic leader.
The Wagner Group, often described as a private military company (PMC) is a state-linked actor with close ties to the Russian military.

Wagner Group in Africa

Designated by the US government as a “transnational criminal organisation” the Wagner Group offers a range of services.
Described by South Africa-based think tank In On Africa as “more than mere mercenaries”, the Wagner Group has also discreetly but effectively put stress on Afro-European relations while bolstering autocratic governments.
The Internet Research Agency was directly associated with the Wagner Group via Prigozhin as its founder and owner.
Beyond propping up failed and failing states, the Wagner Group has faced accusations of targeting civilians and committing severe human rights violations in Mali, and CAR.

The circular business of conflict

Since mercenaries tend to thrive in conflicts, they are likely to profit by prolonging the conflicts they become involved in.
So the activities of a PMC such as Wagner can exacerbate conflicts by prolonging hostilities, as witnessed in Libya, Mozambique and CAR.
Since then, the scope of their operations has expanded with increased funding from Russia and the fighting continues.
He is a member of conflict research network of west Africa ( CORN West Africa).

The rise of Yevgeny Prigozhin: how a one-time food caterer became Vladimir Putin's biggest threat

Retrieved on:

Monday, June 26, 2023

Never during the 23 years of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule has he faced the kind of challenge posed by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s insurrection over the weekend.

Key Points:

Never during the 23 years of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule has he faced the kind of challenge posed by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s insurrection over the weekend.
The gravity of the crisis was underlined by Putin’s televised address on Saturday.

From catering food to running a trolling factory

He was a product of the peculiar kind of authoritarian regime that Putin created during his two decades in power.
In at least three ways, Putin ushered Prigozhin to the centre of Russia’s political stage.
This trolling factory employed hundreds of staff, working around the clock to create the illusion of a groundswell of support for the regime.
Its leader was simultaneously collaborating with the Kremlin and organising a terrorist campaign against its own opponents, including police and federal judges.

The Wagner Group is born

The most durable was the Wagner Group, which was created after a meeting in the Defence Ministry in the summer of 2014.
In the process, Wagner mercenaries committed atrocities in the Central African Republic and Mali, which provoked international condemnation.
Read more:
Wagner group mercenaries in Africa: why there hasn't been any effective opposition to drive them out

Prigozhin’s swift rise in power

As the Kremlin tightened its stranglehold over the electoral process, Russia’s parliament became accountable to the regime, not the people.
Civil society was devastated through the passage of new laws against “foreign agents” and “undesirable organisations”.
It took Putin’s second invasion of Ukraine to transform Prigozhin from a dangerous regime proxy into a contender for power.
At the same time, the repeated defeats of Russian forces on the battlefield magnified the importance of Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenaries.

As Ukraine takes the fight to Russians, signs of unease in Moscow over war's progress

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

The meeting was unusual: In recent months, Putin has avoided public statements about the war and postponed his annual Russia Day phone-in show scheduled for June.

Key Points:

The meeting was unusual: In recent months, Putin has avoided public statements about the war and postponed his annual Russia Day phone-in show scheduled for June.
He similarly canceled both the June call-in in 2022 as well as his annual news conference in December.

On the defensive?

These developments further undermine Putin’s argument that this is a “special military operation” and not a war, and that life can continue as normal for ordinary Russians.
At the same time, Putin is facing a political challenge from Yevgeny Prigozhin, the erstwhile chef-turned-mercenary leader.
Prigozhin heads the Wagner Group, a private company that has recruited some 50,000 fighters for the Ukraine war on behalf of Moscow.
They played a key role in the capture of the Ukrainian city Bakhmut, which fell on May 20 after a 224-day siege.

Facing questions

With the background of more open criticism of a war that has now blown back across the Russian border, Putin faced some tough questions at the meeting with war correspondents.
Another asked why different regions are allowed to pay different bonuses to contract soldiers from their area.
In response, Putin could only offer that Russia is a federal system, and regions spend what they can afford.

Desperate measures

However, members of the Russian elite seem to share the growing unease aired among the bloggers.
On May 20-21, Russian officials and policy experts attended a meeting of the influential Council on Foreign and Security Policy think tank.
Judging by reports from people who attended, such as State Duma Deputy Konstantin Zatulin, there was a clear sense that the war is going badly.
Perhaps the most famous mercenary of all time, Albrecht Von Wallenstein, successfully commanded an army of 50,000 during the Thirty Years’ War.

Putin under pressure: the military melodrama between the Wagner group and Russia’s armed forces

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

As Russia’s disastrous war in Ukraine continues, another rant by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the bombastic chief of the paramilitary Wagner group, has laid bare the power struggle at the top of Russia’s military leadership.

Key Points:

As Russia’s disastrous war in Ukraine continues, another rant by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the bombastic chief of the paramilitary Wagner group, has laid bare the power struggle at the top of Russia’s military leadership.
Calling Russian commanders “stupid” and responsible for “criminal orders” last week, Prigozhin questioned whether the military could even defend Russian territory.
Upset with the slow delivery of ammunition, Prigozhin had also filmed himself next to the bodies of Wagner fighters, issuing a tirade at Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, and its chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov.
“But what”, Prigozhin speculated, “if it turns out that this grandfather is a complete asshole?” (Some translations have used a different expletive.)

Infighting in plain sight

The infighting between Wagner and Russia’s military has become a soap opera played out in front of a global audience.
In the most recent episode, an article in the Washington Post this week suggested Prigozhin had on several occasions made contact with Ukrainian military intelligence.
And while tempers often spill over among Russia’s competing elites, Putin has previously had little trouble reining them in.
Read more:
Wagner Group: what it would mean for the UK to designate Putin's private army a 'terrorist organisation'

Who will lose the blame game?

Assessing the relative weight of different Kremlin clans and their leaders is difficult because they are so fluid and opaque.
He lacks a broad power base in Moscow, with few friends among the main courtiers – the heads of Security Council ministries and agencies.
For all his alleged enthusiasm for purging his underlings, Putin has actually only rarely discarded those close to him.
However, Prigozhin ultimately remains beholden to the Russian military, which he relies upon to supply Wagner fighters in Ukraine.
This leverage enjoyed by the military seems to have made Prigozhin even more vocal in his criticism of its leadership.

Putin’s paradox

Put simply, it’s becoming harder for Putin to dissociate himself from serious errors of judgement.
Many journalists and military bloggers claimed the purity of Putin’s strategic vision has been let down by military incompetence.
That creates a paradox, making him either clueless or careless – or both.
Given the intensity of the unchecked rivalry between them, that may come sooner rather than later.

Dating Site's Founder Warns About Internet Troll Factory Targeting Millions of Americans

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Fiction, Fantasy, Culture, Internet trolling, Dolls, Troll doll, Troll, Internet troll, Internet Research Agency

HONG KONG, April 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --An Internet troll factory targeting millions of single Americans has been flying under the radar of federal agencies and watchdogs for over 10 years, warns Elena Petrova, founder of Elenasmodels.com, in her 3-year anniversary post following the first investigation into predatory practices of pay-per-letter (PPL) dating sites, released on 16 April 2015.

Key Points:

HONG KONG, April 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --An Internet troll factory targeting millions of single Americans has been flying under the radar of federal agencies and watchdogs for over 10 years, warns Elena Petrova, founder of Elenasmodels.com, in her 3-year anniversary post following the first investigation into predatory practices of pay-per-letter (PPL) dating sites, released on 16 April 2015.
"However, until now there had been no serious investigation by the government into these Eastern-Europe-based multi-layered troll farms scamming Americans every day.
The trolls based in Ukraine are employed through online recruitment portals and then trained to defraud Americans.
The multi-layered scheme of 'love trolls' is constantly targeting new victims via sponsored ads in search and content networks.