5 Facts On Yevgeny Prigozhin, The Wagner Chief Calling For Armed Rebellion In Russia

Born in 1961 in Russia, Yevgeny Prigozhin is a high-profile, provocative mercenary leader, who has known Russian President Vladimir Putin since the 1990s. He saw his political star rise in Russia during the Ukraine war.

According to Politico, Mr Prigozhin and Mr Putin share the same hometown, St. Petersburg (then Leningrad). He received his first criminal conviction in 1979, aged 18, and got a suspended two-and-a-half-year sentence for theft. Two years later, he was sentenced to 13 years in jail for robbery and theft, nine of which he served behind bars.

Upon his release from jail, Mr Prigozhin set up a chain of stalls selling hot dogs. Within a few years, he was then able to open expensive restaurants in St Petersburg. It was there that he began mixing with the high and mighty of St Petersburg and then Russia. 

As per the BBC, Mr Prigozhin used that connection to develop a catering business and won lucrative Russian government contracts that earned him the nickname “Putin's chef.” He later expanded into other areas, including media and an infamous internet “troll factory” that led to his indictment in the US for meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Earlier this year in January, the 62-year-old acknowledged founding, leading and financing the shadowy private mercenary company Wagner, an organisation that has worked alongside the Russian army during the country's invasion of Ukraine. Notably, western countries and United Nations experts have accused Wagner mercenaries of human rights abuses throughout Africa, including in Central African Republic, Libya and Mali.