Mercenary Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin Eyed As Vladimir Putin's Successor As Russian Leader's Health Continues To Sharply Decline
Jan. 16 2023, Published 8:30 p.m. ET
The man once dubbed “Vladimir Putin’s chef” before becoming the Russian leader’s mercenary chief is now reportedly being eyed to succeed Putin should he step down as president due to his ongoing health issues, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, who now heads the Wagner Private Military Group against Ukraine, first made a name for himself in 1990 after being released from a Russian penal colony following a nine-year sentence for robbery and assault.
The now 61-year-old then amassed a large fortune via a series of business ventures – including selling hot dogs, opening convenience stores, and running numerous restaurants across Russia.
Upon meeting Putin at one of the convict-turned-chef’s restaurants in 1996, Prigozhin’s catering company – Concord – was given a series of state contracts to help feed Russia’s vast school system and military.
Putin and Prigozhin’s professional relationship grew substantially over the past two decades, and “Putin’s chef” was eventually given a place in the Russian leader’s “inner circle.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Prigozhin and Wagner’s progress against Ukraine has recently become a double-edged sword for Russia's president — because although PMC Wagner has made military gains against the rival Ukrainian troops, Kremlin officials believe Putin has lost control of his mercenary chief.
Last week, the Kremlin was forced to issue a statement contradicting Prigozhin’s claims he and his mercenaries successfully captured the Ukrainian city of Soledar.
“This was all done by PMC Wagner with no other help,” said Prigozhin. “Wagner units took control of the entire territory of Soledar.”
“A cauldron has been formed in the centre of the city in which urban fighting is going on,” the mercenary chief, who reportedly has more than 50,000 mercenaries at his disposal, continued. “The number of prisoners will be announced tomorrow.”
“Assault squads are [still] fighting in the city,” the Kremlin said in a statement of their own. Moscow also indicated that Russian forces “blocked Soledar from the northern and southern areas of the city” – indicating the Wagner mercenary group did not take Soledar “with no other help.”
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Dr. Huseyn Aliyev, an expert on Russia and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, recently predicted Prigozhin would be named Putin’s successor should the struggling Russian leader give up power.
"Prigozhin is one of the typical Putin-era power brokers, one of the most trusted in the Kremlin,” Dr. Aliyev said. “He has pushed himself to the front and proved himself capable of pushing forward with Russia’s offensive just as Putin is disillusioned by his generals."
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