“You have five minutes to make a decision,” says a man in Russian to detainees gathered in a prison yard. “Only God and Allah will get you out of prison. I’ll get you out alive. But not everyone will come back. So, guys, any questions?” The message has the merit of being clear. The man who addresses the convicts, in black outfits, lined up in a U around him, is a familiar face: Evgueni Prigogine, nicknamed “Putin’s cook”, a businessman from Saint Petersburg reputed to be close to the president. Russian, and linked to the Wagner mercenary company.
Until now, the oligarch maintained tenaciously that he had nothing to do with “Wagner” – deployed in 2014 in Ukraine, then in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic or even in Mali -, and of which he denied d elsewhere existence. Last March, Prigogine even sued investigative outlet Bellingcat for libel for naming him as Wagner’s boss.
But on the images broadcast on social networks this Wednesday, September 14, Prigogine is no longer hiding. In front of these detainees, he immediately announces the color: “I represent the private military company Wagner, you may have heard of it.”
Who filmed this video? And who leaked it? Mystery… In any case, it reveals the difficulty for the Russian army to recruit new soldiers. “The sign of a massive crisis” analysis on Twitter Phillips O’Brien, professor at the University of Saint Andrews (Scotland). Putin’s army has lost between 70,000 and 80,000 men (dead or wounded) since the start of the war, according to the latest estimates from the US Department of Defense (as of August 2022).
Mobilization on the sly
Businessman Yevgeny Prigogine (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg (Russia), September 20, 2010
afp.com/Alexey DRUZHININ
Replacing these soldiers is a headache for Moscow and probably one of the keys to the spectacular Russian rout of recent days against the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the northeast. The Kremlin wants at all costs to avoid declaring a general mobilization, which would reveal to the Russian people a cruel truth: their country is indeed at war, far from the simple “special military operation” sold by Vladimir Putin since the beginning of the invasion, on February 24, 2022.
Back to the wall, Vladimir Putin has no choice but to mobilize on the sly, even if it means enlisting the worst recruits. Information about recruitment campaigns in prison had been circulating for several weeks. In the past, other documents have circulated showing incitements to join the army in the most unlikely places, for example at the psychiatric dispensary in Saint Petersburg. Along with a “heavy payout”, the ad offered “social guarantees” and the right to obtain veteran status.
More classic, there are “job offers” for “contract soldiers” on several recruitment sites, including international Head Hunter platforms. The army offers salary up to 300,000 rublesor 5000 euros, seven times the average salary in Russia.
“Those who are the most brazen survive most often”
Last May, the Duma (Parliament) abolished the age limit, set at 40, to join the ranks of the army. Not enough, obviously, to attract mass. By offering pardon to criminals in return for “six months” of engagement on the front line, Yevgueni Prigogine, at the head of Putin’s shadow army, known for its abuses on civilians in a half -dozen countries, gives a glimpse of the muscular methods of Wagner.
“Those who advance, those who are the most brazen, most often survive,” says ‘Putin’s cook’ to the prisoners. Before warning them: “Those who arrive at the front and say from day one that this place is not for them are considered deserters, which will be followed by execution by firing squad.” On good terms…