Meet Yevgeny Prigozhin, 'Putin's chef' and founder of the brutal Wagner group who told the Russian leader that he was botching the Ukraine war

Lloyd LeeOct 27, 2022, 05:31 IST

Evgeny Prigozhin (L) assists Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a dinner with foreign scholars and journalists at the restaurant Cheval Blanc on the premises of an equestrian complex outside Moscow November 11, 2011. Picture taken November 11.REUTERS/Misha Japaridze/Pool/File Photo

Yevgeny Prigozhin is a Russian businessman with close ties to Vladimir Putin.
Prigozhin claimed he founded Wagner, a Russian mercenary group that works closely with the Kremlin.

Yevgeny Prigozhin was reported to have shared with Vladimir Putin his misgivings about the war in Ukraine, according to The Washington Post.

Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin is shown prior to a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia.Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP

Before amassing his wealth, Prigozhin served several years in a Russian penal colony.

Prigozhin on August 9, 2016.Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

He earned the nickname of 'Putin's chef.'

Prigozhin serves Putin dinner at the Cheval Blanc restaurant outside Moscow, Russia, on November 11, 2011.Misha Japaridze/Pool/Reuters

He also heads other companies and financed one that has been accused of meddling with the US election.

Prigozhin at a foreign investors meeting in St. Petersburg in 2016.Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

He recently claimed that he founded Wagner, a Russian mercenary group, after years of denial.

Prigozhin.Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Over the decades, the oligarch has earned the ear of Putin.

Prigozhin shows Putin his school lunch factory outside Saint Petersburg on September 20, 2010.ALEXEY DRUZHININ/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

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