Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty
Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has left uncertainty in the wake of his presumed fiery demise in a plane crash on Wednesday, with his reported death raising questions about what the future holds for thousands of fighters that served in his paramilitary group, Wagner.
Prigozhin was listed as one of the passengers on board the Embraer business jet that crashed in the Tver region of Russia, according to Russia’s federal aviation organization. The BBC said confirmation that Prigozhin’s name appeared on the passenger list was “unusually quick” and had “raised eyebrows.”
Prigozhin, 62, has long been a symbol of violence and chaos among those most impacted by the relentless schemes of Wagner in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Once known as “Putin’s chef” for owning the Kremlin’s catering company, his legacy is now intertwined with the countless human rights abuse allegations that came with doing President Vladimir Putin’s dirty work.