Why does Putin have his own personal army? (The Wagner Group)

Mercenaries open fire on unarmed citizens. These paid assassins have been dispatched all across the world to cause havoc and safeguard Russian interests. The Wagner Group does not exist, according to Putin and his administration. Nonetheless, it has become plainly evident that the group has incredibly tight links to the Russian President and serves as his personal army at times. Get an eye-catching take on this amazing new narrative to learn more about the Wagner Group. ⚓🔎😎🐱‍👤⚓🔎

Mercenaries open fire on defenseless civilians. These hired killers have been dispersed throughout the globe to cause havoc and defend Russian interests. Putin and his administration claim that the Wagner Group does not hold official status. However, it is now abundantly clear that the group is very closely connected to the Russian leader and occasionally serves as his personal army. The Wagner group has a history of carrying out their missions using brutality, torture, and terrorism. They don't always succeed, though. In addition, the Wagner Group usually causes more destruction when they fail than when they succeed. Discover how Putin employs this sinister band of mercenaries by taking a closer look at them. There is no formal governing body, tax records, or business registration for The Wagner Group.

Putin desires plausible denial for all of the organization's actions, which is why this is the case. The Wagner Group shouldn't exist, technically speaking, as it is forbidden for private military companies to operate in Russia. The Wagner Group has nevertheless continued to acquire property, establish training facilities, and post job advertisements on billboards all over Russia despite this. Hold on tight and brace yourself for a bumpy ride as we take you down the rabbit hole that is the Wagner Group to find out what is really going on with this sinister and lethal group. Remember that someone is always working behind the scenes, pulling the strings throughout this journey. The Wagner Group may simply be a powerful person whose identity is unknown, but it is more likely that Vladimir Putin is involved in everything the Wagner Group does.

Although little is actually known about the organization's founding, it was probably started a little before 2014. While there are conflicting accounts of who founded the Wagner Group, some speculate that it was Dmitry Utkin, a former GRU soldier who fought in the Chechen Wars and eventually attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. Utkin left the Russian military in 2013 and joined the Moran Security Group, a global private military firm that also has operations in Russia. He allegedly founded the Wagner Group shortly after leaving this organization. Many people think that the Wagner Group got its name from Dmitry Utkin's Vagner call sign in the Russian military. Others assert that Richard Wagner, a German classical composer who just so happened to be a favorite of Adolf Hitler, is where Wagner got his start.

Many neo-Nazis and white supremacists that belong to the Wagner Group have been theorized to be the source of the association between the organization and the Third Reich. Additionally, it has been claimed that Dmitry Utkin has several Nazi tattoos on his body. But what if Dmitry Utkin was just a charade to hide the true founder of the company from the public? It seems likely that this was the case, as a much more powerful entity has been operating behind the scenes for almost a decade. The founder of the Wagner Group is probably not Vladimir Putin, but he may have a close associate. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessman, recently claimed to have founded and been in charge of Wagner Group. As Prigozhin hosted dinners for the Russian President and other foreign dignitaries, the media once dubbed him "Putin's Chef.”

Prigozhin consistently denied having any connection to the Wagner group starting in 2014 and continuing up until last year. Prigozhin, however, changed his tone in September 2022 when he said, "I cleaned the old weapons myself, sorted the bulletproof vests myself, and found specialists who could help me with this.” From that point forward, on May 1, 2014, a group of patriots was created and later named the Wagner Battalion. There seems to be some truth in what he says, so maybe this is just the ravings of a crazy man who wants power. In the early years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Yevgeny Prigozhin was imprisoned for theft. Little is known about his whereabouts or activities after he left, but it appears he began socializing with some influential Moscow figures to get closer to Putin.

His goals were twofold. He received a large sum of money from the Russian government and other parties who required mercenaries or private security as soon as he founded the Wagner Group, which was the first benefit he received. The second benefit was that by helping Putin, he positioned himself to enter the Kremlin's inner circle and possibly land a job in politics in the future. If Prigozhin has been in charge of the Wagner Group since 2014, it is obvious that his main objectives have been to increase his wealth. But he could only do this with Putin's approval because, under Russian law, the Wagner Group couldn't exist without the dictator's support. This is probably the reason why Prigozhin entertained Vladimir Putin until an understanding could be reached.

The Wagner Group may not even be a private company; rather, it may be a Russian military outpost, according to another theory. Due to the geopolitical repercussions, the Kremlin uses the Wagner Group to carry out missions that they are unable to openly conduct themselves. The Wagner Group's soldiers continue to show up repeatedly to complete tasks that the regular Russian military is unable to complete, despite the fact that they are not supposed to exist and that Putin has repeatedly denied any connections between Russia and the mercenary organization. Additional evidence for this comes from the Wagner Group's frequent base-sharing with Russian infantry, transportation on Russian military planes and vehicles, and use of the Russian military's medical system.

In addition, the Russian government has given Wagner Group members Russian passports so they can travel more easily both inside Russia and to nations where Putin needs dirty work done. The obvious response to the question of why the Wagner Group's members receive such preferential treatment if Putin had no connections to it is, "Because they are.” The Wagner Group is associated with Putin, and they obediently carry out his instructions without question. This provides the Russian President with plausible denial in the event of a crisis or when Wagner members commit crimes against humanity, which they frequently do. Regardless of who leads the group—Prigozhin, Putin, or anyone else—they will happily comply with any request made of them by the Russian president because they know he has them in the palm of his hand.

Let's talk about what else is known about the Wagner Group before we get into the crazy things it has committed, like killing people, torturing them, and killing civilians. Around a thousand mercenaries made up the Wagner Group in 2016. By 2017, this number had increased to 6,000. This proves that the organization's recruitment strategies were effective and that the pay offered was greater than what these men would make serving in the regular army. The Wagner Group had offices in various locations in Hong Kong, Argentina, and Russia at this time. They inaugurated their brand-new corporate headquarters in East Saint Petersburg in 2022. They had a definite presence that no one was questioning, which is unusual for a private military organization that is not permitted to exist legally in Russia.

According to reports and interviews, the Wagner Group appears to train its mercenaries at Russian MoD facilities close to the isolated village of Molkin, located in Krasnodar Krai. Russia claims that the buildings in the town are only a portion of a children's summer camp and denies that the base is connected to its military in any way. The mercenaries who train here come from all over the world, but the majority is ex-servicemen from Russia who are between the ages of 35 and 55. The pay for these hired soldier’s ranges from 80,000 to 250,000 Russian rubles per month, or roughly 650 to 2,000 U. S. dollars. This is significantly more money than they would ever make as members of the regular Russian military.

New Wagner Members are prohibited from using social media, the internet, or cell phones while they are in training. This will probably prevent any secrets held by the organization from being revealed to the outside world. Operatives must also abide by the Wagner Code of Honor, which appears to be a set of rules that must not be broken. Protecting Russia's interests at all times and in all places is one of the very first rules, which paints a clear picture of where this private organization's true loyalty lies. Also, despite the fact that these men are mercenaries, who are essentially in it for the money, one of the other provisions of the code states that they will fight based on the principle of winning always and everywhere rather than for the money.

The Kremlin continues to deny any connection to the Wagner Group, despite what it seems like the group itself is not afraid to say about its close ties to the Russian Federation and its leader. At this point in the Wagner Group's narrative, we have reached the beginning of their string of war crimes. It was 2014. Vladimir Putin had his sights set on Crimea, but that was only a preview of what was to come when Russia invaded the rest of Ukraine a decade later. There have been mercenary sightings among the Russian soldiers who have flooded the Crimea, according to reports. Since this would be the Wager Group's first mission for Vladimir Putin, nobody had ever heard of them at the time. The little green men were the men wearing unmarked uniforms.

They were sent to Crimea, under the command of Dmitry Utkin, and numbered somewhere between 1,000 Wagner Group mercenaries. Intercepted communications between Utkin and Russian generals during the invasion demonstrated that the Russian military was in charge of the mercenary group. This was unsurprising because it became clear very quickly that Putin would turn to the Wagner Group whenever he needed dubious deeds carried out. Additionally, it showed that the Wagner Group was always in Putin's corner. Even though Utkin served as their symbolic leader, he had no real authority to make decisions. Later, the mercenaries would assist separatist forces in various regions of Ukraine that were supported by Russia in wreaking havoc across the nation.

As an illustration, following the invasion of Crimea, the Wagner Group went to the Donbas region and assisted the pro-Russian forces there in overthrowing local governments, dismantling their security forces, and seizing control of ammunition and weapon depots. Explicit orders to kill any Russian commander or soldier who appeared to adopt a rebellious attitude were given to members of the Wagner Group once the situation in the area had somewhat calmed down, most likely by Putin himself. According to reports, mercenaries killed ten people in one raid who were thought to be defying Putin's orders, and Wagner Group forces killed many more as they purged Crimea and the Donbas of anyone they perceived as posing a threat to the Russian occupation.