“Yevgeny Prigozhin’s expanding mercenary army and quest for power in Africa”

Yevgeny Prigozhin has greatly expanded the power of his mercenary army over the years. In addition to Ukraine, he is currently targeting one continent in particular.

As head of the notorious Russian private army Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin not only has his hands full in the war in Ukraine. In Africa, too, where Wagner has been involved in many conflicts and power struggles for years, he wants to further expand his influence. “Whether the military special operation (in Ukraine) is successful or unsuccessful – in any case, Russia must be present on the international stage, diplomatically and militarily,” says the 61-year-old, referring to Africa. He is concerned with “liberating the African continent from Western occupiers”.

The confidant of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin now comments on the situation in Africa almost every day – especially with regard to the power struggle in Sudan (read more about the conflict here). Prigozhin insists that he will not play any role in the conflict and will not supply weapons. Above all, however, he calls on the Russian leadership to get even more involved in the race with China and the West to hammer down pegs in Africa. He accuses Moscow’s bureaucrats of complacency.

It is true that Putin has significantly intensified contacts with Africa. Since 2014, Moscow has concluded military agreements with more than 20 countries. Africa is an important market for Russian grain and fertilizer. But Moscow is a long way from having the influence it had in the days of the Soviet Union. “Russia plays an important role as an arms supplier, buyer and miner of valuable raw materials, and exporter of agricultural equipment. It also contributes to security through private companies like the Wagner Group,” said Philani Mthembu, director of the Institute for Global Dialogue in South Africa .

Unlike in the West, Russia is not isolated in Africa because of the war in Ukraine. Many states are well received that Putin is taking action against a monopolar world order with the United States at the helm. The Kremlin and Prigozhin, as Putin’s man, want to exploit that for the rough. “The Americans, French and other players on the African continent are a hundred times more active than we are,” says Prigozhin, who has become wealthy and influential with his corporate conglomerate Concord.

The entrepreneur controls his empire from St. Petersburg, which is active in the construction and real estate business and in gastronomy, but also in catering for school meals. Decades ago, Prigozhin served the current head of the Kremlin in his restaurant in Putin’s hometown, when he was still a city politician. That’s why he’s nicknamed “Putin’s cook.”

To this day, Prigozhin has benefited from lucrative contracts from the Kremlin. He is considered to be untouchable, which is why he not only repeatedly criticized Moscow’s military leadership in the Ukraine war with impunity, but also, with Putin’s blessing, can freely control and rule in Africa. The continent has literally become a cash cow for Prigozhin. The portfolio includes Libya, Mali, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Madagascar and Sudan.

Wagner has perfected its business model on the continent: the group offers unscrupulous staff and services without asking questions. In return, there are raw materials – often hard gold. Moscow, by far the largest arms supplier on the continent, also sells the military equipment – ​​around half of all registered arms sales to African countries now come from Russia.

“African governments like the Central African Republic or Mali want fighters who go to the front with their soldiers and bring ammunition and weapons with them. It’s a service that allows Russia to get foreign exchange and raw materials like gold and diamonds in times of Western sanctions “, says Sahel expert Ulf Laessing from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. In addition to Wagner, many Russians are active there. The Alrosa group, for example, mines diamonds.

In Germany, Wagner is best known in Africa as a mercenary squad – for example in the Bundeswehr’s state of operations in Mali, where it is estimated that up to 2,000 Russian fighters are deployed, even if the Malian military government only speaks of trainers. The mercenaries are accused of the most serious human rights violations there – but there was no turnaround in the fight against jihadists there.