As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to falter, the Kremlin has moved to curb the growing political influence of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the 61-year-old founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group. Prigozhin, a former convict, has grabbed headlines in recent months with his brutal role in Ukraine and public criticisms of Russia’s top military brass. His profile became so prominent that allies and analysts began speculating he was angling for an official job or career in politics.
However, there is growing evidence that the Kremlin has reined in Prigozhin’s ambitions by ordering him to halt public criticism of the defense ministry, advising state media to stop mentioning him or Wagner by name, and stripping him of the right to recruit convicts from prisons. Prigozhin confirmed this week that he had been stripped of the right to recruit convicts, a key pillar of his nascent political influence.
According to Olga Romanova, director of a prisoner rights group, the Ministry of Defence had taken over convict recruitment earlier this year. The ministry has not confirmed this. Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, believes that the Kremlin’s political bloc is afraid of Prigozhin and does not want him to enter politics.
Yevgeny Prigozhin (Via Yevgeny Prigozhin/Twitter)
Tatiana Stanovaya, a veteran Kremlin scholar, wrote in a paper for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that Prigozhin’s ties with the presidential administration are starting to crack. She believes that Prigozhin is visibly transforming into a full-fledged politician with his own views, which may be a headache for everyone in the Kremlin.
Prigozhin has publicly stated that he has “zero” political ambitions, but Markov believes that Putin has told Prigozhin to halt public criticism of the top brass at a recent meeting in St Petersburg. Prigozhin has since moderated his criticism and made a point of looking into the camera during a rare interview to say he wasn’t criticizing anyone.
The Kremlin’s actions suggest that it is reining in Prigozhin’s influence, which has been seen as a threat to the country’s political elite. Dmitri Alperovitch, the Russian-born chairman of US think-tank Silverado Policy Accelerator, believes that Prigozhin’s room for manoeuvre is shrinking, and that his star has dimmed.
