“Putin’s Secret Army” – Wagner Mercenary Unpack: Completely Cruel in the War

“Wagner. Putin’s Secret Army” (Econ Verlag) goes on sale on Thursday. It shows what Russia’s support for Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad or the separatists in eastern Ukraine looks like. Bashar al-Assad has enabled Russia to recommend itself to the world as a protector and savior from criminals of all kinds,” writes Gabidullin. Wagner’s mercenaries also play a role in Sudan, Mali and Libya.

Putin: ‘I said Russia has nothing to do with it’
Putin himself said in February: “As for Wagner, I already said that the Russian state has nothing to do with it.” Such companies pursue commercial interests. “They negotiate there themselves, the local rulers invite them at the state level and thank them for the work they have done,” he said, referring to Mali.

Mercenary system “allows you to make the dead disappear”
In contrast, French filmmakers Ksenia Bolchakova and Alexandra Jousset, who made a documentary entitled “Wagner, Putin’s Shadow Army”, show close ties to the Kremlin. They also questioned gabidulline. In many places, Wagner travels exclusively in the service of the Kremlin. “By sending mercenaries, the state saves on the pensions and salaries it has to pay regular army soldiers. And it also makes it possible to make the dead disappear,” they write.

“Putin’s cook” and Richard Wagner fan
The heads of the organization, which features a portrait of German composer Richard Wagner in its propaganda videos, are Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigoschin and Lieutenant Colonel Dmitri Utkin. As a sign of his admiration for music, Utkin is nicknamed “Wagner”. After his career with the Russian military intelligence GRU, he is said to have established a rapid response force under his combat name from veterans of special units from 2014 onwards.

Illustrious mix: militias, spies, mob bosses, ex-convicts
“Dmitri Utkin is a great admirer of the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler,” write Bolchakova and Jousset. But Prigozhin is the direct contact for the Kremlin. Like Putin, the 62-year-old, who is wanted by the United States, is from Saint Petersburg. “The former criminal who became one of Russia’s most powerful men is the pure product of an underworld of security militias, spies, secret service agents, mob bosses and ex-convicts.” in his restaurant – hence the nickname “Putin’s cook”.

War against Ukrainian “brother people”
In total, about 5000 fighters for Wagner are said to be active today. The hitman Gabidullin, who received up to 3,000 euros a month, was also one of them until 2019. In his book on the horrors of war, which largely resembles a report from the front, he complains of bad weapons, mistakes in battle, and sometimes complete brutalization among the Wagner people. Gabidullin himself justifies his disclosure with the fact that he sees Putin’s war in Ukraine as a mistake. He never wanted to fight against a “brother nation”.

Still no regrets: ‘No scum, but real professionals’
Of course, readers should not expect regrets: Gabidullin uses the book to justify himself. And he demands official recognition of the fighters from private military companies. The Russian army often adorned itself with successes that mercenaries would have achieved in the fight against the terrorist militia in Syria. Gabidullin demands that these deserve a place in the history books: “This new structure will take a long time to prove that it is not a hodgepodge of outsiders and rabble, but an organization made up of real professionals – the workers of war.”