08 November 2022, Tuesday, 17:30 461

2 People On Whom Putin Depends Trying To Build Business Against Backdrop Of War In Ukraine - ISW

Редактор: Tetiana Herasimova

Russian President Vladimir Putin is becoming increasingly dependent on the founder of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin and the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, who, in turn, are trying to defend their business interests.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported this in its Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment as of November 7.

“The Russian pro-war siloviki faction is increasing its influence in part to advance personal interests in Russia and occupied Ukraine, not strictly to win the war,” analysts said.

The first such figure is Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has already opened Wagner training and management centers for "people's militias" in the Kursk and Belgorod Regions. Prigozhin believes that Russian officials should hold regional businesses responsible for providing the militia.

“Prigozhin’s Unity Day media appearances also captured the same notion of cooperation between the Russian government and business, which likely indicates that he is attempting to grow his Wagner-focused power base in Russia while undercutting unified Russian operations in Ukraine,” experts suggest.

Prigozhin has repeatedly said that he has no political ambitions, but his actions indicate that he created in society the idea that he has such ambitions.

The second figure on whose forces Putin becomes dependent is Ramzan Kadyrov. The head of Chechnya and his field commanders are building up business networks in the occupied territories.

Analysts explained: "Both Prigozhin and Kadyrov remain independent figures within Russia due to Putin’s dependency on their forces in Ukraine."

These trends are at odds with the image of a single leader who has been trying to build Putin for years.

Recall that the media reported that the founder of the Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin spoke with Vladimir Putin and pointed out the mistakes made during the invasion of Ukraine. Prigozhin himself denies this.

Больше новостей о: Ramzan Kadyrov ISW Institute for the Study of War Yevgeny Prigozhin