![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wagner-boss-prigozhins-years-of-living-dangerously/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/130885159_prigozhin-index2-reuters.jpg&description=Image source, Reuters Image caption, Prigozhin appeared euphoric at the end of his mutiny but his move had ended in failure From the moment Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny in Russia collapsed in June there was always a sense that a man who had lived so close to the edge for so long had overplayed his hand. If he was on board his own private jet when it went down en route from Moscow to St Petersburg then it would mark a shocking and violent end to a very turbulent life. For so many years Vladimir Putin was able to call on Prigozhin's services. But the botched revolt involving thousands of Wagner mercenaries went beyond the pale. President Putin condemned the rebellion as "treason" and it was soon very clear that Prigozhin's prolific role in Russia was over. This was a man whose first years of adulthood were spent in a St Petersburg jail, but he thrived in the 1990s with catering businesses that brought him wealth and patronage from Mr Putin himself. It was Prigozhin's mercenary ventures in Africa, Syria and Ukraine that made him a military figure but the dynamic changed when Russia unleashed war in Ukraine and the president's one-time chef found power as well as wealth. Image caption, Yevgeny Prigozhin (left) pictured serving Vladimir Putin (centre) at a dinner in 2011 Unconfirmed reports suggest his Embraer Legacy 135 plane was hit by two bursts of fire from military air defences. If it was brought down deliberately, few will be surprised because Prigozhin had no shortage of enemies. Dmitry Utkin, who was Prigozhin's first Wagner commander, was also on the passenger list. Prigozhin, 62, appeared to have escaped punishment for his short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin. Under a deal to end the revolt. many of his rebel mercenaries were allowed to go to a camp in Belarus while the Wagner boss himself was able to travel within Russia, showing up in St Petersburg in casual clothes during a Russian summit of African leaders in late July. His witty but venomous video rants ag){kind=link}
From the moment Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny in Russia collapsed in June there was always a sense that a man who had lived so close to the edge for so long had overplayed his hand.
If he was on board his own private jet when it went down en route from Moscow to St Petersburg then it would mark a shocking and violent end to a very turbulent life.
For so many years Vladimir Putin was able to call on Prigozhin’s services.
But the botched revolt involving thousands of Wagner mercenaries went beyond the pale. President Putin condemned the rebellion as “treason” and it was soon very clear that Prigozhin’s prolific role in Russia was over.
This was a man whose first years of adulthood were spent in a St Petersburg jail, but he thrived in the 1990s with catering businesses that brought him wealth and patronage from Mr Putin himself.