Putin s secret army – and the chef he chose to run it
19 minutes to read
By: Larisa Brown
How did a former hot-dog seller turned billionaire restaurateur end up running an army of mercenaries on behalf of Putin? Meet Yevgeny Prigozhin, the man behind the shadowy Wagner Group that conducts black ops across the globe – from assassinations to election-rigging and cyberwarfare. Larisa Brown investigates the former penniless convict who ended up becoming one of Russia s most powerful men.
Last summer I was at the Russian ambassador s residence on Billionaires Row in Kensington, resisting the temptation to devour a plate of gold-wrapped Ferrero Rocher chocolates while anxiously awaiting the arrival of Vladimir Putin s top diplomat in London. I had previously met Andrei Kelin s predecessor, Alexander Yakovenko, 66, on a number of occasions in the aftermath of the Skripal poisoning in Salisbury and had become accustomed to his masterclasses in the art of obfuscation.
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In our second extract from Alan Duncan s riotously candid diaries, he continues to support the Prime Minister Theresa May while criticising her in private. Meanwhile, he is finding the antics of his boss Boris Johnson now Foreign Secretary increasingly jaw-dropping.
Monday, September 25, 2017
Interesting drink with a banker who was at Eton with Boris. He was no fan, and says Boris took his economics revision notes without permission and then never gave them back.
Tuesday, September 26
The Foreign Office has lost its way. It is an organisation living on its past, one without leadership, initiative or confidence. [Foreign secretary] Boris adds nothing to it. Amid a long succession of characterful foreign secretaries, he is Harold Wilson s George Brown without the alcohol.
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