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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a rally in support of political prisoners in Prospekt Sakharova Street in Moscow, Russia on September 29, 2019. Sefa Karacan | Anadolu | Getty ImagesWorld leaders and the wife of prominent Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny reacted with dismay and suspicion to reports of the Kremlin critic's death in a Siberian penal colony. Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's wife, was greeted on Friday with a standing ovation as she addressed the Munich Security Conference. "Alexei Navalny has been a strong voice for freedom, for democracy, for many years, and NATO and NATO allies have called for his immediate release for a long time." "We'll be talking to the many other countries concerned about Alexei Navalny, especially if these reports bear out to be true."

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Sefa, Yulia Navalnaya, Navalnaya, Vladimir Putin, Putin, …, Kai Pfaffenbach, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, Navalny's, Navalny, Kamala Harris, Washington, Jens Stoltenberg, Yulia Morozova, Ursula von der Leyen, von der Leyen, Antony Blinken, Rishi Sunak, Olaf Scholz Organizations: Anadolu, Getty, Munich Security, Reuters, Ministry, Munich, NATO, IK Locations: Moscow, Russia, Munich, Germany, Vladimir, Russian

☆ The mastermind of Russia's treacherous defenses in Ukraine appears to be in a kind of faraway 'exile' as the line is being breached
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russian Army Gen. Sergey Surovikin appears to be in Algeria, according to recent photos. Surovikin is the mastermind of Russia's formidable defensive lines and fortifications in Ukraine. But as Kyiv's forces break through these elaborate fortifications, the mastermind behind them is nowhere near the action. The experts cited several additional photographs of Surovikin purportedly in Algeria, which were published to Telegram by Russian sources. Insider was unable to independently verify any of the recent photographs of Surovikin shared to X and Telegram.

Persons: Sergey Surovikin, Wagner, Surovikin, Dara Massicot, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, Russia's Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovikin, Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Staff Sergei Rudskoi, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Metzel, subsume Wagner Organizations: Russian, Wagner Group, Service, RAND Corporation, Twitter, Institute for, Commonwealth, Independent States, CIS, Kommersant, Russia's Aerospace Forces, Staff, Russian Armed Forces, Armed Forces, Sputnik, Russian MoD Locations: Algeria, Ukraine, Africa, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Moscow, California, Washington, Yevgeny Prigozhin — Russia, North Africa, Russian, Sochi

☆ George W. Bush says it was 'shocking' to learn that Yevgeny Prigozhin once served him dinner in St. Petersburg: 'All I know is I survived'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A photograph from 2006 shows Yevgeny Prigozhin serving dinner to then-President George W. Bush. Prigozhin was running catering for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, earning the name "Putin's chef." The former president was then asked if he thought Russian leader Vladimir Putin could "survive" the consequences of the Ukraine war if the conflict does not end in Moscow's favor. Russian leader Vladimir Putin listens to his US counterpart George W. Bush prior to a dinner 14 July 2006. In those days, Prigozhin had earned himself the nickname "Putin's chef" because he provided catering services to the Russian leader.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, George W, Bush, he'd, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, Wagner, —, It's, Laura Bush, Putin, DMITRY ASTAKHOV, US Justice Department —, Weeks Organizations: Service, Yalta European Strategy, Getty, World Trade Organization, US Justice Department, Wagner, Kremlin Locations: Wall, Silicon, Yalta, Kyiv, St . Petersburg, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow's, Russia, Constantine, Washington, Moscow, Concord

☆ Opinion: Prigozhin seemed to be living on borrowed time
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Opinion Daniel Treisman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — who the Russian aviation agency confirmed was a passenger on board a plane that crashed on Wednesday evening — seemed to be living on borrowed time. Video of the plane debris taken at the purported crash site in the western Tver region of Russia matches the plane registered to Prigozhin. Investigations were started within the armed forces, and probably within the security forces as well. Any effort to paint Prigozhin as wealthy and corrupt stopped almost immediately, and no new financial investigations were announced. And in what might have been the last straw for Putin, Prigozhin released a video on Monday of himself standing in what looked like an African desert, boasting of his men’s exploits.

Persons: Daniel Treisman, “, CNN — Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, William Burns, “ I, Alexander Zemlianichenko, –, —, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Viktor Afzalov Organizations: University of California, CNN, Belarus, CIA, Kremlin, Central African, Investigations, Washington, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Los Angeles, Russian, Russia, Tver, Kuzhenkino, Tver region, Moscow, Africa, Mali, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Sudan, Ukraine, Petersburg, Sahel, St . Petersburg

The study found more than 110 pro-Wagner accounts operating in more than a dozen languages across Meta’s platforms. Even if the accounts are not directly affiliated with the Wagner group, ISD said, the content they created still likely violates Meta’s terms. The ISD report, meanwhile, highlights how there may be additional violating content that Meta has not detected and removed. Of these pages, ISD wrote, “the most viewed post, a video with over 712,000 views, shows Wagner mercenary forces testing tank traps set up at a defensive line in Ukraine. These pages were also found to be luring Facebook users to Telegram with links to graphic content showing dead bodies.”

Persons: Russia’s Wagner, Meta, Wagner, Biden, ISD, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, —, “, Prigozhin, dehumanizing, ” Wagner, ” Organizations: CNN, Facebook, Strategic, ISD, Internet Research Agency, Washington, Meta, Meta’s Locations: London, Ukraine

☆ Opinion: Putin faces a challenging task that threatens his power
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Russian president needs to restore his image of a man in full command of his country to audiences at home and abroad. Speaking at the summit, Putin tried to reinforce the message he had delivered to the Russian people, the claim that all Russians had stood with him. It wasn’t just his use of “alternative facts” that undermined Putin’s effort to leverage the SCO summit into a place to restore his standing as Russia’s czar for the foreseeable future. In fact, in the aftermath of the Prigozhin uprising, Putin has echoed the traditional strongman’s playbook of buying loyalty. Putin now faces a triple task: reclaiming the mantle of invincibility in Russia, rebuilding that image abroad and winning his calamitous war in Ukraine.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, —, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Putin, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, ”, “, Modi, Ebrahim Raisi, Xi, Dmitry Peskov, India’s Modi, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO, Frida Ghitis CNN, Wagner Group, Belarussian, Indian, Biological Safety, Twitter, Financial Times, Russian Locations: Russia, China, India, Russian, Moscow, St . Petersburg, Belarus, Ukraine, Iran, Rostov, New Delhi, Iranian, Republic, Dagestan, Kremlin, Asia, Washington, Beijing

☆ Prigozhin's Wagner mercenaries appear to be on the march towards Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's Wagner paramilitary forces appear to be headed toward the capital, Moscow. Photos and videos now appear to show Wagner forces and their armored vehicles in the region of Lipetsk, which is a roughly eight-hour drive from Rostov-on-Don — and less than six hours from Moscow. He later confirmed that Wagner forces were moving through the area, state media reported, and urged civilians to stay in their homes. The "march" began Friday after Prigozhin accused Russia's defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, of ordering an air strike on Wagner forces in Ukraine. He has repeatedly accused Shoigu and other military leaders of undermining Wagner forces in Ukraine.

Persons: Russia's Wagner, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, —, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, Don —, Igor Artamonov, Prigozhin, Russia's, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, Ramzan Kadyrov, Sergey Sobyanin, Igor Girkin Organizations: Service, New York Times, Russian, British Ministry of Defense Locations: Moscow, Russian, Rostov, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Ukraine, Russia, Vorenezh Oblast

☆ Ukraine managed to gain ground in Ukraine as Russia faced off against Russia in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian forces spent Saturday preparing to defend Moscow from a paramilitary uprising. But Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered his fighters to turn around just before reaching the capital. Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's deputy minister of defense, said Saturday that Ukrainian forces launched new counter-offensives in the country's east and were holding Russian forces in defensive positions in the south. While Ukraine continued its efforts to retake territory, Russia was forced to defend itself from itself. Before the Wagner Group fighters turned back, Russian security officials were gearing up to defend Moscow.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, —, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, Vladimir Putin —, Prigozhin, Ukraine's, Hanna Maliar, Wagner Group's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sergei Shoigu, Sen, Mark Warner of, Marco Rubio Organizations: Service, Wagner, Russian, Twitter, BBC, Wagner Group, Moscow, Russian Defense, Senate Intelligence, CBS Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Mark Warner of Virginia, Marco Rubio of Florida

☆ Ukraine gained ground inside Ukraine as Russia faced off against Russia inside Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

☆ How Putin's Russian goon squad used Mexican gig workers to troll an American election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

Posting to social media sounded like an easy work-from-home gig, so he applied. This post from the Prigozhin-backed Social CMS network in Mexico referred to America as "we." He verified his account by providing chat transcripts, screenshots, contracts, and internal company documents. But just because Social CMS didn't yield an immediate, large-scale impact doesn't mean it should be ignored. "I didn't know who are you," wrote the person who is listed in the corporate directory as Prigozhin's media liaison.

☆ Putin ally admits he created the Wagner mercenary group linked to wartime atrocities: 'I cleaned old weapons myself'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted to founding the Wagner mercenary firm in 2014. "I cleaned old weapons myself," the billionaire, known as "Putin's chef," said in a statement. Prigozhin previously denied founding the group and sued those who reported on his Wagner ties. "From that moment, on May 1, 2014, a group of patriots was born, which later acquired the name PMC Wagner." Timothy Lay, a coauthor of the report, told Insider that Wagner's actions — including widespread looting — were akin to "criminal violence."

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