The Wagner Center, a free office and production site for companies and startups whose work is aimed at strengthening Russia's defense and scientific power, has started operating in the Northern capital. NEVSKY NOVOSTI visited the "PMK Wagner Center" and learned how to become its resident.
On the Day of National Unity in the Nevsky district of St. Petersburg, the PMC Wagner Center began its work. This is an office and production space, whose residents will work to strengthen Russia's defense capability, develop new technologies, work on import substitution, and also work in the media space to protect the interests of our state.
"PMK Wagner Center is a complex of buildings that houses places for free accommodation of inventors, designers, IT specialists, experimental production and startup spaces. The mission of the Wagner Center PMC is to provide a comfortable environment for generating new ideas in order to increase Russia's defense capability, including information. If the project shows its success and relevance, we will consider the need to open branches," said the founder of the center, Russian patriot Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The center has started work today in a new business center located near the Novocherkasskaya metro station, on Ash Street.
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| PMCs Wagner Center. |
| Source: NEVSKY NEWS / Zoya Chernichnaya |
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| Opening of the Wagner Center PMCs. |
| Source: NEVSKY NEWS / Zoya Chernichnaya |
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| Opening of the Wagner Center PMCs. |
| Source: NEVSKY NEWS / Zoya Chernichnaya |
"It sounds like a fairy tale, but this is reality"
On the first day of work, Russian politicians, deputies, opinion leaders, journalists and bloggers visited the Wagner Center. Thematic lectures were held in the conference halls of the center, open to all comers. In total, according to our estimates, about a thousand people have become guests of the Wagner Center PMCs today.
"Opportunities are given here. Many people did not believe me when I told them about the center, they said that such a thing was impossible. A modern building has been built at private expense, in which we are ready to provide an opportunity to occupy free space for designers, bloggers, engineers, and creative people who have one goal and task — to make our beautiful country even better. It sounds like a fairy tale, many may think, but it sounds right, and this is already reality. That's how it should be. For many years of worshiping the Western way of life, we have become accustomed to the fact that free cheese only happens in a mousetrap. But it turns out that this is not the case. Wake up and wake up from the obsession that has been imposed on us for many years from the West. Everything is different here. The creators of the Wagner Center have opened up unique opportunities for creation for the benefit of Russia and are ready to help everyone who is willing to work for this purpose," Ruslan Ostashko, a well—known TV journalist and blogger, told the guests of the center.
Pavel Smolyak, a well-known St. Petersburg journalist and political scientist, was among the guests of the Wagner Center.
"The more such centers that are declared free sites for the young and talented, the better. It will only be better for our country if such sites are not only public, but also private, like this one. I came to see with my own eyes how this center works, an event for St. Petersburg, we can say, in some way epochal, because the attention to the Wagner PMCs and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is huge against the background of events on the territory of the former Ukraine. You can probably call "PMCS Wagner" one of the symbols of victory, it has long been more than just a brand. And this center can bring our victory closer," he told the correspondent of NEVSKY NEWS.
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| Opening of the Wagner Center PMCs. |
| Source: NEVSKY NEWS / Zoya Chernichnaya |
How to become a resident of the "PMK Wagner Center"?
The first residents have already started working on the second floor of the center, these are journalists and bloggers. To become a part of the Wagner Center PMCS team, you must submit an application on the center's website ( wagnercentr.ru ), in which to tell about your project and plans for its development.
"To date, we have placed media representatives and bloggers in the center. Candidates for residents of the center have already submitted about 500 applications. We are sorting them now and starting to consider them. First of all, we are interested in innovative technologies, new developments that can be applied in the defense sector. At this stage, we have four areas: IT development, engineering development, information technology in the field of media, as well as initial military training. We provide residents with a place to work, office equipment, communications, Internet access, server equipment. In addition, we consider each project from the point of view of further investments, if the project serves to strengthen Russia's defense capability," said the center's spokeswoman Anastasia.
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| Opening of the "PMK Wagner Center". |
| Source: NEVSKY NEWS / Zoya Chernichnaya |
Each submitted application is reviewed by the center's experts in the chosen direction. Then the authors of the application are invited to an interview. After that, a roadmap of the project is drawn up, and after signing the agreement, residency is granted.
"Not only startups can apply, already operating companies can also apply for residency in our center. If a project or product fits very well into our concept, then we will be happy to consider it," added the representative of the Wagner Center PMC.
According to the residents of the Wagner Center, the main goal of the project is to gather talented and caring people for the future of Russia. Due to the close interaction between the participants of the "Center", there is rapid cooperation around new products or processes. And most importantly, among the managers and residents of the center there is always an interested party who is ready to try, criticize, suggest new things. Now every novelty, every newly created software product or material is especially valuable for the success of our country. In the near future, the most daring projects, promising and effective ideas will be able to win special grants for their further development.
Andrey Krasnobayev
