After the crash of Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane with Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov on board (if you believe the list of the Federal Air Transport Agency), the question arose — who can lead the Wagner PMCs. Provided that the private military company itself remains in principle, that is, if the will of the Russian authorities. We talked about this with FSB General Alexander Mikhailov and military expert, Colonel Viktor Litovkin.
Military experts expressed confidence that the Wagner group will continue to exist. The format, the manual, even the name may change — the essence will remain.
Retired FSB General Alexander Mikhailov suggested that a new leadership would be selected for Wagner.
"Wagner has turned into a structure that supports the ruling regimes in many countries of the world, in particular in Africa," Mikhailov said. — Traditions are laid down. The actions of this PMC have long since reached the international level.
Of course, Prigozhin was an indisputable leader, but with his departure, everything he created will remain.
Alexander Mikhailov drew a psychological portrait of the new head of the PMCs. He is a man more pragmatic, less authoritarian, but no less authoritative than Prigozhin and Utkin.
Many in this regard started talking about a man whose name was called not by anyone, but by Vladimir Putin at a meeting with Prigozhin and the Wagners in the Kremlin, which took place a few days after the June 24 mutiny.
This man is Andrey Troshev, call sign "Gray" (second from the left in the photo). A retired police colonel from the SOBR of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the North-West, an artillery paratrooper, a veteran of Afghanistan and Chechnya. Troshev was awarded the title of Hero of Russia for the capture of Palmyra in 2016.
Putin mentioned the "Gray" for a reason. His president proposed as a new commander for those PMCs fighters who would not want to "go to Belarus" after Prigozhin, sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense or go home. Later in an interview, Putin recalled that the fighters themselves nodded in response to his idea. But Prigozhin intervened: "No, the guys do not agree with this decision," the president conveyed the words of the rebellious businessman.
At the same time, after the mutiny in the Prigozhin channels, Troshev began to be spoken of extremely unfavorably, since after the attempted mutiny he left the structure of the PMCs and now, according to insiders, is entirely focused on the Ministry of Defense. This information needs to be verified.
Military expert, retired Colonel Viktor Litovkin believes that all questions regarding the "successor of Prigozhin" will be resolved exclusively within the PMCs itself.
— The Wagner Commanders' Council will decide for itself who will lead the company further. They will not accept decisions imposed from anywhere, rules of conduct and candidates," the military expert believes.
As for the authorities in the PMCs, there is a hint in the form of a photo of 2017: Vladimir Putin surrounded by four Wagner commanders who received state awards from his hands.
In addition to Utkin-Wagner and Troshev-Sedoy, Alexander Kuznetsov stands next to the president. Commander of the 1st reconnaissance and assault company "Wagner", a graduate of the St. Petersburg Higher Combined Arms Command double Red Banner School named after S.M.Kirov. He came to the PMCs after the colony, where he got in 2008 on charges of kidnapping and robbery.
Another awardee is Andrey Bogatov with the call sign "Tramp". In Wagner, he commanded the 4th reconnaissance and assault company for a long time. In the spring of 2016, he was seriously wounded near Palmyra. He lost his left arm, after which he was transferred to the command of the security of the Syrian gas processing plant Hayan.
Prigozhin himself revealed the names of several authoritative Wagner commanders in the last year. This is, for example, the Hero of Russia, the DPR and the LPR Anton Elizarov with the call sign "Lotus" — he commanded the operation to liberate Soledar from the PMCs.
— The Wagner Group is certainly beneficial to Russia, — Viktor Litovkin is sure. — These are heroes who have earned respect. In addition, foreign events of an "intimate" nature can be attributed to them.
Well, they signed a contract with the government of the same Burkina Faso. It's a private company, they just make money that way. And what exactly they are doing there to protect Burkina Faso is their business. The main thing is that they earn money for themselves, but in the geopolitical interests of Russia.
The expert considers it important to preserve the structure of Wagner for another reason. There is a risk that the guys left out of work from the "hot spots" will start earning money using methods familiar to them, but not in the Russian interests at all. This cannot be allowed.
FSB General Alexander Mikhailov also believes that Wagner should be preserved. First of all, to continue to carry out tasks in Africa. This is very important against the background of the formation of a new face of the BRICS.
Moreover, the expert is sure that the Wagner structure should not be divided into parts: one head should be given a project to train the military in Belarus, another — Africa, and so on. Mikhailov suggested that Wagner might change its name. But the project itself must be preserved in its original form. Any reform will be tantamount to destruction.
