The Russian Wagner Group: A powerful actor in Africa – DW – 10/27/2024
David Ehl
10/27/2024October 27, 2024
The Russian mercenary Wagner Group has long turned into a widely influential network that also pursues economic activities, particularly in Africa. At the same time, it's known to always prioritize Russia's — read, the Kremlin's — interests.
When the group's boss, the Russian multimillionaire Yevgeny Prigozhin, sought an open showdown with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in June 2023, he died in a mysterious plane crash soon afterwards.
Since then, the Wagner Group has moved even deeper into Russia's state structures.
Russia's unofficial vicarious agent
"For Russia, the Wagner Group is absolutely essential because it complements official diplomatic channels," Hager Ali, a researcher at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies in Hamburg, told DW.
She added that, aside from equipping armed forces and engaging in diplomatic initiatives such as at the recent BRICS summit, there were other areas of activity that Russia's government could not necessarily pursue through official channels.
"There's a completely different set of international rules that apply to a formal army,than to a private military contractor," she explained.
After Prigozhin's death, various units were incorporated into Russia's so-called Africa Corps and placed under the control of the Russian Defense Ministry.
The name "Africa Corps" alludes to a German expeditionary force with the same name under Nazi Germany, just as the Wagner Group shares a name with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's favorite composer, Richard Wagner.
"The Russian state wanted control ove