Revenge is sweet – Putin liquidates economic empire Prigozhin France struggles with the consequences of the riots – the latest in 5 points

A statement by Vladimir Putin made even Kremlin activists sit up and take notice: In his speech three days after the Wagner uprising, the Russian president stressed that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary group was “entirely funded by the state”. In accounting terms, Putin estimated the amount transferred at 86.2 billion rubles for the period between May 2022 and May 2023, which is equivalent to about 868 million francs.

What should have made Prigozhin’s betrayal even more scandalous from Putin’s point of view was seen in the West – despite previous denials – as an admission of a clear state connection to the illegal mercenary organization. In Russia, however, Putin’s verdict was also read as a huge waste of taxpayers’ money.

Tempi passati. In the days following the uprising, the Putin regime is doing everything it can to mark normalcy on the one hand and determination on the other. Since Prigozhin himself is no longer available for the time being, his economic empire is now under attack.

The Wagner logos are on public display and were removed from Prigozhin’s Glass Palace in St. Petersburg on Sunday. What is happening behind the scenes is even more serious: the Russian state is said to have canceled all supply contracts with Prigozhin’s catering holding company Concord. As the Russian Telegram channel “Ostorozhno novosti” reports, several thousand employees were subsequently dismissed without compensation.

The second mainstay in Prigozhin’s network of companies, the media group Patriot, is not faring much better. Her best-known publications are pro-government media such as RIA FAN, Nevskije Novosti and Ekonomika Segodnja. According to several reports, they also ceased operations and laid off their employees a few hours ago after their channels were previously blocked by state media regulator Roskomnadzor.

Food problems are likely to increase

Concord supplied food and ready meals to the military, schools and hospitals through an extensive network of no less than 22 member companies. It also took over food distribution in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. According to Russian information, the supply contracts between the state and Concord amount to 8.5 billion francs per year.

For “Putin’s cook”, as Prigozhin was nicknamed for his gastronomic activities, the creation of the Concord Group was a milestone in his development into a very wealthy entrepreneur. As Russian sources continue to report, his kitchen staff, warehouse workers, canteen operators and bookkeepers are now simply being fired for verbal dismissal so that no incriminating written testimonies are made public.

It is not clear who should so quickly take over the catering of the Russian armed forces and state-owned companies instead of the Concord Group. Military bloggers expect the already difficult supply situation at the front in Ukraine to worsen.

At the same time, social media reminded of the bad reputation that Prigozhin’s catering empire had among Russian soldiers. In 2022, Concord was sued by the Russian Ministry of Defense in a record 560 cases for damages of approximately 1.5 million Swiss francs for substandard or even spoiled food.

It is not surprising that the Russian exile medium “Meduza” reports that Prigozhin had already lost numerous state catering contracts even before he rebelled against Putin and started the “March on Moscow”. (aargauerzeitung.ch)