Russian political scientist does not rule out the possibility that Prigozhin's 'death' was staged
(Baonghean.vn) - Russian political scientists believe that it is possible that the "boss" of the Wagner Group, Yegeny Prigozhin, is not dead, and that the plane crash was staged. However, from the perspective of a political figure, it is very possible that Prigozhin is "dead".
On the evening of August 23, an Embraer Legacy 135 aircraft with registration number RA-02795 crashed in the Bologovsky district of Tver Oblast (Russia). The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency quickly reported that Wagner's "boss", Evgeny Prigozhin, was on the list of 10 passengers on board, and all died in the accident.
According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, a second plane involved with Prigozhin with tail number RA-02878 left Moscow shortly after the first, but turned back to land after news of the crash.
Is "boss" Wagner really dead?
The death of Wagner Military Group boss Evgeny Prigozhin has not been officially confirmed, but media close to Wanger said that other Wagner commanders including Dmitry Utkin were also on the plane.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that the possible death of Wagner’s leader has been mentioned. Previously, businessman Prigozhin was reported to have “died” in Africa in 2019, and in 2023, he was allegedly assassinated in the Lugansk region.
Russian political scientist Fyodor Krasheninnikov does not rule out the possibility that Prigozhin’s “death” may have been staged, and that he actually survived. However, the political scientist also emphasized that, from the perspective of a political figure, Prigozhin is most likely “dead.”
“First of all, let's be honest: we can't be sure that Prigozhin is dead. You know, Prigozhin is a man who has many passports, wigs, and often disguises himself. To be honest, a few years ago, he was reported dead in Africa. So, with this incident, we can't say with confidence that Prigozhin is dead,” said Russian political scientist Fyodor Krasheninnikov.
The Russian scientist analyzed: First, in all cases, it was a Wagner plane. And as the media reported, Wagner leaders were on board and died. It is possible that Wagner leader Utkin himself was there and died. In any case, there were no Wagner soldiers on board.
Analyzing the emergence, “decline” and disappearance of “boss” Wagner, political scientist Krasheninnikov said that previously, no one knew who Prigozhin was, because he was a mysterious person, no photos of Prigozhin could be found. Suddenly, “boss” Wagner constantly appeared on social networks. And not only with some abstract arguments, but also with increasingly harsh criticism, aimed at the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense, in particular Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and General Valery Gerasimov, Commander-in-Chief of Russian forces in Ukraine.
“Since then, Prigozhin has lost the opportunity to contact President Putin to resolve a number of issues,” Russian scientist Krasheninnikov assessed.
Regarding the idea that the plane crash could be part of some kind of “hoax,” political scientist Krasheninnikov said: “Perhaps Prigozhin has just disappeared. And this is a way to get out of the political game forever. Suppose Yevgeny Prigozhin, living somewhere else, under a different name, wearing a wig, and a different passport, ceases to be a phenomenon in Russian politics, as the head of Wagner, a restaurateur, “Putin’s chef,” then it no longer matters whether Prigozhin is alive or not. If the authorities officially announce the death of Prigozhin, as a political figure, then he will disappear forever.”
Wagner "Empire" Collapse?
So what will happen to Prigozhin’s business “empire” that he has worked so hard to build over time, as well as Wagner’s projects in Africa? Scientist Fyodor Krasheninnikov believes that there should be no “illusion” that Prigozhin has a business “empire” and his personal projects in Africa.
“From the very beginning, all the statements about a private military company were a deception. All this was invented to create a cover for the Russian special intelligence agencies, including the GRU. In fact, President Putin himself stated that all funding for the Prigozhin private military company came from the state budget. This means that this is not some wealthy businessman who decided to invest billions in the creation of a private military company...” – Scientist Fyodor Krasheninnikov explained.
