Rebranding ‘the world’s most dangerous private army’

8


Enlarge this image

A member of the Wagner Group pays tribute to its former leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

VLADIMIR NIKOLAYEV/Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

VLADIMIR NIKOLAYEV/Getty Images

A member of the Wagner Group pays tribute to its former leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

VLADIMIR NIKOLAYEV/Getty Images

When the leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin died in an exploding plane widely attributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, it wasn’t clear what would happen. Today, why the Wagner Group has been called the world’s most dangerous private army, its relationship with Russia and how its business model creates a blueprint for others to follow.

Related episodes:
Not your typical army: how the Wagner Group operates (Apple / Spotify)
How the ‘shadow fleet’ helps Russia skirt sanctions (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.