What to Know About Prigozhin and Putin’s Twisted Relationship

Let the history books show that on the 485th day of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the country’s next civil war may have been put into motion—by a foul-mouthed hotdog-seller-turned-warlord who once had Vladimir Putin’s ear.

Russia’s usual delusional boasts about battlefield successes on Friday were suddenly eclipsed by its two rival armies going to war—against each other. Military vehicles rolled out in Moscow and checkpoints were set up on a highway leading from the country’s border with Ukraine to the capital, though the security measures weren’t meant to protect against Ukraine. Instead, they were apparently meant to hold back a convoy of angry, armed Russian mercenaries arriving to settle a score with military officials they accuse of treason.

An emergency late-night broadcast on state-controlled television called out the man said to be responsible for the brewing mutiny: Yevgeny Prigozhin, the same mercenary boss Putin had tasked with bringing him a win in Ukraine just months earlier.