On May 19 on the NTV channel – in a non-prestigious night air – the premiere of the film “Tourist” will take place . He is billed as a “dynamic militant” of the Russian military officially located in the Central African Republic (CAR), helping “the legitimate government of the country to resist the insurgent fighters.” As “Meduza” found out, the picture was filmed with the money of Yevgeny Prigozhin and tells about the exploits of the African group of PMC Wagner. However, the private military company itself is not mentioned in the tape. Nor does it say about the crimes of which the Russian mercenaries were accused by Western journalists. Meduza’s special correspondent Lilia Yapparova spoke with the filmmakers to find out how many real mercenaries were included in the final cut – and why Prigozhin needs film propaganda.

“Filmed in conditions close to combat”

“Tourist” is the callsign of the main character of the tape, Grisha Dmitriev, who is in the CAR for the first time . “Russian instructor” – in the film he is called exclusively so – comes to Africa “to teach the basics of tactics to local military personnel”, tells about the events of the film, the RIA FAN edition associated with Prigozhin. On this trip, “Tourist” becomes a witness to the coup attempt “organized by foreign special services”. 

(C)MEDUZA 2021