13:57, June 1, 2023Source: 

The founder of PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, visited Nizhny Novgorod after trips to Yekaterinburg, Vladivostok and Novosibirsk. There, he visited the writer Zakhar Prilepin in the hospital, who was assassinated in May, the writer’s press service reported.

Prilepin told the Daily Storm that during Prigozhin’s visit, they talked “about the fate of Russia and the essence of power.” “We exchanged extremely frank opinions. That Ukrainians not only learned how to fight, but also want to fight. And what exactly our country decided on this occasion sometimes remains a mystery, ”Prilepin said. 

According to the Daily Storm, the founder of Wagner PMC gave the writer a “spare skull” (what it is, is not specified), and he gave him “a hand-embroidered case for a sledgehammer.” The press services of Prigozhin and Prilepin did not report this.

On June 1, Prilepin’s Telegram channel featured a long post dedicated to Prigozhin’s birthday, in which the founder of the PMC is called “a symbol of the possibility of independent politics and independent political rhetoric.”

In addition, the post says that Prigozhin “returned the Russian language and humor to politics,” and also “returned Bakhmut and faith in the invincibility of Russians.” Separately, the work of PMC Wagner in Africa was noted: “Working in Algeria, Libya, Congo, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Central African Republic, Sudan and so on, Prigozhin proved what Russia Without Borders is in reality, or with new geopolitical borders” .

After the withdrawal of PMC Wagner from Bakhmut, Prigozhin switched his own media activity to the Russian regions, presenting a certain project “Wagner. Second front”. What it is is not clear.

In the last days of May, Prigozhin gave three press conferences – in Yekaterinburg, Vladivostok and Novosibirsk. Among the theses put forward by the founder of the PMC were the following: the war will be long, it is urgent to declare a general mobilization, return the death penalty and introduce a planned economy.

Prigozhin argues that his current activity should not be regarded as the beginning of a political career: he does not plan to create his own party or run for president, according to him. 

(C)MEDUZA 2023