She would be Russia’s secret weapon, the armed wing of Vladimir Putin who would act in the shadows on the international scene in the interest of the Kremlin. The mysterious Russian company Wagner is again in the heart of the news and criticism because of its presence in Mali, while France and its partners have just announced the withdrawal of their troops. Who is behind this controversial and described as violent group found in many countries in conflict or unstable? What are their interests? And why do they bother Westerners so much? 20 minutes explains everything to you.
What exactly is the Wagner group?
Wagner is the name of a private Russian military company that recruits mercenaries and operates in different countries around the world. Before continuing, it should be noted that no information on this company is official, “since Russia does not recognize its existence and prohibits this kind of company”, explains Roland Marchal,
researcher at the CNRS and teacher at Science Po Paris. We know, however, that the group was founded in 2014 at the time of the Donbass war in Ukraine. by Dmitri Utkin, who is said to have secretly deployed fighters there.
Wagner is his nom de guerre chosen in homage to Adolf Hitler’s favorite German composer, according to a Sky News survey. Atmosphere. Among the known names that surround this company, we also find that of Evgueni Prigojine, presented as the main financier of the company and also former cook of Vladimir Putin. Among other things, he is suspected of being involved in the poisoning of opponent Alexeï Navalny.
If the Kremlin has always denied any link with society, there is great porosity between Wagner and the Russian army. “Wagner selects soldiers from among the best in the Russian army. Young people who already have experience of fire and who come to round off their end of the month as mercenaries, ”says Cyrille Bret, researcher at the Jacques-Delors Institute and professor at Sciences Po Paris. According to the Sky News survey carried out in 2016, they would be paid 3,500 euros per month and trained in a village where there were also special forces of the Russian army. “Wagner also recruits locally in the countries where it operates. We can thus find among them Algerian, Syrian, Libyan or Mozambican fighters, ”adds Roland Marchal.
Why is the Wagner group present in Mali (and elsewhere)?
Since its inception, the Wagner company has deployed its troops in various countries. Since 2015, mercenaries have been fighting like this in Syria alongside the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. Others are in Libya, the Central African Republic or Sudan. Each time, Russia denies the presence of these mercenaries and speaks in addition of “Russian instructors”, “volunteers” or “consultants”. “They intervene in countries which have an interest for Russia, but in which it does not want to appear in order to avoid any criticism or sanction, analyzes Cyrille Bret. With these mercenaries, the Kremlin is testing the region’s tolerance for possible Russian intervention. It capitalizes on tactical feedback from the field. Russia’s goals would also be economic and diplomatic. Moscow has, for example, since 2017 signed numerous cooperation agreements with African countries.
On December 23, the fifteen Western powers involved in the anti-jihadist fight in Mali denounced the deployment of mercenaries from the Wagner company in the country. Paris then warned that this arrival would be “incompatible” with the maintenance of the French soldiers deployed. This Thursday, while the withdrawal of French soldiers was formalized, French President Emmanuel Macron accused the Wagner company of being in Mali to serve “its own economic interests” and to secure the Malian military junta in power in Bamako, citing the presence of about 800 mercenaries. If the Malian government has approached Wagner it is partly because “with Russia at the UN, the military junta is protected”, adds Roland Marchal.
What risks does the Wagner company represent?
If the Wagner company is a bit like the invisible hand of the Kremlin, it is however not the Russian government that finances the operations. The group is remunerated by the plans that call on it. “They turn to this military society to defend private interests and not public good”, explains Cyrille Bret. These are therefore closely related. “Wagner’s fighters ensure that presidents stay in power by giving them the means to establish their authoritarianism”, deciphers Roland Marchal, who notes the disastrous effects on the last democratic springs in the Central African Republic: “Opponents disappear or are found dead without any legal consequences, people are now afraid to speak out. »
Russian society has also created local militias there which “accentuate inter-community tensions and weaken peace at the local level”, adds the CNRS researcher who fears the same scenario in Mali.
Finally, the biggest problem with Wagner is that since society “does not exist”, it is above all laws. “There are no rules or framework to control the practices of mercenaries. And they are not the type to do in lace, ”says Roland Marchal. Without legal existence, no possible sanction, nor joint work with Westerners who lose control in certain territories. Already last year, Wagner was accused of having taken control of a battalion trained by the European Union mission in the Central African Republic. Today, the withdrawal of French troops and its European partners in Mali is a second example.