What do Russians and Belarusians make of the Wagner Group?

Available for over a year

In a moment of high tension, Russia appeared to come close to civil war as Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private army, known as the Wagner Group, marched towards Moscow before turning back and avoiding any confrontation. The Wagner Group has been playing a significant role for Russia in the fighting in Ukraine but is unhappy with how the war is unfolding. It is claimed Mr Prigozhin is now in Belarus and his fighters have been told they can go there too, if they do not want to join the regular Russian army or go home. The public confrontation with Vladimir Putin has given cause to consider the president’s grip on the country, as well as the sense of security at home. Host Krupa Padhy has been talking to people in Russia. Inga in Moscow had full faith in her leader avoiding any conflict on home ground. “We knew it would be stopped because to even allow that bloodshed would have started in Moscow is just something incomprehensible,” she says. For Alexander in Novinsinbisk, it was an unpleasant wake up call. “We were that close to being ruled by a private warlord. That’s ridiculous,” he says. “That’s unprecedented.” We hear from three Belarusians at home and abroad about the decision, by President Alexander Lukashenko, to accept Wagner mercenaries in Belarus. A co-production between the BBC OS team and Boffin Media. (Photo: People watch a concert marking Russia Day at Red Square in Moscow, Russia June 11, 2023. Credit: Reuters/Evgenia Novozhenina)