The main leaders of private military companies (PMCs) of Wagner, which is associated with the Petersburg businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, are Colonel Dmitry Utkin and CEO of military security “Escort” Konstantin Pikalov. The identity of the chiefs of the organization revealed in a joint investigation Bellingcat, The Insider and Der Spiegel.
Journalists write that PMC Wagner got its name from the pseudonym of Dmitry Utkin “Herr Wagner.” Utkin was born on 11 June 1970, was a career officer and found the two Chechen wars. In the early 2000s, he was transferred to the city of Perm near the border with Estonia, where he served for ten years commander of the 2nd brigade of the GRU.
In 2010 ies Utkin began working at PMC “Slavic corps”, who participated in the fighting in Syria. Then, in 2014, was established PMC Wagner, which, according to the publications, trained on the basis of GRU near Krasnodar.
States that in 2018-2019, the Russian strategists began to be more active in Africa-they offered friendly Moscow candidates support in the election, including the financial and personal security. By the time the sport had become too media, and PMC needed a new face to perform operations. They became another Colonel Konstantin Pikalov Callsign Mazzei.
Pikalov was born 23 July 1968, served close to St. Petersburg. In 2016, wanted to participate in the elections “Fair Russia”, but he refused to register. Pikalov also listed in the black list the Central Bank as a suspect in money laundering.
“the Staff of the African project Prigogine, with whom we could talk, argue that Pickalov fought in the Donbass, in Syria, and although this sounds plausible, it is difficult to confirm independently”, — stated in the material.
Despite the involvement in conflicts and presence in the black list of the Central Bank, Pikalov three times managed to get a tourist visa at the Finnish Consulate and visit Finland, Estonia, and Kazakhstan.
PMC Wagner — unofficial armed groups, which is associated with the Petersburg businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin. It is believed that his mercenaries provided security in several African countries. According to some reports, they also took part in the fighting in the Donbass, Syria and was heading to Sudan to support President Omar al-Bashir.
