John Lechner

Well, so as Murat was telling you, Wagner really began in 2014. And Murat, as he was saying, he joined the company, as they call it, they only on the inside call it the company, Wagner Group Group. itself as an entity never existed. It was sort of just a nickname that was given to it.

Well, so as Murat was telling you, Wagner really began in 2014. And Murat, as he was saying, he joined the company, as they call it, they only on the inside call it the company, Wagner Group Group. itself as an entity never existed. It was sort of just a nickname that was given to it.

Well, so as Murat was telling you, Wagner really began in 2014. And Murat, as he was saying, he joined the company, as they call it, they only on the inside call it the company, Wagner Group Group. itself as an entity never existed. It was sort of just a nickname that was given to it.

Wagner initially came out of the war in eastern Ukraine. And its founder was a guy, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who Murat has mentioned a couple of times. This is a guy who was born in the 60s in the Soviet Union and sort of grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. He was a petty thief and kind of a small-time gangster in his teenage years.

Wagner initially came out of the war in eastern Ukraine. And its founder was a guy, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who Murat has mentioned a couple of times. This is a guy who was born in the 60s in the Soviet Union and sort of grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. He was a petty thief and kind of a small-time gangster in his teenage years.

Wagner initially came out of the war in eastern Ukraine. And its founder was a guy, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who Murat has mentioned a couple of times. This is a guy who was born in the 60s in the Soviet Union and sort of grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. He was a petty thief and kind of a small-time gangster in his teenage years.

And he goes away to prison at the age of 18, if I remember correctly, for assault and robbery. He and his gang were on a street in Leningrad, which became St. Petersburg. And they, Prokofiev came up behind a woman and strangled her until she almost died. And then they robbed her and he was caught and sent away for nine years.

And he goes away to prison at the age of 18, if I remember correctly, for assault and robbery. He and his gang were on a street in Leningrad, which became St. Petersburg. And they, Prokofiev came up behind a woman and strangled her until she almost died. And then they robbed her and he was caught and sent away for nine years.

And he goes away to prison at the age of 18, if I remember correctly, for assault and robbery. He and his gang were on a street in Leningrad, which became St. Petersburg. And they, Prokofiev came up behind a woman and strangled her until she almost died. And then they robbed her and he was caught and sent away for nine years.

And when he gets out, the Soviet Union is collapsing around him, and he returns to his native St. Petersburg, where first he falls in with some gangsters again in the 90s, which Murat had kind of alluded to previously with these various crime bosses and things. And so he falls in with some crime bosses himself, and they set him up as a manager of some grocery store chains.

And when he gets out, the Soviet Union is collapsing around him, and he returns to his native St. Petersburg, where first he falls in with some gangsters again in the 90s, which Murat had kind of alluded to previously with these various crime bosses and things. And so he falls in with some crime bosses himself, and they set him up as a manager of some grocery store chains.

And when he gets out, the Soviet Union is collapsing around him, and he returns to his native St. Petersburg, where first he falls in with some gangsters again in the 90s, which Murat had kind of alluded to previously with these various crime bosses and things. And so he falls in with some crime bosses himself, and they set him up as a manager of some grocery store chains.

He eventually turns that into becoming a restaurateur of some very fancy restaurants in St. Petersburg that a younger Vladimir Putin enjoyed. And he leveraged those relationships to eventually getting the job of providing meals to the whole Russian military and the Russian school system.

He eventually turns that into becoming a restaurateur of some very fancy restaurants in St. Petersburg that a younger Vladimir Putin enjoyed. And he leveraged those relationships to eventually getting the job of providing meals to the whole Russian military and the Russian school system.

He eventually turns that into becoming a restaurateur of some very fancy restaurants in St. Petersburg that a younger Vladimir Putin enjoyed. And he leveraged those relationships to eventually getting the job of providing meals to the whole Russian military and the Russian school system.

Well, as you'll see, kind of... As we go through the story, he manages to connect with Putin. Putin likes him. But he's never able, he would always say that he was about one handshake away from Putin. And so Putin gets to know him. He kind of likes him because he's uncouth. He kind of has that sort of rough personality.

Well, as you'll see, kind of... As we go through the story, he manages to connect with Putin. Putin likes him. But he's never able, he would always say that he was about one handshake away from Putin. And so Putin gets to know him. He kind of likes him because he's uncouth. He kind of has that sort of rough personality.

Well, as you'll see, kind of... As we go through the story, he manages to connect with Putin. Putin likes him. But he's never able, he would always say that he was about one handshake away from Putin. And so Putin gets to know him. He kind of likes him because he's uncouth. He kind of has that sort of rough personality.

kind of attitude, which is somewhat refreshing given kind of the bureaucratic elite that are surrounding Putin. And so Prodozhin eventually gets this job to provide the meals for the Russian military. And so that takes us to around 2014 or so, when Well, we have to go back a little bit further.

kind of attitude, which is somewhat refreshing given kind of the bureaucratic elite that are surrounding Putin. And so Prodozhin eventually gets this job to provide the meals for the Russian military. And so that takes us to around 2014 or so, when Well, we have to go back a little bit further.