Russian mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin: Hot dog chef to inner circle to 'treason'

June 24 (UPI) -- The Wagner Group of private mercenaries marching Saturday on Russia is run by founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose journey from Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle to a foe accused of treason runs through Ukraine.

Born in St. Petersburg, then called Leningrad, in 1961, Prigozhin turned to petty crime in his youth and in 1981 was jailed for 12 years for armed robbery.

Prigozhin rose to prominence in the grocery and restaurant business during the 1990s, starting as a hot dog vendor before eventually becoming a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin after he took power in 1999.

During the 2000s, Prigozhin's catering company, Concordia Catering, started winning government contracts, earning him the nickname "Putin's Chef."

Wagner Mercenary Group first appeared on the international stage in 2014 during Russia's invasion of eastern Ukraine in the wake of the Maidan Revolution against the Russian-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Russian irregular forces, including Wagner, started appearing in eastern Ukraine to support Russian-backed separatists as the Crimea region was also seized by Russia.

During Russia's campaign to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Wagner forces were deployed to protect government forces and to try and conquer oilfields controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

In 2017, a Syrian who had refused to fight for Assad's military, Hamadi Bouta, was tortured and murdered on film by Wagner mercenaries.

In 2018, Wagner forces attacked the SDF and tried to seize the Conoco oil fields. The U.S. military responded with air power, reportedly killing a large number of Wagner fighters.

Wagner was deployed to Libya to support the Russian-backed breakaway government of Gen. Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army faction.

In Mali, Wagner has become a major player, backing the military government that took power in 2020. In 2022, Wager forces and pro-government Malian militia massacred hundreds of civilians in the village of Moura, according to Human Rights Watch.

In the wake of Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Wagner forces increasingly took on roles that had previously been reserved for the Russian military.

During the months-long battle for Bakhmut, Prigozhin openly condemned the Russian Ministry of Defense and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in videos uploaded to Wagner-affiliated Telegram channels. When Ukrainian forces finally withdrew from Bakhmut, Prigozhin took credit for the victory.

On Friday, Prigozhin accused the Russian military of bombing his forces in Ukraine.

Now with open conflict between Wagner and the Russian military, the decades-long relationship between Putin and Prigozhin brings uncertainty to both men.