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Wagner mercenary leader, Russian mutineer, Putin's chef: The many sides of Yevgeny Prigozhin
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FILE - Yevgeny Prigozhin, top, serves food to then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at Prigozhin's restaurant outside Moscow, Russia, on Nov. 11, 2011. Prigozhin made his name as the profane and brutal mercenary boss who mounted an armed rebellion that was the most severe and shocking challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule. - photo by AP Photo/File
Yevgeny Prigozhin's fate has been entwined with the Kremlin for decades — as a trusted government contractor, and the head of the Wagner mercenary army that fought in Ukraine and has been blamed for doing Russia's dirty work in Syria and Africa. But when he turned his men toward Moscow two months ago, many inside Russia and beyond started wondering just how long he could last after drawing the fury of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin cut a deal with Putin and the leader of Belarus for a safe haven for himself and the men involved in the rebellion.