A bronze statue of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late leader of Russia’s Wagner paramilitary mercenary group, has been erected in the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR).
The monument to Prigozhin and his Wagner co-founder Dmitry Utkin, who both died in a plane crash in Russia in August 2023, two months after their aborted mutiny against the Kremlin, was unveiled in Bangui this week.
The tribute is “part of the bilateral relationship” between CAR and Russia, according to the Central African nation’s authorities, and the unveiling was attended by its defence minister as well as several senior military officials.
Russia has sent thousands of mercenaries — including many from Wagner — to West and Central Africa in recent years to increase its influence at a time when many African nations are turning away from traditional Western allies such as France and the US.
Russian mercenary groups, which have a remit of protecting African military regimes and fighting rebels and extremists, have been sanctioned by the EU, UK and US for alleged human rights abuses.
Wagner fighters entered CAR in 2018 at the request of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, and have since helped his government to quell multiple rebel insurgencies.
The mercenary group has been awarded logging and gold mine contracts in exchange for its support for the state, according to security analysts. CAR is one of the world’s poorest nations despite being rich in natural resources, and has been beset with crises and conflict since it gained independence from France in 1960.
Nearly 2,000 Russian mercenaries were believed to be operating in CAR before Prigozhin’s death last year, although it is unclear how many remain today.
Prigozhin staged a one-day armed mutiny in June last year, taking control of Russia’s southern city of Rostov and marching towards Moscow before turning back.
Two months after the rebellion, a business jet carrying Prigozhin and his top associates crashed while flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg — killing all 10 people on board, including Utkin.
Utkin, who was a known neo-Nazi, named the paramilitary group after his call sign, “Wagner” — a reference to the German composer Richard Wagner admired by Nazi German officials, including Adolf Hitler.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement and rejected Western allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind the crash as an “absolute lie”.
Since Prigozhin’s death, Russia moved quickly to take control of the Wagner mercenaries and incorporated them into a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary force called Africa Corps.
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In CAR, the Russian mercenaries have long been popular with many locals and have integrated into society — be it through brewing beer or visiting markets.
Prigozhin’s statue in Bangui is not unique. Another monument was previously erected of four Russian troops protecting a local woman and her children.
There is also a statue of Prigozhin next to his grave in St Petersburg, which was unveiled earlier this year, as well as a statue of Prigozhin and Utkin near the cemetery for Wagner mercenaries in Russia’s Krasnodar region.
