The previously secretive Wagner Group of Russia, a private mercenary force, has opened its first official headquarters in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. The group, controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, opened the glossy, glass-fronted high-rise on Friday – topped by a large white “Wagner” sign. The opening of the “Wagner Center” is seen as another step by Prigozhin to publicize his military credentials and take a more public role in shaping Russia’s defense policy. Wagner’s public seat follows Prigozhin’s recent steps to boost his public profile, compared to years when the Russian businessman spent his military power in the shadows. Prigozhin has made a series of outspoken interventions about Russia’s setbacks in its war in Ukraine, linking Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to ridiculing the performance of Moscow’s generals. He has long denied being behind Wagner, whose contract soldiers support the Russian military in Ukraine and have operated in Africa, Syria and Libya. Prigozhin last month publicly confirmed for the first time that he was the founder of Wagner. The European Union has accused the Wagner Group, whose members are mostly ex-servicemen, of human rights abuses and said they conducted covert operations on behalf of Moscow. The United States and the EU have sanctioned Prigozhin for his role in the group. In 2021, the EU said the Wagner Group was responsible for abuses, including torture and extrajudicial killings, in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, Sudan and Mozambique. “The PMC Wagner Center’s mission is to provide a comfortable environment for generating new ideas to improve Russia’s defense capability,” Prigozhin said in a statement about Friday’s launch. There were no signs at the inauguration of Prigozhin himself, who is sometimes called “Putin’s Chef” for his large catering businesses that have swept up state contracts. The grand opening of the large steel and glass office building was attended on Friday by a mix of veterans in military uniforms and young tech and culture professionals, with lectures by nationalist and pro-Kremlin figures who said Wagner’s headquarters would help “make the our great country uniform better”. An interior view of the PMC Wagner Centre, a project implemented by businessman and founder of the private military group Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office complex in St. Petersburg, Russia, November 4, 2022 [Igor Russak/Reuters] People in camouflage clothing wandered the gray corridors of the building looking at an exhibition of military drones. A truck with the “Z” symbol used by Russian forces in Ukraine was parked outside. “We invite start-ups dealing with IT, industrial technology and those who develop new ideas that are ready to be applied in the field of national defense,” said Anastasia Vasilevskaya, press secretary of the center. “Of course we are interested in projects that can act as import substitution,” he said. Western sanctions on Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine have made it harder for Russia to buy foreign weapons technology. “The creation of such a center was long overdue. The only thing is that it appeared very late,” said Wagner volunteer Alexey Savinsky, dressed in military camouflage. “This center was supposed to open a year before the special military operation. So it’s two years behind schedule,” he said, using Russia’s official term for its invasion of Ukraine.
