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(THEME MUSIC PLAYS)

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(SCREAMS)

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(RUSSIAN DIALOGUE IN VIDEO)

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(MAN CONTINUES SCREAMING)

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(SCREAMS)

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LINTON BESSER:
These men are guns for hire.

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They once worked
for a private military company

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They once worked
called the Wagner Group.

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called the Wagner Group.

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(GUNMAN SHOUTS IN RUSSIAN)

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(ROCKET GUN BLASTS)

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Fighters like them have bolstered
Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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Fighters like them have bolstered
(ROCKET GUN BLASTS)

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(ROCKET GUN BLASTS)

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Their boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin,

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was close to Russian president,
Vladimir Putin,

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was close to Russian president,
originally as his chef.

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originally as his chef.

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(ENGINE ROARS)

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The Wagner mercenary group
(ENGINE ROARS)

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The Wagner mercenary group
was a bold experiment

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The Wagner mercenary group
financed by Prigozhin

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financed by Prigozhin

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and sanctioned by Putin.

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(ROCKETS WHOOSH)

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A private army
(ROCKETS WHOOSH)

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A private army
fighting in the shadows,

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it gave Putin plausible deniability
in foreign wars.

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it gave Putin plausible deniability
But Prigozhin's power grew

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But Prigozhin's power grew

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and he challenged Putin.

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He led a revolt
right to the Kremlin's door.

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In this independent

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French television investigation,
In this independent

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French television investigation,

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former senior Wagner insiders
speak out about the organisation.

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This film traces the group

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from its origins in Ukraine

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to its clandestine operations
in Syria

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and its reign of terror across
Africa.

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It also follows
Yevgeny Prigozhin's rise and fall

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It also follows
from point man to pariah

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from point man to pariah

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in Putin's private war.

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Moscow considers people like
Alexander a deserter and a traitor.

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But, after three years
in Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner Group,

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he's decided he can't stay silent
about what he saw.

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Alexander's one of the few fighters

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who was with Wagner
from the very beginning.

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He says it all started in the Donbas,
a region of Eastern Ukraine, in 2014.

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(INDISTINCT CHANTING)

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When fighting first broke out

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between Ukrainian authorities
and Russian separatists...

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..officially, Russia wasn't involved.

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(SCREAMS)

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But behind the scenes

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the Kremlin was manipulating
sympathisers like Alexander...

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..feeding them propaganda and
inciting them to join the conflict.

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..feeding them propaganda and
(INDISTINCT CHANTING)

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(INDISTINCT CHANTING)

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(ENGINE STARTS)

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Alexander arrived in the Donbas
(ENGINE STARTS)

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Alexander arrived in the Donbas
with 60 other nationalist volunteers.

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Wearing green military fatigues
but no insignia,

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they became known
as the 'little green men'.

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(GUNSHOT)

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(GUNFIRE)

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These 'little green men'

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allowed Putin to invade Ukraine

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without officially
implicating Russia.

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(GUNFIRE)

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By the end of the Donbas war

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Putin had annexed
a swathe of Ukrainian territory.

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It was a major victory for him

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in his desire
to restore Russia's lost empire.

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So effective were
the 'little green men' in the Donbas,

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So effective were
the Russian Ministry of Defence

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the Russian Ministry of Defence

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decided to organise them
into a proper military unit.

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In 2015 it sent Alexander
and the other Donbas volunteers

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to the Molkino military base

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in the Krasnodar region
of south-west Russia.

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The new Wagner camp was set up
next door to an elite army base,

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The new Wagner camp was set up
which belonged to the GRU -

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which belonged to the GRU -

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Russia's formidable
military intelligence service.

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Within a few weeks

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hundreds of fighters
had joined the Wagner Group...

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..including Marat, a former mercenary
who's now a refugee in France.

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Long before Marat joined Wagner

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he'd been forced
to give up a military career.

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Russia's military intelligence unit,
the GRU,

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chose one of its own
to lead this new company of fighters,

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a soldier with a sinister reputation,
who would give the group its name.

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Dmitri Utkin is a ghost.

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This is one of the few photos of him.

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That's the insignia of the SS on his
collarbone, the infamous Nazi unit.

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His call sign, 'Wagner', refers
to Adolf Hitler's favourite composer.

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Alexander worked with Utkin
for many years.

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Alexander worked with Utkin
He says he inspired fear in his men.

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He says he inspired fear in his men.

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But Utkin was just Wagner's enforcer.

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The real head of the group
was much more discreet

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The real head of the group
and far more powerful...

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and far more powerful...

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..a businessman and close associate
of Vladimir Putin,

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a man named Yevgeny Prigozhin.

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Yevgeny Prigozhin
was born in Saint Petersburg in 1961,

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his mother a nurse,

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and his father
a Jew and mining engineer.

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In his youth he was
a champion cross-country skier.

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But he abandoned the sport
after injury

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But he abandoned the sport
and fell into a life of crime.

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and fell into a life of crime.

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Prigozhin was released from prison
in 1990,

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just as the Soviet Union
was breaking up.

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He took full advantage
of the economic chaos

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He took full advantage
and started a business.

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and started a business.

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One of Prigozhin's restaurants
was frequented by Vladimir Putin,

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and that's where
he first met the Russian president.

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Prigozhin networked relentlessly.

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By the 2000s he was winning
lucrative state contracts.

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His extraordinary business empire

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grew from catering
His extraordinary business empire

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grew from catering
all the way to running his own army.

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Putin's kleptocracy
suited Prigozhin perfectly

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and his special relationship
with the Russian president

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and his special relationship
brought untold riches.

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brought untold riches.

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Prigozhin understood
that, to thrive in Putin's Russia,

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his business must also serve
the desires of the Kremlin,

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and one of the first places he tested
that model was in the Middle East.

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In Syria a civil war was raging

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between dictator Bashar Al-Assad,
In Syria a civil war was raging

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between dictator Bashar Al-Assad,
rebel groups and Islamist militias.

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between dictator Bashar Al-Assad,
(ROCKET GUN BLASTS)

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(ROCKET GUN BLASTS)

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(ROCKETS WHOOSH)

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Assad called for Putin's help,

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and Putin saw an opportunity
Assad called for Putin's help,

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and Putin saw an opportunity
to regain lost influence.

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On 30 September 2015

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Putin deployed Russian troops
On 30 September 2015

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Putin deployed Russian troops
in Syria,

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Putin deployed Russian troops
including Russian fighter planes.

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including Russian fighter planes.

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He also called in
Prigozhin's secret army.

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About 1,500 Wagner mercenaries
deployed to Syria,

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and the Russian Ministry of Defence

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pushed these guns for hire
into the heat of battle.

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In February 2018

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Wagner mercenaries,
including Marat Gabidullin,

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were ordered to retake the oil fields
at Deir ez-Zor.

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The American army
spotted the group of armed men

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and contacted Russian
military command to identify them.

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They denied they were Russian forces.

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The Americans bombed them.

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(EXPLOSION)

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(SNIFFS)

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Marat was hit in the leg by shrapnel.

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He suffers permanent after-effects.

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(SNIFFS)

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(SIGHS)

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A hundred Wagner mercenaries
were killed in the battle,

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including 23 of Marat's men.

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He says the Ministry of Defence
betrayed them.

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After the Deir ez-Zor defeat

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Prigozhin developed
a deep-seated hatred

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Prigozhin developed
for the Russian Ministry of Defence

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for the Russian Ministry of Defence

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and its head,
for the Russian Ministry of Defence

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and its head,
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

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It was the beginning of a rift

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between Russia's
official and secret armies

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that would have consequences
years later.

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(ROCKET GUN BLASTS)

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But Wagner wasn't in Syria
just to fight Assad's war.

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Prigozhin was there to make money.

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Syrian oil money
flowed into Prigozhin's coffers

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via a company called Evro Polis.

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It's one of more than 400
subsidiary companies

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It's one of more than 400
ultimately controlled by Prigozhin.

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ultimately controlled by Prigozhin.

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Prigozhin's companies
span several industries,

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from hotels to construction,
mining and media.

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One of his most controversial
operations

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is a business
called the Internet Research Agency.

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It's the Saint Petersburg-based
troll farm

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accused of influencing
the 2016 US election.

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(RADIO CHATTER IN RUSSIAN)

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After Syria

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Prigozhin became a vital instrument

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00:20:30,300 --> 00:20:33,620
in Russia's
global projection of power.

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This Prigozhin-sponsored film
called Tourist

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00:20:37,100 --> 00:20:42,140
is part of an attempt to show
potential customers and despots

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the suite of services
the Wagner Group offered,

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the suite of services
especially its fighting power.

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especially its fighting power.

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(GUNFIRE)

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00:20:52,460 --> 00:20:54,660
When they arrived in a new country

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one of the group's tactics

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00:20:56,340 --> 00:21:01,260
was to drive out Western powers
using disinformation.

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Wagner turned up in
the Central African Republic in 2018

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00:21:09,460 --> 00:21:14,100
at the request of
President Faustin-Archange Touadera.

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00:21:14,100 --> 00:21:17,660
At the time
France, the former colonial power,

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00:21:17,660 --> 00:21:20,580
continued to wield
enormous influence.

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00:21:20,580 --> 00:21:20,820
continued to wield
Wagner set out to discredit them.

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00:21:20,820 --> 00:21:23,540
Wagner set out to discredit them.

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00:21:29,260 --> 00:21:34,100
Abdoulaye Ibrahim was at the heart
of Wagner's propaganda system

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00:21:34,100 --> 00:21:36,380
in the Central African Republic,

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00:21:36,380 --> 00:21:40,060
a troll factory
inside the presidential palace.

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00:22:09,700 --> 00:22:12,380
Wagner's disinformation specialists

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00:22:12,380 --> 00:22:16,900
organised fake demonstrations in
the streets of the capital, Bangui.

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00:22:16,900 --> 00:22:17,140
(INDISTINCT CHANTING)
organised fake demonstrations in
the streets of the capital, Bangui.

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00:22:17,140 --> 00:22:19,740
(INDISTINCT CHANTING)

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00:22:28,900 --> 00:22:33,180
Didatien Kossimatchi led this rally.

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00:22:33,180 --> 00:22:36,700
Abdoulaye worked closely with him.

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00:23:00,140 --> 00:23:03,900
The fake demonstrations
are funded by Prigozhin

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00:23:03,900 --> 00:23:07,100
then broadcast
on his local news channel.

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00:23:10,180 --> 00:23:12,380
For just a few thousand dollars

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00:23:12,380 --> 00:23:15,700
Wagner gets maximum
geopolitical impact.

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00:23:15,700 --> 00:23:15,940
Wagner gets maximum
(CHEERING)

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00:23:15,940 --> 00:23:19,580
(CHEERING)

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00:23:22,060 --> 00:23:25,820
It's dangerous to investigate
the Wagner Group here.

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00:23:26,780 --> 00:23:31,660
These pictures of Wagner mercenaries
were shot in secret.

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00:23:31,660 --> 00:23:31,900
These pictures of Wagner mercenaries
In 2018

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00:23:31,900 --> 00:23:33,300
In 2018

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00:23:33,300 --> 00:23:34,780
three Russian journalists

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00:23:34,780 --> 00:23:35,020
investigating Wagner
three Russian journalists

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00:23:35,020 --> 00:23:37,780
investigating Wagner
in the Central African Republic

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00:23:37,780 --> 00:23:38,020
investigating Wagner
were murdered.

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00:23:38,020 --> 00:23:39,620
were murdered.

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00:23:44,260 --> 00:23:47,420
At the time
Prigozhin's mercenaries arrived

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00:23:47,420 --> 00:23:47,660
At the time
in the Central African Republic

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00:23:47,660 --> 00:23:49,420
in the Central African Republic

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00:23:49,420 --> 00:23:52,540
the country was torn apart
by a civil war

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00:23:52,540 --> 00:23:55,460
between the government
and several rebel groups.

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00:23:55,460 --> 00:23:57,780
(MARCHING BAND PLAYS STATELY MUSIC)

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00:23:57,780 --> 00:24:02,620
Officially, the Russians came to help
train the Central African army.

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00:24:09,460 --> 00:24:12,580
In reality,
the mercenaries fought the rebels

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00:24:12,580 --> 00:24:14,940
and protected the president.

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00:24:20,060 --> 00:24:21,900
In return for that protection,

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00:24:21,900 --> 00:24:28,300
Wagner helped itself to the country's
mineral wealth of gold and diamonds.

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00:24:28,300 --> 00:24:31,140
(SIREN WAILS)

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00:24:38,140 --> 00:24:39,900
Joseph Bendounga,

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00:24:39,900 --> 00:24:40,140
a member of parliament from
Joseph Bendounga,

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00:24:40,140 --> 00:24:43,180
a member of parliament from
the working-class Bimbo district...

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00:24:47,980 --> 00:24:49,980
..is one of the few brave voices

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00:24:49,980 --> 00:24:54,100
speaking against the deal
his president made with Wagner.

251
00:25:26,860 --> 00:25:30,060
Mr Bendounga
is angry at President Touadera

252
00:25:30,060 --> 00:25:32,580
for changing
the country's mining code

253
00:25:32,580 --> 00:25:37,900
so he can personally issue mining
permits to whomever he chooses.

254
00:25:40,300 --> 00:25:42,020
In December 2019

255
00:25:42,020 --> 00:25:45,740
the permit for the Ndassima gold mine
in the centre of the country

256
00:25:45,740 --> 00:25:49,500
was withdrawn from Axmin,
the Canadian company,

257
00:25:49,500 --> 00:25:50,860
without explanation.

258
00:25:55,820 --> 00:25:59,660
Boubacar Sidibe
was the operations manager.

259
00:26:24,500 --> 00:26:26,700
Midas Ressources' website

260
00:26:26,700 --> 00:26:30,980
gives the impression it's a major
mining exploration group.

261
00:26:31,940 --> 00:26:33,740
But when you click on the tabs

262
00:26:33,740 --> 00:26:35,220
none of them open.

263
00:26:35,220 --> 00:26:35,420
This confidential memo
none of them open.

264
00:26:35,420 --> 00:26:37,660
This confidential memo

265
00:26:37,660 --> 00:26:40,780
from the Minister of Mines
to President Touadera

266
00:26:40,780 --> 00:26:43,460
makes clear
that the company is Russian.

267
00:26:43,460 --> 00:26:46,060
The Russians
aren't just getting their hands

268
00:26:46,060 --> 00:26:46,300
on industrial gold deposits.
aren't just getting their hands

269
00:26:46,300 --> 00:26:48,540
on industrial gold deposits.

270
00:26:49,460 --> 00:26:54,260
They're also seizing
unlicensed local digs.

271
00:26:56,540 --> 00:27:02,140
And they're accused of massacring
any civilians who stand in their way.

272
00:27:12,220 --> 00:27:17,100
Moussa, who is in his 20s, lived in
Aigbado in the centre of the country.

273
00:27:18,900 --> 00:27:21,100
In January 2022

274
00:27:21,100 --> 00:27:26,340
his village, which was located next
to a diamond mine, came under attack.

275
00:27:39,300 --> 00:27:43,100
He has taken refuge in Bangui,
where he lives in fear.

276
00:28:19,940 --> 00:28:25,660
In total 65 people were killed,
including children.

277
00:28:30,900 --> 00:28:32,340
(INHALES SHARPLY)

278
00:28:32,340 --> 00:28:36,700
This woman's husband was killed
during an attack on a gold mine,

279
00:28:36,700 --> 00:28:38,940
then she was kidnapped.

280
00:29:01,380 --> 00:29:02,900
For these victims

281
00:29:02,900 --> 00:29:03,140
there is little hope
For these victims

282
00:29:03,140 --> 00:29:05,020
there is little hope
that their tormentors

283
00:29:05,020 --> 00:29:05,260
there is little hope
will ever be brought to justice.

284
00:29:05,260 --> 00:29:07,780
will ever be brought to justice.

285
00:29:09,620 --> 00:29:14,020
Many Central African authorities
are under Wagner's control.

286
00:29:22,780 --> 00:29:27,060
For years Yevgeny Prigozhin
operated in the shadows.

287
00:29:27,060 --> 00:29:29,900
Hidden behind
a pyramid of shell companies,

288
00:29:29,900 --> 00:29:30,140
Hidden behind
he denied any connection to Wagner.

289
00:29:30,140 --> 00:29:32,820
he denied any connection to Wagner.

290
00:29:38,540 --> 00:29:40,940
All that changed in 2022

291
00:29:40,940 --> 00:29:45,460
when Vladimir Putin launched
a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

292
00:29:51,700 --> 00:29:55,540
Russian generals told Putin
their victory would be swift.

293
00:29:55,540 --> 00:29:55,780
Russian generals told Putin
They were wrong.

294
00:29:55,780 --> 00:29:57,620
They were wrong.

295
00:29:57,620 --> 00:29:58,620
(GUNFIRE)

296
00:29:58,620 --> 00:29:58,860
The Ukrainians,
(GUNFIRE)

297
00:29:58,860 --> 00:30:01,620
The Ukrainians,
supported by the West, fought back.

298
00:30:01,620 --> 00:30:01,860
The Ukrainians,
The Russians became bogged down.

299
00:30:01,860 --> 00:30:04,100
The Russians became bogged down.

300
00:30:05,420 --> 00:30:06,460
(ROCKET GUN BLASTS)

301
00:30:08,140 --> 00:30:12,980
Prigozhin seized the opportunity
to make himself indispensable.

302
00:30:40,380 --> 00:30:44,340
Russia needed thousands more men
to fight the Ukrainians,

303
00:30:44,340 --> 00:30:47,980
and Prigozhin found them
inside Russian prisons.

304
00:30:47,980 --> 00:30:48,220
and Prigozhin found them
Last September

305
00:30:48,220 --> 00:30:49,740
Last September

306
00:30:49,740 --> 00:30:52,460
Prigozhin finally
stepped out of the shadows

307
00:30:52,460 --> 00:30:56,660
with this video,
which was leaked on social media.

308
00:31:35,540 --> 00:31:37,180
PEER DE JONG:

309
00:31:44,220 --> 00:31:49,860
Within months Prigozhin claimed
to have recruited 40,000 prisoners.

310
00:31:50,820 --> 00:31:52,220
(ROCKET GUN BLASTS)

311
00:31:53,180 --> 00:31:59,780
These men represented nearly 20% of
Russia's fighting forces in Ukraine.

312
00:32:13,540 --> 00:32:15,540
(GUNFIRE)

313
00:32:15,540 --> 00:32:17,020
In January

314
00:32:17,020 --> 00:32:17,260
Prigozhin's men took back the city
In January

315
00:32:17,260 --> 00:32:21,740
Prigozhin's men took back the city
of Soledar from the Ukrainians.

316
00:32:27,700 --> 00:32:32,180
Publicly, Prigozhin celebrated
military successes.

317
00:32:32,180 --> 00:32:35,260
Privately,
he was growing frustrated.

318
00:32:36,220 --> 00:32:37,820
(GUNMAN SHOUTS IN RUSSIAN)

319
00:32:37,820 --> 00:32:39,300
(ROCKET GUN BLASTS)

320
00:32:39,300 --> 00:32:40,500
(GUNMAN SHOUTS IN RUSSIAN)

321
00:32:40,500 --> 00:32:41,980
As he tells it,

322
00:32:41,980 --> 00:32:43,580
the Russian Ministry of Defence,

323
00:32:43,580 --> 00:32:46,260
led by his old rival Shoigu,

324
00:32:46,260 --> 00:32:46,500
was sabotaging
led by his old rival Shoigu,

325
00:32:46,500 --> 00:32:49,500
was sabotaging
Wagner's battlefield capability.

326
00:32:49,500 --> 00:32:49,740
was sabotaging
By February this year

327
00:32:49,740 --> 00:32:51,260
By February this year

328
00:32:51,260 --> 00:32:54,140
Prigozhin was furious and emboldened.

329
00:32:54,140 --> 00:32:56,300
Unthinkable to most Russians,

330
00:32:56,300 --> 00:32:56,540
he began openly criticising
Unthinkable to most Russians,

331
00:32:56,540 --> 00:33:00,860
he began openly criticising
Russia's military leadership.

332
00:33:19,100 --> 00:33:23,940
(ENGINE WHINES)

333
00:33:23,940 --> 00:33:28,340
Prigozhin started
distinguishing himself from Shoigu,

334
00:33:28,340 --> 00:33:31,620
standing alongside his men
near the front.

335
00:33:31,620 --> 00:33:31,860
standing alongside his men
(LAUGHTER)

336
00:33:31,860 --> 00:33:33,020
(LAUGHTER)

337
00:33:49,860 --> 00:33:55,220
PEER DE JONG:

338
00:34:03,500 --> 00:34:05,220
His direct way of talking

339
00:34:05,220 --> 00:34:08,900
was becoming more and more popular
in Russia.

340
00:34:08,900 --> 00:34:10,620
(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)

341
00:34:58,300 --> 00:35:02,580
Prigozhin promoted his role
as liberator of ex-prisoners

342
00:35:02,580 --> 00:35:05,460
who had fought for six months.

343
00:35:32,980 --> 00:35:37,940
These propaganda videos
hide a much darker reality.

344
00:35:39,860 --> 00:35:44,460
(MEN CHATTER IN RUSSIAN)

345
00:35:45,420 --> 00:35:48,660
More than 30,000 men
from the Wagner Group

346
00:35:48,660 --> 00:35:53,620
have been wounded or killed in combat
since the beginning of the war.

347
00:36:03,180 --> 00:36:08,020
(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)

348
00:36:21,180 --> 00:36:23,100
(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)

349
00:36:23,100 --> 00:36:23,340
In March Prigozhin said
(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)

350
00:36:23,340 --> 00:36:26,780
In March Prigozhin said
the Russian Defence Ministry

351
00:36:26,780 --> 00:36:30,420
banned him from getting new fighters
from Russian jails.

352
00:36:31,380 --> 00:36:36,500
He accused it of bleeding Wagner
to deny them victory in Bakhmut.

353
00:36:36,500 --> 00:36:37,260
(GUNMAN SHOUTS IN RUSSIAN)

354
00:36:37,260 --> 00:36:39,380
After months of bloody fighting

355
00:36:39,380 --> 00:36:43,180
Wagner did finally take Bakhmut
in May.

356
00:36:46,740 --> 00:36:48,460
But by then

357
00:36:48,460 --> 00:36:52,540
Prigozhin's anger at Shoigu
and his deputy, Gerasimov,

358
00:36:52,540 --> 00:36:52,780
Prigozhin's anger at Shoigu
had boiled over.

359
00:36:52,780 --> 00:36:54,820
had boiled over.

360
00:37:08,420 --> 00:37:13,140
In early June Prigozhin refused
an order to sign a formal contract

361
00:37:13,140 --> 00:37:15,740
between Wagner
and the Defence Ministry.

362
00:37:15,740 --> 00:37:15,980
between Wagner
In late June

363
00:37:15,980 --> 00:37:17,780
In late June

364
00:37:17,780 --> 00:37:20,420
he took a dangerous next step.

365
00:37:20,420 --> 00:37:24,740
He described the whole pretext
for Putin's invasion of Ukraine

366
00:37:24,740 --> 00:37:24,980
He described the whole pretext
as a racket.

367
00:37:24,980 --> 00:37:26,500
as a racket.

368
00:37:50,220 --> 00:37:51,700
Days later

369
00:37:51,700 --> 00:37:55,700
Prigozhin claimed there was
a deadly air attack on a Wagner camp

370
00:37:55,700 --> 00:37:55,940
Prigozhin claimed there was
from behind Russian lines.

371
00:37:55,940 --> 00:37:58,460
from behind Russian lines.

372
00:38:05,180 --> 00:38:10,460
Prigozhin blamed the Defence
Ministry, which denied it.

373
00:38:11,420 --> 00:38:15,700
Incensed, Prigozhin
and several thousand Wagner fighters

374
00:38:15,700 --> 00:38:17,940
marched towards Moscow.

375
00:38:18,900 --> 00:38:22,260
As Prigozhin's men continued north...

376
00:38:23,220 --> 00:38:27,740
..Putin raced to mobilise troops
to defend the capital...

377
00:38:31,180 --> 00:38:34,900
..and denounced Wagner's leaders
as traitors.

378
00:38:46,580 --> 00:38:48,860
Then, as the world watched on,

379
00:38:48,860 --> 00:38:50,980
Prigozhin's columns halted,

380
00:38:50,980 --> 00:38:53,460
and there was a strange announcement.

381
00:39:02,700 --> 00:39:06,100
Belarussian president,
Aleksandr Lukashenko,

382
00:39:06,100 --> 00:39:06,340
Belarussian president,
described in detail

383
00:39:06,340 --> 00:39:08,180
described in detail

384
00:39:08,180 --> 00:39:13,780
how Putin had told him he'd decided
to eliminate Prigozhin.

385
00:39:13,780 --> 00:39:17,340
Lukashenko says he talked Putin down

386
00:39:17,340 --> 00:39:21,380
and offered to broker an agreement
with Prigozhin himself.

387
00:39:29,060 --> 00:39:33,340
The deal was Prigozhin
and his fighters would leave Russia

388
00:39:33,340 --> 00:39:34,700
and head to Belarus

389
00:39:34,700 --> 00:39:36,460
in return for amnesty.

390
00:39:42,220 --> 00:39:44,780
In the weeks since the failed mutiny

391
00:39:44,780 --> 00:39:45,020
Putin's has asked Wagner fighters
In the weeks since the failed mutiny

392
00:39:45,020 --> 00:39:49,420
Putin's has asked Wagner fighters
to sign on with the Russian military,

393
00:39:49,420 --> 00:39:53,980
which is trying to plug the holes
in the Ukrainian frontline

394
00:39:53,980 --> 00:39:55,620
left by Wagner units.

395
00:40:02,580 --> 00:40:06,620
Putin and Prigozhin
may still need each other.

396
00:40:21,660 --> 00:40:24,140
In the weeks since the revolt

397
00:40:24,140 --> 00:40:24,380
Prigozhin disappeared
In the weeks since the revolt

398
00:40:24,380 --> 00:40:27,540
Prigozhin disappeared
from public view.

399
00:40:27,540 --> 00:40:30,900
The Kremlin claimed
Putin had met with him.

400
00:40:30,900 --> 00:40:35,060
But days went by
and there was no visible proof.

401
00:40:41,460 --> 00:40:48,340
Then, last week, a grainy video
surfaced purportedly from Belarus.

402
00:40:54,380 --> 00:40:59,660
It was Prigozhin
once more emerging from the shadows.

403
00:40:59,660 --> 00:40:59,900
It was Prigozhin
(RUSSIAN DIALOGUE IN VIDEO)

404
00:40:59,900 --> 00:41:02,380
(RUSSIAN DIALOGUE IN VIDEO)

405
00:41:03,740 --> 00:41:05,740
Captions by Red Bee Media

406
00:41:05,740 --> 00:41:07,940
Copyright
Australian Broadcasting Corporation