The Wagner Group and Russia in Africa one year after Prigozhin’s death

On August 23, 2023, an airplane carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of the Russian private security company the Wagner Group, crashed in Russia, killing him and most of Wagner’s leadership. Likely orchestrated by the Kremlin in retaliation for Wagner’s armed rebellion attempt in Russia in June 2023, the deaths left uncertainties as to Wagner’s operations from Ukraine to the Middle East and Africa. In the year since, how has the Wagner Group—now known as Africa Corps—maintained its operations and recreated its leadership? What impact has it had on security in Africa and the Middle East? What kind of relationship does this long-term proxy of Russia now have with the Kremlin and Russian military and intelligence services? And just how strong is Vladimir Putin’s grip on power?

On August 20, the Brookings Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors and the Africa Security Initiative convened leading experts to discuss the future and prospects of the Wagner Group in Russia and around the world.

Viewers joined the conversation and asked questions of the panelists by emailing  [email protected] and on X/Twitter using #WagnerAYearLater.