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Thread: Yesterday, the @newlinesmag published my text on Wagner PMC and how such groups are used in the context of Putin's foreign policy. This is just an overview. Behind the scenes, the text summarizes the work of several years of tracing the topic. https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-soviet-origins-of-putins-mercenaries/
Back in 2018, with @avramovok we launched a series of publications in @DefensePost related to Putin's Russia policy internationally and the footprint of Russian private military companies in Syria.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2018/02/17/russia-private-military-contractors-syria/
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2018/02/17/russia-private-military-contractors-syria/
This series of publications continued with attention to the arrival of Russian mercenaries in the CAR and expanding the global footprint from Ukraine and Middle East to Africa.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2018/05/09/russia-central-african-republic-pmc-opinion/
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2018/05/09/russia-central-african-republic-pmc-opinion/
While the global usage of Wagner is no secret to analysts, the assassination of three Russian journalists in the CAR has shown to the international public the importance of the topic. Then, in 2018, we published a special article about it.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2018/08/17/russia-journalists-murder-central-african-republic-opinion/
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2018/08/17/russia-journalists-murder-central-african-republic-opinion/
Meanwhile, Wagner and similar organizations were used for glorification as fighters became part of the popular culture. We wrote about this in @EA_WorldView. Since then, Wagner and other PMC became famous including on comic books and songs. https://eaworldview.com/2018/02/music-for-russias-private-military-companies-in-syria/
The report by @CNN's @clarissaward, @TimListerCNN, @sebshukla proved our findings from 2018. Everything we discovered after that showed the evolution of the Russian mercenary groups. Then we predicted Wagner will go to Africa - as it did. https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/08/africa/putins-private-army-car-intl/
But the mercenary model - which is directly linked to Russia's top politicians and oligarchs - is not visible only in Africa and Syria. While Wagner is the "elite group", the ENOT PMC are the ideological warriors from Eastern Europe as we wrote: https://theglobepost.com/2018/10/08/patriotic-russian-youth-camps/
In one of my latest texts, published by @The_NewArab, I also review the soft power of Russia in Syria, which is also connected to the network of which Wagner PMC is a part. https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2021/4/15/how-russias-soft-power-strategy-seeks-to-reshape-syria
Some of the best authors on the subject should be mentioned. Such as Candace Rondeaux’s Decoding the Wagner Group https://www.newamerica.org/international-security/reports/decoding-wagner-group-analyzing-role-private-military-security-contractors-russian-proxy-warfare/
100% recommend the @JMJalel_H`s The Pendulum on Wagner and Libya: https://warontherocks.com/2021/01/the-pendulum-how-russia-sways-its-way-to-more-influence-in-libya/
The understanding of the activity and ideology behind Wagner PMC and the Putin’s foreign policy could not happen without the research of @sergeysukhankin. You need to read each of his texts for @JamestownTweets - literally. https://jamestown.org/analyst/sergey-sukhankin/
Last but not least, research on Wagner and accompanying groups will not be possible without a number of Russian journalists (some of whom have been killed) and websites that continue to publish on the subject.
Years of research and follow-up on the subject of Wagner culminated in the publication of a book in 2020 called Russia's Invisible Armies. Published in Bulgaria, we hope that one day there will be an English version. https://ciela.com/ruskite-nevidimi-armii.html
