According to ISW, Prigozhin could use his influence in the Russian media landscape to position himself as a contender for the 2024 Russian presidential election. Prigozhin’s Federal News Agency published an interview he conducted March 14 with Russian journalists from Russia Today , RIA Novosti and the Federal News Agency.
Script
ISW found the interview format particularly noteworthy: Prigozhin imitated the way Russian President Vladimir Putin films his strictly direct public meetings. In this way, Prigozhin appears exactly as Putin always appears: addressing his audience from behind a desk. According to observers, the film style used in the interview is unusual for Prigozhin. His video appearances in public are never that “clean”, but are usually filmed on a battlefield or other outdoor location. Video quality is also rarely good, but always grainy and chunky.
Copy or mock
In the interview, Prigozhin is said to have repeated his previous insinuations to the Russian Defense Ministry. This would deliberately deny the Wagner group artillery ammunition. According to ISW, Prigozhin also reiterated the need to teach Russian soldiers a tough ideology. Observers offer two possible explanations for the new interview setup: either Prigozhin is quietly making fun of his president, or he is subtly hinting that he, too, could become president.
It is not the first time that Prigozhin has drawn a parallel between himself and the office of president. According to ISW, he has implied on previous occasions that he could replace Putin, and on March 11 he announced his candidacy for the presidency of Ukraine in 2024. According to IWS sources, a direct reference to the Russian presidential elections that will take place in the same year.
Earlier this year, on January 18, Prigozhin lashed out at Putin’s presidential administration by suggesting that some officials working there are traitors who want Russia to lose the war in Ukraine. Wagner’s boss also contradicted Kremlin claims that Russia is fighting NATO in Ukraine and questioned whether there are any Nazis in Ukraine, as Putin repeatedly claims.
Follow developments in Ukraine here on our live blog