2023-07-14 22:49:33
While Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozchin is in hiding, there is speculation about his successor. One suggestion comes from Vladimir Putin.
His nickname as commander of the Wagner mercenaries is “Grey Hair”, in Russian “Sedoy”. He is on the EU sanctions list and is said to be one of the highest-ranking military men in Prigozhin’s troops. Now it has become public that Andrei Trochev, as his real name is, apparently also caught the eye of the Russian President. Putin is said to have proposed him as Prigozhin’s successor.
In a conversation with a journalist from the state-financed Russian news portal Kommersant, Putin reported on a meeting attended by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and several of his commanders. The Russian President said he had offered the officers of the mercenary group to continue their mission under the leadership of a person with the call sign “Sedoy”. According to Putin, this is said to have been the person who is said to have led the Wagner mercenaries since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Read more about Putin’s interview and his views on the Wagner Group here.
EU sanctions against Prigozhin’s chief of staff
Trochev does indeed have a leading role among the Wagner fighters. In an EU document on sanctions related to the war in Syria, Andrei Trochev is referred to as the “Executive Director (Chief of Staff)” of the Wagner troupe. According to the document, he is said to have been one of the founders of the mercenary group. Trochev was born in 1953 in St. Petersburg – also Putin’s hometown. Wagner co-founder Dimitrij Utkin and commanders Andrei Bogatow and Sergeevich Kuznetsov are given as allies – both of whom are also on the EU sanctions list because of their activities in Syria. According to the EU document, Trochev was directly involved in the military operations in Syria and actively supported the regime in Damascus. He is also referred to in British sanctions documents as Managing Director of the Wagner Group.
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Trochev fought as a soldier in the Afghan war for what was then the Soviet Union. His last rank was colonel, which corresponds to a colonel in the German armed forces. According to a report by the Archyde.com news agency, he was twice awarded the “Order of the Red Star” for his efforts and was also honored as “Hero Russia” for taking part in the storming of IS terrorists in Palmyra. Public appearances are rare, but he was spotted in the company of the President a few years ago.
Putin: Troshev was “actual commander”
According to the interview, Putin had particularly recommended Trochev to the commanders and suggested that they continue under his leadership. “They could all have gathered in one place and continued to serve,” Putin said, “and nothing would have changed for them. They would be led by the same person who was their actual commander all along.” According to Putin, many would have Wagner “Commanders nodded. Apparently, the Wagner boss didn’t like that. “Prigozhin (…) said after listening, ‘No, the boys will not agree with such a decision,'” Putin was quoted as saying.
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Prigozhin himself has not been seen in public since June 24, when he left the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, which he had occupied with his fighters. A video appeared on Friday showing him in his underwear sitting on a camp bed – but the place and time of the recording are unclear. According to earlier reports, he is said to have agreed with Putin to go into exile in Belarus together with some of his fighters. The Ministry of Defense there said on Friday that members of the group were involved in the training of Belarusian soldiers south-east of Minsk. Two people close to Wagner told Archyde.com news agency that some of the mercenaries have been in Belarus since Tuesday at the latest.
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