Shady Wagner Group gets a slick corporate rebrand
THE Kremlin’s mercenary Wagner Group has given itself a corporate makeover, ditching its skull and crosshairs logo for an anodyne “W” and setting up headquarters in a plush skyscraper in St Petersburg.
The rebrand is part of Wagner’s remarkable shift from a shady Kremlin asset deployed to do Vladimir Putin’s dirty work in Africa and Syria to a mainstream militia that plays a crucial role in the Ukraine war.
At the office’s opening on Friday, stocky men in sharp dark suits stood around in a spotless white foyer giving journalists interviews as Russian fighters in combat uniforms watched on.
Reporters were shown around the 23-storey glass and steel building, which had “PMC Wagner Group” and a new W logo on the revolving glass door and reception desk. Wagner’s previous logo was a grinning skull framed by the crosshairs of a sniper rifle.
Military drones were on display at the entrance and flat-screen TVs played clips set to music. One showcased Wagner’s battle victories in the Donbas and another a woman singing about the glories of mercenary groups to hundreds of cheering men.
On its new website, Wagner Group says that companies involved in strengthening Russian defence will be able to rent office space in the building.
The rebrand shows that “the role of Wagner Group has evolved significantly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” according to the British ministry of defence. It also appeared to cement the position of its financier, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in the Kremlin’s elite.
Mr Prigozhin, who wasn’t at the opening, is known as “Putin’s chef ” and once served a prison sentence. He has clashed with Russia’s ministry of defence and regional governors who he feels have previously scorned him.
But Wagner is credited with bolstering the Russian army with thousands of mercenaries, often battle-tough from tours in Syria, Libya and Mali, where they have been accused of war crimes.
The opposition Russian news website Meduza.io said that Mr Putin considers Wagner a success in Ukraine after it secured victories in the eastern Donbas region and that Mr Prigozhin was now part of his “inner circle”.