Wagner Group, Russian PMCs & Ukraine - History, motives & privatised warfare

Video Description

For centuries, leaders often depended on bands of mercenary warriors to make up their military strength in times of war, but as national militaries evolved, these formations shank from prominence, with modern PMCs generally being focused on support roles like base or VIP security or logistics (even if their contracts grew massively post 2001). Wagner doesn't follow that example. A force tens of thousands strong, Wagner has helped spearhead the Russian offensives around Bakhmut, and taken on international prominence. In this episode, I look at the evolution of PMCs, Russia's modern employment of them, and the implications of Wagner's role in Ukraine and its public spats with the Russian MoD. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PerunAU Caveats and comments: The usual caveats here apply, but with an extra layer of severity - Russian PMCs do not keep good, reliable public records of their activity. All information presented should generally be considered qualified even where an appropriate words (e.g. 'reportedly') are not included. Sources & Reading: As a policy I do not directly link to Russian Government or Wagner materials, but this episode utilises material from telegram channels owned by or linked to both CSIS - Russian PMCs https://russianpmcs.csis.org/ Russian PMCs - CRS https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/IF11650.pdf War on the Rocks - Russia in Libya https://warontherocks.com/2021/01/the-pendulum-how-russia-sways-its-way-to-more-influence-in-libya/ Russian State Media - Putin on the value of PMCs https://ria.ru/20120411/623227984.html CSIS - Wagner and the Russian State https://www.csis.org/blogs/post-soviet-post/band-brothers-wagner-group-and-russian-state Anna Borshchevskaya - Russian PMCs https://www.fpri.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/rfp4-borshchevskaya-final.pdf The Conversation - On Russian PMCs https://theconversation.com/russias-reliance-on-mercenaries-in-ukraine-points-to-the-weakness-of-its-military-and-putins-strategy-of-deflecting-blame-190612 Testimony on Russian PMCs https://www.csis.org/analysis/putins-proxies-examining-russias-use-private-military-companies Serbian Police close down Racoon base https://balkaninsight.com/2018/08/17/serbia-police-closes-controversial-military-style-children-s-camp-08-17-2018/ Wagner prisoner recruitment ceases https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-wagner-mercenaries-halt-prisoner-recruitment-campaign-founder-prigozhin-2023-02-09/ Prigozhin on ammo https://www.rferl.org/a/prigozhin-wagner-mercenaries-ammunition-supplies-army/32284809.html Mangushev shot dead: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64566582 "Implausible Deniability" - Carnegie Endowment https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/06/02/implausible-deniability-russia-s-private-military-companies-pub-81954 Decree on Gazprom - PSC http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001202302060031 Jamestown foundation - Vega Strategic Services https://jamestown.org/program/vega-strategic-services-russian-pmcs-as-part-of-information-warfare/ Jamestown Foundation - Russian PMCs https://jamestown.org/program/from-volunteers-to-quasi-pmcs-retracing-the-footprints-of-russian-irregulars-in-the-yugoslav-wars-and-post-soviet-conflicts/ A deeper look at Vegacy by the Atlantic Council DFRL: https://medium.com/dfrlab/a-deeper-look-into-vegacy-strategic-services-ltd-8985ba3eac52 Wagner in Mozambique https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/10/31/7-kremlin-linked-mercenaries-killed-in-mozambique-in-october-sources-a67996 Wagner declared a transnational criminal organisation https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1220 Ukrainian claims RE Patriot PMC https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1608131037099425793 Reporting on Wagner deployment in March 2022 https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-03-28/russia-deploys-wagner-group-to-eastern-ukraine-in-risky-attempt-to-break-stalemate Wagner - sledgehammer execution https://www.rferl.org/a/telegram-vagner-sledgehammer-killing-ukraine-defector/32128961.html Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Opening 00:03:21 — WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT 00:04:34 — MERCENARIES, PMC & VOLUNTEERS 00:06:58 — HISTORY 00:12:42 — European Golden Age: Condottieri 00:16:25 — DECLINE OF THE MERCS 00:22:35 — EVOLUTION OF RUSSIAN PMCs 00:26:04 — State Sponsorship 00:28:22 — Roles & Duties 00:36:17 — GLOBAL DEPLOYMENTS PRE-2022 00:36:34 — Syria 2015+ 00:41:01 — Libya 2015+ 00:42:45 — Central African Republic 00:45:04 — A Global Footprint 00:46:11 — WAGNER IN UKRAINE 00:51:25 — Understanding The Why 00:53:04 — WAGNER VS THE MINISTRY 00:53:40 — The Politics Of Wagner Success 00:58:24 — Ammunition & Recruitment 01:02:56 — Wagner Humbled? 01:04:28 — TO EVERY LORD, AN ARMY 01:04:36 — The Proliferation Of Russian PMCs 01:05:25 — Patriot & Vuhledar 01:06:16 — WHY DOES THIS MATTER? 01:08:19 — War, Motives, Stability 01:10:02 — CONCLUSIONS 01:10:52 — CHANNEL UPDATE