The disturbing inside story of how the Wagner private military company exploits a warring world. In 2014, a well-trained, mysterious band of mercenaries arrived in Ukraine for Russia's first attempt to claim the country as its own. Upon ceasefire, the "Wagner Group" faded back into shadow, only to reemerge in the Middle East, where they'd go toe-to-toe with the U.S., and in Africa, where they'd spark international outrage for torture, looting, and civilian deaths. As Russia gained a foothold of influence abroad, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as "Putin's Chef," went from caterer to commander to single greatest threat Putin has faced in his over-twenty-year rule. Dually armed with military and strategic prowess, the Wagner Group located a power source in a vast geopolitical landscape increasingly vulnerable to the promises of private actors. In this trailblazing account of the Group's origins and operations, John Lechner-one of the only journalists reporting across its many warzones-brings us on the ground to witness Wagner partner with dangerous regimes, score access to natural resources, oust Western peacekeeping missions, and invite the kinds of conflicts they were hired to resolve. After rebelling, Prigozhin faced an epic demise-but Wagner lives on, its business ventures inextricable from Russia's foreign strategy. Featuring exclusive interviews with over thirty Wagner Group members, Death Is Our Business is the shocking tale of the renegade militia that proved global instability is nothing if not an opportunity.
"John Lechner is an amazingly bold reporter who has been to the key places where the Wagner Group fought, interviewing members, veterans, and victims to deliver a shrewd, granular sense of how Russian mercenary forces operate."-ADAM HOCHSCHILD The shocking inside story of how the Wagner Group rose to make private military companies inextricable from Russia's anti-Western foreign strategy. In 2014, a well-trained, mysterious band of mercenaries arrived in Ukraine, part of Russia's first attempt to claim the country as its own. Upon ceasefire, the "Wagner Group" faded back into shadow, only to reemerge in the Middle East, where they'd go toe-to-toe with the U.S., and in Africa, where they'd earn praise for "tough measures" against insurgencies yet spark outrage for looting, torture, and civilian deaths. As Russia gained a foothold of influence abroad, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as "Putin's Chef," went from caterer to comm