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:
[ Ссылка ]
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
[ Ссылка ]
Russian PMCs - CRS
[ Ссылка ]
War on the Rocks - Russia in Libya
[ Ссылка ]
Russian State Media - Putin on the value of PMCs
[ Ссылка ]
CSIS - Wagner and the Russian State
[ Ссылка ]
Anna Borshchevskaya - Russian PMCs
[ Ссылка ]
The Conversation - On Russian PMCs
[ Ссылка ]
Testimony on Russian PMCs
[ Ссылка ]
Serbian Police close down Racoon base
[ Ссылка ]
Wagner prisoner recruitment ceases
[ Ссылка ]
Prigozhin on ammo
[ Ссылка ]
Mangushev shot dead:
[ Ссылка ]
"Implausible Deniability" - Carnegie Endowment
[ Ссылка ]
Decree on Gazprom - PSC
[ Ссылка ]
Jamestown foundation - Vega Strategic Services
[ Ссылка ]
Jamestown Foundation - Russian PMCs
[ Ссылка ]
A deeper look at Vegacy by the Atlantic Council DFRL:
[ Ссылка ]
Wagner in Mozambique
[ Ссылка ]
Wagner declared a transnational criminal organisation
[ Ссылка ]
Ukrainian claims RE Patriot PMC
[ Ссылка ]
Reporting on Wagner deployment in March 2022
[ Ссылка ]
Wagner - sledgehammer execution
[ Ссылка ]
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
