Who is Andrei Troshev, the man Vladimir Putin wanted to put in charge of Wagner?

Here is a man who could have taken an important place. President Vladimir Putin proposed to Wagner fighters that a certain Andrei Troshev take over the leadership of the paramilitary group, in an interview with Russian media Kommersant on July 13. In this interview devoted in particular to the abortive rebellion of Wagner which occurred in June, the head of the Russian state even affirms that Andrei Troshev was the "real commander" of Wagner, adding that neither Evgueni Prigojine - the head of the militia - nor the soldiers "did not agree with this decision". A photo from 2016 also shows Andrei Troshev alongside Vladimir Putin.

Andrei Nikolayevich Troshev by his full name was born in Leningrad - now Saint Petersburg - in 1953, according to a document from the European authorities dating from the end of 2021 relating to the sanctions taken in the context of the Syrian conflict. He is then presented as a “retired colonel” and “founding member of the Wagner group”. This document also mentions his nom de guerre: "Siedoy", or "Sedoï", which means "gray hair". According to the European Union (EU), Dmitry Utkin - a former Russian military intelligence (GRU) officer and one of the founders of Wagner - is among his close associates.

If the European Council considered his case at the time, it was because of Andrei Troshev's presence in Syria. “He was particularly involved in the Deir ez-Zor region. As such, he makes a crucial contribution to Bashar al-Assad's war effort, ”explains the European Council, Wagner having been a supporter of the Syrian regime. He was also awarded the title of “Hero of the Russian Federation” for the capture of Palmyra (Syria) against Islamic State fighters.

In Syria, Andrei Troshev was not at his first attempt. He fought on behalf of the USSR during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979-1989), a service for which he was twice decorated with the Order of the Red Star, an important army decoration. red. Subsequently, "Sedoï" participated in the war in Chechnya before taking command of a unit of Russian special intervention forces, the SOBR.

In 2017, the local media Fontanka reported on a hospitalization in Saint Petersburg when he was found drunk in the streets of this city. At that time, he would have held 5 million rubles (about 50,000 euros) and 5,000 dollars in cash.

So why did Vladimir Putin want to put him in charge of Wagner? According to US media Newsweek, relying on Telegram loops of the paramilitary group, Andrei Troshev was dismissed from Wagner for informing the Kremlin of the upcoming rebellion. According to the NGO gulagu.net, Andrei Troshev even refused to support such a mutiny.

In an interview with Russian media NSM, former Defense Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic Igor Girkin claimed to know Andrei Troshev "personally". “He has a fairly broad combat experience, not dumb, very executive, without particular talents, but also without particular demands,” he described, calling him “executive”. Igor Girkin also confirms that "Sedoï" was indeed "at least the chief of staff of all Wagner units" in the past.

Friday, June 23, the Wagner militia - led by its leader Evgueni Prigojine - undertook a rebellion against the Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Choïgou and the Chief of Staff Valéri Guérassimov. After negotiations, the "march of justice" on Moscow ended the next day and Yevgeny Prigojine had been forced into exile in Belarus before returning to Russia. From now on, Wagner no longer actively participates in the fighting in Ukraine according to the United States, while Belarus announced on Friday July 14 that the paramilitary group had started working as “instructors” on its territory.