He is known by the nickname “Sedoj”, or “Gråhår” in Norwegian. The man whom Russian President Vladimir Putin is said to have designated as Yevgeny Prigozhins’ heir and new head of the Wagner Group. In a longer interview in the Russian newspaper Kommersant, Putin says that he has given the Wagner mercenaries more work options. Among them, that they continue to fight under their real commander, Andrei Nikolaevich Troshev. Who is Andrej Troshev? “Sedoj” is a retired Russian colonel and a founding member and managing director of the Wagner Group, according to sanctions documents published by the EU. Troshev was born in April 1953 in Leningrad, today known as St. Petersburg, and played a decisive role in the military operations of the Wagner Group in Syria. He is said to have contributed actively to Bashar al-Assad’s war efforts in the country, and benefited from the Syrian regime, according to the EU sanctions. WITH PUTIN: In this photo shared by the Russian newspaper Fontanka, Andrei Troshev is seen to the left of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: fontanka He is also a veteran of the wars in Chechnya and Afghanistan. – He is an old military ring fox with a lot of experience, and many military awards, says Jørn Holm-Hansen, researcher at Oslo Met. Troshev’s associates include Wagner Group founder Dimitrij Utkin, a former Russian GRU military intelligence officer. As well as commanders Aleksandr Sergeevich Kuznetsov and Andrei Bogatov. In addition, Troshev has an extensive military background, having served in the special rapid reaction department of the Russian Interior Ministry’s Northwestern Federal District, according to Russian online newspaper Fontanka. – According to Putin, he has had an important role as a link between the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Wagner group, says Holm-Hansen. – A smooth transition There has been a lot of tension about what would happen to the Wagner Group after they started their march towards Moscow on 24 June to overthrow the military leadership. The military uprising was stopped at the twelfth hour, and the then Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhins negotiated an agreement with Aleksandr Lukashenko. Prigozhin is scheduled to move to Belarus. In his speech a few days later, Putin said this to the Wagner mercenaries: – Today you have the option to continue serving Russia by signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense or other parts of the Russian government, or you can go back to your families. Those who want can go to Belarus. BE CAREFUL: Putin has appointed Andrej Troshev as the new head of Wagner. Tor Photo: AP – I see it as clever on Putin’s part. If he had been hard on hard, it might have led to the spread of the Wagner mutiny. Putin seems to follow the old Asian philosophy of giving in when necessary, and rather fighting back when possible, says Holm-Hansen. The researcher believes that the choice of a new Wagner boss shows a Putin who “counts the buttons and feels forward and treads a little carefully”. – If Troshev gets this role formally, then it will be a smooth transition. The Wagner group then gets a leader who knows them and who they may perceive as one of their own. – But at the same time a person who is not a loose cannon like Prigozhin, says Holm-Hansen. According to the researcher, Troshev’s role will be to lead the Wagner soldiers who choose to remain in Russia, and who will then be incorporated into the Russian armed forces. However, it is difficult to say how many will remain in Russia. Wagner’s way forward New satellite images on Tuesday show a large convoy of alleged Wagner soldiers who have arrived from Russia to a new camp in Belarus. The images show dozens of vehicles driving into the camp at Tsel, a disused military base in southern Belarus – about 103km from the capital Minsk. WAGNER IN BELAURS: The video shows a convoy of vehicles with Russian flags and the flag of the Wagner group, which is on its way to a military base in Tsel, about 103 km from the capital Minsk in Belarus. Photo: twitter The camp first appeared shortly after an agreement was reached between the Wagner group and Lukashenko, following the attempted mutiny at the end of June. Part of the deal reportedly involved Wagner troops agreeing to move to Belarus. The latest pictures indicate that Wagner has now started moving personnel in large numbers. MILITARY BASE: The satellite image shows the military base in Tsel and vehicles belonging to the Wagner group. Photo: PLANET LABS PBC / AP / AP According to statements from Lukashenko and the Wagner group, the camp in Belarus is primarily a training camp. In a video released by the Belarusian Ministry of Defense on Friday 14 July, one sees what is supposed to be an instructor from the Wagner group talking to Belarusian soldiers during a military exercise in Tsel. WAGNER IN BELARUS: This image taken from video released by the Belarusian Ministry of Defense via VoenTV on Friday 14 July 2023, shows an instructor from the Wagner group talking to Belarusian soldiers during a training exercise near the village of Tsel, in Belarus. Photo: AP Loyalty to Prigozhin – What we have seen around the world when Wagner has gone into such training missions is that they go into active combat and fight side by side with the local forces there. That’s what Karen Philippa Larsen says. She is a researcher at Denmark’s Institute for International Studies, where her primary research areas are Russia’s use of private military companies, primarily the Wagner group. RESEARCHER ON WAGNER: Karen Philippa Larsen’s primary research areas are Russia’s use of private military companies, primarily the Wagner group. Photo: Lynggaardhansenfoto.dk However, it is difficult to imagine how this will develop in Belarus, according to the Danish researcher. – I would like to believe that those who go to Belarus now do so because they have great loyalty to Prigozhin. The researcher explains that part of this structure is more loyal to Prigozhin and the Wagner group than the official Russian defense army. – We must assume that these soldiers have not signed a contract with the defense and have not allowed themselves to be incorporated into the Russian army, says Larsen. Larsen explains that the Wagner group can now be divided into two: those who follow Prigozhin, and those who allow themselves to be incorporated into the Russian army. Until now, Prigozhin has also been in charge of the Wagner soldiers who are in Africa and Mali. WAGNER IN AFRICA: Russian officers from the Wagner group in Bangui, Central African Republic on July 17, 2023. They are part of the presidential security system during the referendum campaign to change the constitution. Photo: Reuters – If the Africa missions remain under Prigozhin, I think it will attract more soldiers to sign up under his “new part” of Wagner. According to the researcher, the fact that Putin appoints Troshev as the new head of Wagner is an attempt to allow “the unit to remain in the structure it has now”. – Trosjev is already one of the top managers at Wagner. It suggests that Putin is trying to preserve a status quo in the Wagner group, says Larsen.
ttn-69
This is what we know about Andrej “Gråhår” Trosjev, the man Putin has appointed as the new Wagner boss – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
