Documentary lifts veil on the Wagner Group, a shadowy private Russian army

This article was originally published on May 1, 2023. Follow CBCNews.ca for the latest news on the Wagner Group mutiny in Russia.

As It Happens26:48Documentary lifts veil on the Wagner Group, a shadowy private Russian army

Benoit Bringer's new documentary has been billed as a searing exposé of the shadowy private Russian army known as the Wagner Group. But he says it's really more of a tribute to those who have risked everything to stand up to them.

The Wagner Group is a private military company owned by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. Its members have appeared in international conflict zones around the world, including Ukraine, Syria, Mali and the Central African Republic. And everywhere they go, they are accused of brutality, torture and extrajudicial killings.

Officially, these mercenaries not linked to any political party or government. But Prigozhin is known to be a close confidante of Russian President Vladimir Putin. And intelligence experts say the group is state-backed and works to further Russia's objectives on the world stage. 

In The Rise of Wagner, Bringer interviews journalists who have shined a light on the Wagner Group's activities at great personal cost, and the loved ones of the Wagner Group's victims who are desperately seeking justice against an organization that, on paper, doesn't even exist. 

Bringer, a French investigative journalist, spoke to As It Happens host Nil Köksal about his new film, which is playing Monday and Friday at the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto. The following is an excerpt from their conversation. 

What did you want audiences to understand about the Wagner Group and what exactly they do?

[When] I started this project, like, two years ago ... [the Wagner Group] was still a shadowy army, and we had to shed light on this subject.

But especially in terms of human impact for the people who have been the victims of the Wagner Group … it was also important to show that they are not, you know, mercenaries like we have seen before in the past. 

The difference is they didn't have any — and they still don't have any — legal existence, the Wagner Group. And they are linked to the Kremlin, of course, and to the Russian government and to Putin. And we wanted to show that.

You talked about the human toll. And I wondered, as I was watching it — you know, not as a documentary filmmaker and as an investigative journalist, but as just as a human being — how was that for you to follow their stories?

Definitely, it was very hard. And I have seen some videos, the worst I have seen before.... But at the same time I was really touched and moved by the people I met. Because you have to understand that this documentary, it's about the people who fight for the truth, fight for justice. And I was very, very touched when I met them. 

They are very brave people and they just want to not be forgotten because their loved ones have been killed by mercenaries. And they want the truth to be told. 

WATCH | Trailer for The Rise of Wagner: 

I want to talk about the mercenaries themselves, the ones who choose to work with Wagner Group. Who are they? Why are they signing on? How does this group find its fighters?

You have different kinds of people. You have the former military guys who maybe did a crime or have been in jail and are not allowed to be in the proper army anymore.

You have the people who are in the poorest part of Russia who are not able to earn enough to make a living who decided to go with the Wagner Group because they pay much more than the usual job.

Russia has its own military. It certainly has its own spy agencies. So why does this group need to exist? What can it do that can be achieved with conventional forces?

The main reason at the beginning was plausible deniability. 

Actually, it was used by the CIA also for ... the Bay of Pigs when they hired mercenaries, Cuban mercenaries, to try to overthrow Fidel Castro. You know, they said, "We didn't send those guys. It's not ours. It's just Cubans who want to free their country." That's same with Wagner. They can go wherever they want and Russia can say, "OK it's not us."

That's how they go [into] Africa in some countries and promote dictatorship and help Russia to influence those countries. 

When you talk about influence, your film talks about the activities of the group in Syria and parts of Africa... A lot of people are hearing about the group in the context of Ukraine in most of the headlines now. But when we talk about Syria and African countries, what is this the strategy and the strategic value of the group there?

They do war. And also they help dictators to defend [themselves] from opponents, from civil conflict.

The Central African Republic is a big part of our documentary because it was a former French colony with a lot of French influence. But it's over now, and Russia has tried to gain power in those countries in Africa to be the new dominant power. 

And it's [a] kind of new colonialism. They gain influence and they can do business with these countries.... They can sell weapons. They can exploit natural resources like gold mines, like old fields, like diamonds. 

Those resources are in very, very poor countries like Sudan, like Mali, like the Central African Republic. And they should benefit … the civilians who don't have enough to live. But instead, what we see is that they benefit ... the Wagner Group and the top guy of the Wagner Group, because it's the way for the dictators in those countries to pay them.

One of the big arguments that Russia often makes — and I'm sure you've heard this — is that Western countries have done these kinds of things in the past. And you alluded to this as well: imperialism, colonialism did damage to these countries. So, you know, that's why you need [the Wagner Group] to help fight that continued colonialism, that continued imperialism. And they say anyone who criticizes them is doing that because they want to hold onto the old power power structures.

But you're suggesting that it's doing the opposite for these countries. It's putting them in the same sort of cycle.

Exactly. I mean, it's a way to say: OK, look, the French, the Americans just want to exploit you and don't respect you. 

But at the same time, they're doing exactly the same thing, you know. They are gaining power. They are exploiting natural resources.

So, yeah, it's kind of the same game, but it's a different power that will benefit. 

You reveal a lot in this film. Did you ever face any retaliation or threats?

No, we didn't. And we were, of course, very cautious when we did this documentary.

But again, the work has been done before by journalists, in Russia especially. And they were the first one to do that and to expose the group.

With this documentary, it's human stories about those guys.... It's a tribute to those people.