Taylor Quoted in Vox Article on Russian Paramilitary Network the Wagner Group

March 27, 2023

Vox

Brian Taylor

Political Science Department

Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs

Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict & Collaboration

Conflict

International Affairs

Russia

Ukraine

Vox

Brian Taylor

The Wagner Group, a murky paramilitary network led by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, has taken a very public part in the war in Ukraine—its presence reshaping the conflict. But now that it’s out of the shadows, it may no longer serve Russia’s aims abroad in exactly the same way.

“Wagner was a very useful stopgap in that period between when [Russia] had so many of their regular forces attrited and Putin came around to the realization that he had no choice but to bring in hundreds of thousands of more people. That may, in some sense, prove to be that Wagner is at its sort of height of influence,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science.

Read more in the Vox article, “The Wagner Group, Russia’s maybe-private army in Ukraine, explained.”