His name is Anton Olegovich Elizarov, nicknamed “Lotus”, the man who was supposed to replace Evgeniy Prigozhin on Wagner’s orders. Born 42 years ago in Rostov, the former colonel in the Russian regular army was thrown out after serving a three-year sentence on fraud and embezzlement charges for attempting to privatize an army apartment granted to him for reasons of service. The scandal that broke out in 2014 had put an end to his brilliant military career. He ended up in prison and was rescued by Prigozhin, who recruited him into his group of Russian militiamen in 2016. His salvation begins with them: he fights in Syria, trains paramilitaries in the Central African Republic, and in 2021 he is one of Russia’s men in Libya. Last January he appeared in a video alongside Prigozhin, who praised him for his role in the war in Ukraine: “The commander of the conquest of Soledar” took the city “without being a brat, in two weeks”.
According to Wagner broadcasters, his name was mentioned by Prigozhin himself, who gave instructions in the event that the head of the private militia was eliminated. And the official nomination should arrive these days at the meeting of the Wagner Commanders’ Council in Molkino, Krasnodar Territory, where their headquarters have always been: in fact, it was from there that the “March on Moscow” began. In recent days, the Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, which has always been very close to the Russian mercenaries, announced that the commanders remaining at the head of the Wagner group had returned to the Molkino base to replace Wagner, who died with him -Führer to elect loyalists in a “plane crash” where he probably expressed his opposition to the handing over of Wagner’s work in Africa to two new mercenary companies and to the GRU (the Russian military services) as “punishment” for his attempted “March on Moscow” paid”.
From a business point of view: Prigozhin’s second will would see his son Pavel as his successor at the head of the Concord Group, which brings together the most important companies of Putin’s former chef. According to the sources cited by VChK-OGPU, in his “testament” Prigozhin transferred positions in the structures of his business empire to Wagner’s confidant with the task of helping his son Pavel manage his fortune.
According to agreement, there would be a good understanding between Lotus and Pavel, and for Wagner, therefore, the post-Prigozhin era would take the form of a diarchy, a tandem without rivalry. However, due to the decision of Evgeniy Prigozhin to leave almost everything to his son and exclude his daughters from fortune and business, internal conflicts are already arising within the family: in St. Petersburg