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Who is the man with the "grey hair", the colonel that Putin has proposed as Wagner's new boss?

2023-07-15 18:09:51Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Who is the man with the "grey hair", the colonel that Putin has
Andrey Troshev

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed to Wagner Group fighters that a high-ranking mercenary named Andrey Troshev take command of the private militia, replacing rebel Yevgeny Prigozhin.

According to Putin's comments to the Kommersant newspaper, it appears that the Kremlin leader has created a split in Wagner's mercenary hierarchy.

Putin appears to be stepping up efforts to limit the power of their boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, since the failed uprising against Moscow that the latter launched last month.

The paper reports on a meeting held by the Russian president five days after Wagner's rebellion was halted at the end of June, a meeting attended by Prigozhin and several dozen influential fighters within the group.

According to Kommersant, among the many employment choices Putin offered dozens of Wagner mercenaries at the meeting, one included continuing the war under their direct commander.

This high-profile man is precisely Andrey Troshev, who is known as 'Sedoy', which means the man with the 'grey hair'.

"They could have all gathered in one place and continued to serve. Nothing would have changed for them. They would be led by the same person who has been their real commander all along," Putin said.

"And what happened then?" Kommersant journalist asked the president.

"Many people nodded [affirmatively] when I told them that," Putin replied, implying that Wagner's mercenaries are agreeing to a reshuffle of leaders among themselves.

But who is Andrey Troshev?

"Sedoy" is his nickname. He is a retired Russian colonel and a founding member and CEO of the Wagner group, according to sanctions documents released by the European Union and France.

European Union sanctions related to the situation in Syria detail Troshev's position as chief of staff of the Wagner group's operations in Syria, which supported the Syrian regime.

Troshev was born in April 1953 in Leningrad, in the former Soviet Union.

"Andrey Troshev is directly involved in the Wagner Group's military operations in Syria. He was particularly involved in the Deir ez-Zor area. As such, he made a decisive contribution to Bashar al-Assad's war effort and therefore supported and benefited from the Syrian regime," the EU sanctions statement said.

UK sanctions from June 2022 also state that "Andrey Nikolaevich Troshev was the chief executive of the Wagner group".

"Therefore, he supported the Syrian regime, was a member of a militia and oppressed the civilian population in Syria."

One of his close associates is Wagner founder Dimitriy Utkin, who is also a former Russian GRU military intelligence officer. Troshev is also linked to Wagner group commanders Aleksandr Sergeevich Kuznetsov and Andrey Bogatov.

He is also a former employee of the special rapid response unit of the Northwestern Federal District of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and a veteran of the wars in Chechnya and Afghanistan.

For his service in Afghanistan, Troshev has been awarded two Orders of the Red Star – a Soviet Union decoration for outstanding service. For service in the operation in Chechnya, he was awarded two orders of Courage and a medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland.

Troshev was among those invited to a Kremlin reception in December 2016. A photograph, believed to be from the 2016 event, appeared in Russian media in 2017 and shows Putin alongside Troshev and Utkin.

So a move by Putin to appoint his confidant Troshev to head Wagner comes at a time when Prigozhin's fate remains unclear.

Prigozhin had reportedly traveled to Belarus as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko after the failed uprising, but the Belarusian president told CNN last week that he is now in Russia.

Footage purporting to show a police raid on Prigozhin's premises in St Petersburg has also raised questions about his status, as Wagner's boss has not been seen in public since June 2.


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