evgeny Prigozhin has emerged as a key player in Russia's full-scale

invasion of Ukraine, in charge of a private army of mercenaries leading the

Russian onslaught in key areas of the war.

No stranger to Russia's prisons, he recruited thousands of convicted criminals

from jail for his Wagner group - no matter how grave their crimes - as long as they
agreed to fight for him in Ukraine.

Before Russia started what has become Europe's worst armed conflict since
World War Two, Prigozhin was accused of meddling in US elections and
expanding Russian influence in Africa.

How did a man of murky beginnings achieve such influence - and a reputation for
fearsome brutality?

Beginnings
Yevgeny Prigozhin hails from St Petersburg, Vladimir Putin's home city.

He received his first criminal conviction in 1979, aged just 18, and got a
suspended two-and-a-half year sentence for theft. Two years later, he was
sentenced to 13 years in jail for robbery and theft, nine of which he served behind
bars.

Upon his release from jail, Prigozhin set up a chain of stalls selling hot dogs in St
Petersburg. Business went well and within a few years, in the lawless 1990s,
Prigozhin was able to open expensive restaurants in the city.