John Lechner — Death Is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries and the New Era of Private Warfare - with Brett Forrest

In 2014, a well-trained, mysterious band of mercenaries arrived in Ukraine, part of Russia's first attempt to claim the country as its own. Upon ceasefire, the "Wagner Group" faded back into shadow, only to reemerge in the Middle East, where they'd go toe-to-toe with the U.S., and in Africa, where they'd earn praise for "tough measures" against insurgencies yet spark outrage for looting, torture, and civilian deaths. As Russia gained a foothold of influence abroad, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as "Putin's Chef," went from caterer to commander to single greatest threat Putin has faced in his over-twenty-year rule.Dually armed with military and strategic prowess, the Wagner Group created a new market in a vast geopolitical landscape increasingly receptive to the promises of private actors. In this trailblazing account of the Group's origins and operations, John Lechner-the only journalist to report across its many warzones-brings us on the ground to witness Wagner partner with fragile nation states, score access to natural resources, oust peacekeeping missions, and cash in on conflicts reframed as Kremlin interests. After rebelling, Prigozhin faced an epic demise-but Wagner lives on, its political, business, and military ventures a pillar of Russian operations the world over.Featuring exclusive interviews with over thirty Wagner Group members, Death Is Our Business is the terrifying true tale of the renegade militia that proved global instability is nothing if not an opportunity.PURCHASE BOOK HERE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9781639733361?ic_referral=2-9feyZ46J_wIcZZuVC5OhFSp_KMeMQ7kTKxOtjFJPcwM9VY_MCM8MUfbcep00Z4d-QrkcDvG-oS2QFudGCC7m6_xlwWhT_jgfPTbfijBlyhLmWLFTnzOP5ZZniizy_4faeZ7gJohn Lechner is a journalist and an independent researcher and consultant to NGOs and other institutions working in Africa. He holds a master's degree in foreign service from Georgetown University. He speaks Russian, French, Turkish, Georgian, Chechen, Sango, and more. His reporting has been featured in outlets such as the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, and the BBC and published in Foreign Policy, Lawfare, and War on the Rocks, among others. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, he lives in Washington, D.C.Lechner is in conversation with Brett Forrest, a national-security and intelligence reporter for The Wall Street Journal, where his investigative work has focused on espionage, arms, and the former Soviet Union. In the Russo-Ukrainian war, Brett was the first reporter to reach the town of Bucha and uncover evidence of atrocities. He is the author of Lost Son, The Big Fix, and Long Bomb. Brett co-directed the ESPN true-crime documentary, Pin Kings, an Emmy nominee, and is an executive producer on Netflix’s feature adaptation of The Big Fix. Brett was a part of a team at the Journal that won the National Press Club's Edwin M. Hood Award for diplomatic and foreign policy correspondence for reporting on wrongful detention and hostage diplomacy. He has lived and worked in Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, and other countries. www.brettforrest.com*recorded 3/7/2025