Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin challenged the Kremlin in a brief mutiny

By JIM HEINTZ
Associated Press

Yevgeny Prigozhin made his name as the profane and brutal mercenary boss who mounted an armed rebellion that was the most severe and shocking challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule. His Wagner Group fought in Ukraine as he increasingly denounced Russia’s defense establishment for allegedly mismanaging the war. Russia’s aviation authority says he was on a plane that crashed north of Moscow, killing all 10 people on board. Russia’s Investigative Committee said Sunday that forensic and genetic testing on the bodies recovered from the crash site confirmed Prigozhin’s death. During his life, the 62-year-old went from prisoner and hot dog vendor to elegant St. Petersburg restaurateur and finally the head of a private army.