The leader of the "Leningrad" group, Sergei Shnurov, together with "Putin's chef" Yevgeny Prigozhin, arrived on the territory of the "LPR", in the city of Irmino. The photo at the memorial sign "In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Stakhanov movement" was published by actor Georgy Bolonev, specifying that the meeting took place in connection with the filming of a new film.
After the outbreak of the war, Shnurov did not speak directly on this topic. In an interview with Tatyana Tolstaya, he, in particular, stated that he did not want to choose one side:
“Yes, go to … My right is that I want to choose, I don’t want to, I don’t choose. They bring you a glass of vodka and a glass of whiskey, and you want wine. I do not want to choose from this set of yours. This is a false choice."
At the same time, Shnurov criticized the prohibition of the Russian authorities to call the war a war:
“A ban is in any case a sign of impotence. Political technology should have soft power. You must win in rhetoric, you must win in argument. If we ban the word "brunette", then what, will everyone become blonde? Not".
In 2021, it became known that Shnurov became the author of the main soundtrack for the film "Granite" about Russian mercenaries in Mozambique. The description of the film does not say directly what kind of mercenaries they are, but there are many reviews on the net that directly say that we are talking about Wagner PMCs.
Recidivist criminal Yevgeny Prigozhin, convicted of theft, fraud and involvement of minors in criminal activities, is now known as "Putin's cook" (he organizes Kremlin dinners), a sponsor of the Wagner PMC and the owner of the largest troll factory. The source of his income is exclusive access to state contracts for food (including in the Ministry of Defense and schools), and despite the constant scandals with mass poisoning (attracting the attention of even the military counterintelligence of the FSB), these contracts are constantly being extended and feed a huge army of trolls, mercenaries and provocateurs. Prigozhin’s mercenaries, commonly referred to as Wagner PMCs (although Wagner, aka Dmitry Utkin, is just one of the mercenary commanders), are involved in many operations abroad, in many cases (such as during the invasion of Ukraine) under direct command GRU.
Prigozhin's structures also mine gemstones in the Central African Republic and show interest in gold mines and the woodworking business.