If there ever was a stolen valor psychological profile done, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the failing Wagner mercenary firm, fits the mold.

A loud and obnoxious blowhard who back peddles like a challenged bully on a schoolyard playground.

How many times have we seen this in the US? Quite often, unfortunately. Many are chasing fame with fake military service records and fighting for Ukraine on Twitter and YouTube.

Who is  Yevgeny Prigozhin?

After doing jail time for a petty crime, he started over as a hustling food entrepreneur in Russia, then built up a catering empire, among other ventures, including Wagner’s mercenary group, and appears to still have the trust of Putin with his bold threats to Russian Defense officials.

Like any good Dictatorship, those in the Focker circle of trust get to play elsewhere and  Yevgeny wanted to play soldier with the Wagner group (named after a real Russian Operators pseudonym).

A closer look at the man now wanted by the US FBI for attempting to defraud America.

Prigozhin was born and raised in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on 1 June 1961,to Violetta Prigozhina (Russian: Виолетта Пригожина). His father died early, and so his mother supported him and his sick grandmother by working at a local hospital. His father and stepfather were of Jewish descent. 

During his school years, Prigozhin aspired to be a professional cross-country skier. He was trained by his stepfather Samuil Zharkoy, who was an instructor in the sport and attended a prestigious athletics boarding school from which he graduated in 1977. However, his career in sports was ultimately unsuccessful.

In November 1979, 18-year-old Prigozhin was caught stealing and given a suspended sentence. Two years later, in 1981, he was again caught stealing and sentenced to twelve years imprisonment for robbery, fraud, and involving teenagers in crime. He and several accomplices were convicted of robbing apartments in upscale neighborhoods. He was pardoned in 1988 and was released in 1990. In total, he spent nine years in detention. -Wikipedia

What drives a person to play a war hero?

Former Navy SEAL Don Shipley is no stranger to the army of imposters.

Could it be that Wagner’s boss suffers from Hero Syndrome?

We found this interesting research paper online that’s worth a read.

The so called Hero Syndrome is not actually a syndrome at all. Having not been duly recognized by the American Academy of Psychiatry as a true mental disorder with definitive research studies to back up the title of “syndrome,” then we are left with identifying this disorder at its’ face value. Carl Gustav Jung, noted Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, found that the phenomenon of fragmented identity can result in what he referred to as “complexes.” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014) There are various categories of complexes, with each being rooted in a particular archetype or more easily understood, a pattern.

Since we’ve now established the Hero Syndrome is actually the Hero Complex, one must know the meaning in psychological terms of what exactly constitutes a “complex.” A psychological complex, as the name suggests, is a distorted thought and sensory pattern that has been deeply ingrained into a person’s psyche. It decides a vast chunk of that person’s perception and decision making in terms of how they relate to others, their emotional experiences and a sense of self. (Psychological List Dose, 2013) A complex can affect someone for many reasons. Some people have a basic inclination towards developing certain complexes by their very disposition. For example, someone with narcissistic tendencies has a greater chance of having a superiority complex. Either way, a complex is a blind spot in one’s thinking and how they rationalize their actions. For purposes of identification, the following represent the ten accepted psychological complexes as identified by the American Academy of Psychiatry.

Read the full paper here: https://www.cji.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/the_hero_syndrome.pdf

No doubt we’ve not heard the last of Putin’s favorite blowhard chef who is no stranger to poking the Russian bear.

Hopefully, now you understand a bit more about what drives this hard shell soft mushy candy in the middle of a man who is desperately trying to overcompensate for something.

What that something is we’ll leave for you to decide.

—

**Want to learn more about this shady group of mercenaries, click here.