Dodging bullets, duck explosions, protecting government secrets.
Fake fake movies portray Russian politician Maxim Shugalei as a tough guy – one who will obviously stop at nothing to promote the world outside..
Although his escape was no doubt exaggerated, in real life he played a major role in the expansion of Russian influence in parts of Africa, working closely with Wagner’s Russian army.
However, this wannabe iron man recently suffered a heart attack when he was arrested in the central African country of Chad.
He, along with Russian collaborators Samer Sueifan and E Tsaryov, were arrested in September on unspecified charges, before being released and sent home earlier this month, according to the Russian embassy.
Who is Maxim Shugalei?
Shugalei likes to describe himself as a “sociologist” but in reality, experts say, he is a spin doctor and Russian agent known for his work in Africa.
He has been under EU sanctions since 2023 for overseeing a disinformation campaign promoting the Wagner Group in several African countries, and is the subject of sanctions against Ukraine.
Since about 2010, Shugalei has been associated with the late Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s boss and a close friend of President Vladimir Putin.
Although Shugalei used to deny these relationships – as it was in Prigozhin’s groups – however, he was first known by the media for his work and his arrest in Libya on charges of espionage and meddling in the elections on behalf of Mr. Wagner.
Prigozhin assigned Shugalei the task of collecting information and preparing a plan of assistance Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
When Shugalei returned to Russia, Prigozhin revealed that he had paid him 18m rubles ($173,000; £138,000) – 1m rubles for each month he spent in exile.
It’s hard to know what Shugalei’s effect is [Getty Images]
Shugalei’s escape from Libya formed the basis of a TV movie trilogy, apparently sponsored by Prigozhin. It was designed to, among other things, honor the rule of Wagner ally Khalifa Haftar in eastern Libya and clean up Russian operations in Africa.
The role of Shugalei was played by the actor Kirill Polukhin, and the movies show him as “almost a James Bond character, or a Mission Impossible version”, says Ladd Serwat, Regional Expert for Africa at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (Acled). ).
“We are shown this ruthless, brave man who does not want to interfere or hide the secrets of the world – so he is very capable as a warrior or independent.”
A slightly less popular site on the Internet falsely claims that “Shugalei” is an Arabic word for “unbreakable iron man”.
But as a major player in the growth of Russian influence in Africa in recent years, he has also done some extraordinary things in real life.
In 2018, a BBC investigation found that he was one of a number of Russians abducted they are giving suitcases full of money to the presidential candidates in Madagascar.
Prior to his work abroad, the only public part of Shugalei’s career as a political analyst began in the 2002 parliamentary elections in St Petersburg.
At that time, Shugalei acted as a representative of one of the candidates and ate several documents at a meeting of the electoral commission to prevent them from being brought to court.
How powerful is Shugalei?
Under Prigozhin, Shugalei’s position was the head of the Foundation for the Protection of National Values, Wagner’s official organization and public relations company.
Unofficially, he worked in various African countries to try to ensure that governments supporting Wagner would come, and remain, in power, as part of Russia’s efforts to gain influence on the continent – especially at the expense of France.
Since the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin last yearsoldiers serving under the banner of Wagner in Ukraine and Africa have been incorporated into the Russian army.
However, Prigozhin’s media empire, which Shugalei owned, has collapsed.
As someone who operates in the shadows, it is difficult to know how much power he has.
However, according to some, Shugalei may not have lost much influence despite the death of his mentor.
“They still seem to have the same power, even though the Kremlin seems to have taken over a lot of the work of the Wagner group,” said Beverly Ochieng, senior researcher for Francophone Africa for Control Risks.
It seems that he no longer denies his relationship with Wagner and Prigozhin – his Telegram channel has many articles commemorating the late oligarch and his mercenary group, and he also writes a lot about Wagner.
However, apart from his arrest in Chad and the July trip to Angola that he documented in the Telegraph, it is difficult to tell what he is doing.
The suspected security guards of Wagner were photographed on the campaign trail with the President of the Central African Republic Touadéra in 2020. [Getty Images]
Why was he arrested in Chad?
Chad did not provide a valid reason for arresting Shugalei and his two friends.
Many theories abound – some are more logical than others.
Russia’s state-run news agency RT said the arrests were initiated by France, but it may have been a hoax to avoid public scrutiny, Mr Ochieng told the BBC.
Since May, Russia has been pushing the issue of the decline of Western culture in Chad.
But, although Chad has recently signed an agreement with Russia on infrastructure and defense, it still has French troops, and maintains good relations with the old colonial regime, unlike several of its Francophone neighbors who have turned to Russia.
There is no evidence of the presence of Russian troops in the country.
In fact, some oppose that Chadian President Mahamat Déby is technically playing Russia and the West against each otherbenefit of Chad.
Russia is trying to dominate West Africa’s Sahel region, and already has close relations with Chad’s two neighbors – Niger, and the Central African Republic (CAR), a country that Russia’s influence is very strong in the world.
Wagner’s forces reportedly entered Chad from CAR and fought local forces, before retreating.
If Russia were to bring Chad into its path, that would create an uninterrupted influence stretching thousands of miles.
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and CAR already have close ties with Russia [BBC]
Shugalei has visited Chad twice before, and held talks with Déby’s campaign team before the presidential election in May. He was also linked to the Russian House cultural center in the capital N’Djamena, which recently opened a new center at a ceremony attended by Russian officials.
Last year, US intelligence agencies said they had discovered that Wagner allegedly plotted to kill Déby but failed to carry it out.
Mr. Serwat suggests that this is the reason why Shugalei was arrested.
Ms. Ochieng said Chad may be worried about Shugalei’s ability to try to destabilize the country by spreading fake news.
Shugalei’s foundation denied being a “Wagner spy”saying that Shugalei “doesn’t know anything about the Wagner Group’s operations in Africa and knows a lot about their previous activities”.
Russian-backed TV news, TV stations and news sites are happening they were sent to spread pro-Russian propaganda and disinformationespecially in Africa, according to experts.
Examples include Afrique Media TV which broadcasts from Cameroon to CAR, Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger – it is also on YouTube where it has thousands of views, and enjoys many Facebook followers.
Shugalei himself teases his presence in various African countries, sometimes sharing video clips, cheap, vlog-style videos that make his love for the show clear.
Among the films about African people, many seem to be mythological – one, called LionBear – shows a bear (representing Russia) running around the world to protect a lion (a fellow member of the Central African Republic) from the evils of hyenas.
“I don’t think people are attracted to these movies – people think they’re funny, a joke,” says Ms Ochieng.
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[Getty Images/BBC]
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