Guest Speaker: Jack Margolin

The Wagner Group - Inside Russia’s Mercenary Army by Jack Margolin

Join us at the Centre for Grand Strategy, King’s College London, for the launch of Jack Margolin’s book, Wagner: The Rise and Fall of Putin’s Mercenary Army. In this compelling investigation, Margolin exposes the dark world of Russia’s notorious Wagner Group, tracing its origins from shadowy battlefield rumours to a powerful private military enterprise that has shaped conflicts across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Through extensive leaks, first-hand accounts, and a labyrinthine financial paper trail, Margolin reveals how transnational illicit finance has empowered Wagner’s global operations.

Margolin follows the mercenaries as they commit atrocities, plunder resources, and reshape the geopolitical landscape, all in pursuit - or at least alignment with - the Kremlin’s strategic aims. His investigation culminates with the dramatic downfall of Wagner’s leader, Evgeniy Prigozhin, shedding light on the future of Putin’s regime, the increasing privatization of warfare, and how the complex global finance network facilitates this phenomenon.

This is an in-person event. Registration is required.

The Wagner Group - Inside Russia’s Mercenary Army is available for purchase here.

About the speakers:

Jack Margolin is an independent expert on international crime and conflict and author of The Wagner Group: Inside Russia’s Mercenary Army (Reaktion Books, 2024). His work focuses on the use of emerging technology and novel methodologies to expose the drivers of political violence. Jack previously led conflict finance investigations at C4ADS, a non-profit investigating crime and conflict. His investigations have been cited by the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Economist, the Financial Times and Politico. He lives in Washington, DC.

Jade McGlynn is a Leverhulme EC Researcher in the War Studies department and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Grand Strategy at King’s College London. She holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford, where she previously worked as a Lecturer in Russian. She is a frequent contributor to international media, including BBC, CNN, DW, Foreign Policy, The Times, The Telegraph and The Spectator.