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Who in the Russian ruling elite was behind the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group?

Most media accounts do not list his high-level allies, other than Vladimir Putin himself. But were there other supporters of Prigozhin in the Russian upper echelons? I assume (unfortunately, I cannot back this up) that Prigozhin had allies other than Putin as he was rising to his leadership position (before his death in a plane accident).

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    This question might be hard to answer right now. The recent events probably made most of the powerful people in Russia question their allegiance. And anyone who is smart will probably bide their time until events develop before they out themselves as a clear supporter of either side.
    – Philipp ♦
    Commented Jun 24, 2023 at 12:29
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    I preventively protected this question to keep away the propaganda bots.
    – Philipp ♦
    Commented Jun 24, 2023 at 12:32
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    The implicit assumption is that there is somebody in the commanding chain between Prigozhin and Putin - I think this requires elaboration, to make the question more pointed. Whether Prigozhin has supporters is a different question (they may be not necessarily "behind" him - e.g., Khodorkovsky has expressed his support.) Finally, the question could also be misinterpreted(?) as an invitation for speculations that Americans are "behind".
    – Wag the mainstream media dog
    Commented Jun 24, 2023 at 12:40
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    I took back my edit. Not sure if it's the best, but can the question maybe clarify a tiny bit more what is included in "being behind". Financiers? Political organizations? Parts of the MoD or the Russian army? Oligarchs? Every possible supporter?
    – NoDataDumpNoContribution
    Commented Jun 24, 2023 at 16:27
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    Title edited since without more context the being of being behind someone can be ambiguous.
    – ohwilleke ♦
    Commented Nov 17, 2023 at 22:18

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Not really an answer but it reminded me of this question:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/russian-general-disappears-after-claims-he-helped-plot-wagner-coup/ar-AA1dbjED?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=3c55857d81094236bef0e07c167317c2&ei=12

One of Vladimir Putin's generals has reportedly vanished after claims he was in on the Wagner Group's armed revolt.

General Sergey Surovikin has known links with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the army chief behind Saturday's rebellion.

https://www.reuters.com/world/russian-general-surovikin-was-sympathetic-towards-wagner-rebellion-us-officials-2023-06-28/

General Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russia's military operations in Ukraine, was sympathetic to mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's weekend rebellion, U.S. officials said

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/06/28/russian-general-arrested-following-wagner-mutiny-mt-russian-a81685

Otherwise I would have thought prior, and even more so since, the events of that day, and leading up to it, those who were considered to be connected in any way to Prigozhin would have quietly disappeared or distanced themselves from him...

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From Meduza,

a niche project, calibrated for the ultra-patriotic majority who, at the same time, do not fully support the regime, and are critical of the elites, the bureaucracy, and the business

The source further claims that this may even be similar to Alexey Navalny and his team’s anti-corruption investigations, which expose corrupt members of the Russian ruling class on a regular basis.

Hence likely not USA again.

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    The context of the quote is not that a certain "niche project" is behind Prigozhin; rather the opposite: he created a niche project of his own, inspired (in part) by Navalny. On the same Meduza, an expert complains that this very idea, that there is someone behind everyone, is generally a fallacy, but (like any conspiracies) it's especially poisonous in the Russian elite because it's certainly Putin's belief.
    – Zeus
    Commented Jun 26, 2023 at 8:12

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