the operations of the Wagner forces legitimized by propaganda films

In 2021, the Russian film “Under the Sun” was released. The action takes place in 2014, in the Donbass, when a Russian veteran tries to get his family out of the Luhansk region (Ukraine). In this film, the Ukrainian army is portrayed as extremely cruel. The company producing this film is Aurum productions, which is owned by Yevgueni Prigojine, an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin. This same man finances the Wagner military society, which helps the Russian army.

Evgueni Prigojine announced that he would make his films available to recruit new fighters. “The goal is to reach a national Russian audience, who, via these films which heroize the figure of Wagner, will join the ranks of Wagner”, explains Maxime Audinet, researcher at the strategic research institute of the military school, specialist in Russian propaganda. These films also serve to legitimize the operations of the Wagner group, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.