FSPS 2024: Russian PMC in Russian discourse

Based on a paper by Karen Philippa Larsen, these publications examine the Wagner Group’s legal status in Russia through official discourses. By looking at Russian pro-government media discourses on PMCs the development of the Wagner Group is examined. The group went from being a public secret to openly fighting alongside Russian forces in Russia’s war in Ukraine. This development is, at least partially, explained by a discursive shift, which happened before the war. Before the war one discourse is found that denies the existence of Russian PMCs, and another that constructs PMCs as legitimate businesses and Russia as a great power. The two discourses previously kept the PMCs in a grey zone, however, as examined in this PB, a discursive shift of recognizing PMCs as legitimate actors may have allowed for the Wagner Group to play a key role in Russia’s war.