How did the Wagner Group leader come to be in conflict with the Russian state?

Amid dramatic developments in Russia in the past day, many observers will be wondering: How did it come to this?

At the start of Saturday, theRussian government was trying to quell an armed rebellion involving Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group private militia in what appeared to be the biggest-everthreat toRussian President Vladimir Putin'sleadership.

Prigozhin's men had crossed from Ukraine into Russia and enteredRostov-on-Don, a city in southern Russia, near the border with Ukraine.The Wagner leader claimed his forces hadmilitary facilities in the city under their control, including the airfield.

Some Wagner troopsdrove on further toward Moscow reportedly reaching Russia's Lipetsk province,about 360 kilometres south of Moscow.

Putin, meanwhile,vowedto defend the country and harshly punish the rebellion's organizers.

But later Saturday, those troops turned back, following adeal to de-escalate the situation, which Prigozhin said would avoid bloodshed.

The charges against Prigozhin for mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped and the troops who joined him also will not be prosecuted, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced, and fighters from his Wagner Group who did not take part in the uprising will be offered contracts by the Russian defenceministry.

Here's a brief look at how Prigozhin went from being a prominent leader of a mercenary force to the man at the centre of a major fight with Putin and the Russian state.

Ukraine invaded

Russia launched its wide-ranging invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.That marked the start of Europe's largest land war since the end of the Second World War.

Prigozhin's private army, known as the Wagner Group, has fought alongside regular Russian troops in Ukraine. And its public profile has grown, just like it has for its founder.

"Because of this war, and because of the ambitions of Prigozhin, quite quickly the group emerged as the most visible part of the Russian military," journalist Andrei Soldatov told PBS NewsHour last month.

"Now we have billboards advertising Wagner on the streets of Russian cities a completely unprecedented thing."

Ties revealed

Last September, Prigozhin publicly acknowledgedin a statement that he founded the Wagner Group, after hepreviously denied having any ties to it.

Prigozhinsaid the group was formed in 2014 to "defend the Russians" involved in fighting in eastern Ukraine that would be the Russian-backed separatistsat that time.

While media reports had long linked Prigozhin to Wagner, videos surfaced showing him visiting prisons in Russia to recruit fighters for the war in Ukraine.

A few months later, Alexei Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader, said Prigozhin hadrecruited dozens of prisoners for the Ukraine war from the penal colony where Navalnyhimself was being held.

Increasingly vocal criticisms

Prigozhinbecame an increasinglyvocal critic of many aspects of Russia's war effort and the people leading it.

These have included pointed complaints about a lack of supplies and equipment for Wagner fighters, as well as direct public criticismof Russian military leaders.

Just weeks ago, Prigozhin had threatened to pull his troops from a long-running battle in Bakhmut, citing heavy losses and inadequate ammunition supplies. He called for regular Russian troops to replace his own.

Alsolast month, Prigozhin suggested Putin's goal of "demilitarizing" Ukraine had failed, as Kyiv's forces strengthened with the backing of Western equipment and training.

Most recently, Prigozhin, when announcing the rebellion,alleged Russian forces had hit Wagner camps with rockets, helicopter gunships and artillery, claiming that "a huge number of our comrades got killed." Russia's Defence Ministry denied attacking the camps.

Bakhmut battle

Some of the bloodiestfighting of thewar has occurred in the Bakhmut battle, whereWagner fighters have been on the front lines.

For months, Ukrainian and Russian forces suffered losses, in gruelling fighting thatboth sides described as a "meat-grinder."

WATCH |Mercenary forces withdraw from devastated Bakhmut:

Mercenary forces withdraw from devastated Bakhmut

1 year ago

Duration 2:07

Ukrainian and Russian forces swap prisoners in Bakhmut as Russia claims control, while Ukraine disputes that it has totally lost the city. Leader of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin announced his forces have started to withdraw after nine months of conflict over the symbolic city.

Prigozhin said more than 20,000 of his troops died in the battle for Bakhmut with Russia claiming victory there last month. Half the Wagner fighters killed there had been recruited from Russian prisons.

At that time, Prigozhin said Wagner would handcontrol of the city to Russian forces.

Armed rebellion

Prigozhin declared the armed rebellion late Friday, which set in motion a set of responses from Moscow.

Putin denounced the uprising as "a stab in the back" in an address to the nation.

The Russian leadercalled the actions by Prigozhin, whom he did not mention by name, a "betrayal" and "treason."

"All those who prepared the rebellion will suffer inevitable punishment," Putin said. "The armed forces and other government agencies have received the necessary orders."

Prigozhin said his fighters would not surrender, as "we do not want the country to live on in corruption, deceit and bureaucracy."

Yet as early reports of the rebellion emerged, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said Friday thatPrigozhin's push to oust Russian defence leaders seemed "unlikely to succeed."

Then came the de-escalation deal, which the Kremlin claims will involve the 62-year-oldPrigozhin moving to Belarus. He will not face prosecution, according to Moscow.