Mercenaries have always existed, but in Russia the practice is particularly widespread, with private soldiers having fought in Ukraine and Africa for years. In this Fad & Foredrag talk, Niklas Rendboe, an expert in private military companies, looks at why mercenaries are so common in Russia, what role they play, the warrior culture behind them, and how they differ from other mercenaries.
The talk also covers the Wagner Group, founded by a former ally of Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and known for its brutal way of fighting. Rendboe has spent the past eight years researching private military companies and Russian mercenaries as a project researcher at the Royal Danish Defence College.
It is a relaxed evening at the Danish War Museum, where a cold beer comes with the lecture after closing time.
