‘Yevgeny Prigozhin will never be discussed again’: Russian media to erase all traces of mutinous warlord

The Wagner mercenary group boss who marched on Moscow has had his internet outlets blocked and troll factory closed down

Suddenly, Yevgeny Prigozhin is a phantom. Is he in Belarus or St Petersburg? In unconfirmed footage that makes him look like a Bond villain, he struts across a rooftop, shadowed by a muscled bodyguard, takes a seat in a helicopter, and vanishes into the skies of St Petersburg.

For nearly a decade, Prigozhin has sown scandal in Russia, creating a troll factory empire, leading Russia's interference into foreign elections and bankrolling the Wagner mercenary group that fought in Ukraine and has propped up dictators in Africa.