In early 1991, an article by then-correspondent Susan Katz Keating appeared in Soldier of Fortune, describing how the KGB likely would try to overthrow Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The article, “How to Stage a Soviet Coup,” was published shortly before the KGB targeted Gorbachev in a failed coup attempt. In …
Read More »The Coup That Wasn’t: Prigozhin Takes Deal With Putin; Cancels Uprising, Moves to Belarus
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who turned his fighters against the military leadership in Moscow, has moved to Belarus, and the criminal charges against him for mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped, the Kremlin said Saturday. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko negotiated the deal with the Wagner Group chief, his …
Read More »Meet Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Ex-Convict Who Made a Run on Moscow
by Mike Eckel Yevgeny Prigozhin, a convict who parlayed a St. Petersburg restaurant business into lucrative Kremlin contracts, founded the private military company Wagner, and became a relentless critic of the Russian military command, made and then stopped a run on Moscow as part of a truncated rebellion. Who is …
Read More »Kremlin Charges Wagner Chief With Mutiny, as Prigozhin Asks Russians to Join Uprising Against Defense Minister
The Kremlin charged Yevgeny Prigozhin with mutiny on Friday night after the bellicose Wagner Group chief called on all Russians to join his forces in an uprising against the country’s defense minister. Prigozhin accused his wartime nemesis, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, of ordering Russian troops to shell Prigozhin’s forces in …
Read More »At ‘OP Baby’s Head’: Water for the Cartels, Cross-Border Mules, and a Skull in the Badlands
by Heath Hansen Editor’s note: In the remote no-man’s land just north of the Arizona border with Mexico, SOF correspondent Heath Hansen stationed himself at OP “Baby’s Head,” in a place where weapons, dope, and a fractured human skull have been spotted in the brush. Here in this treacherous spot …
Read More »Blackwater’s New Camo Pattern Becker Patrol Pack Blends Rugged With Off-the-Charts Coolness
Our good friends at Blackwater sent us a preview of their rad new rucksack, the Blackwater Camo Pattern Becker Patrol Pack Mk II. If the model name sounds familiar, it’s because Blackwater made it in coordination with Ethan Becker, a famed knife designer who created the original pack in the …
Read More »Chinese Spy Base in Cuba: Images of a Secret Site in a Remote Village
This Cuban farm village once was the site of a secret military base where Soviet nuclear missiles stood capable of striking the United States. Today in the hamlet of Bejucal, the working nukes are gone; in their place is a communist Chinese spy station, barely 100 miles off the coast …
Read More »Legendary Pararescueman Wayne Fisk Receives Prestigious ‘Bull Simons’ Award
During his 27 years in the Air Force, Chief Master Sergeant Wayne Fisk took part in some of the most daring and critical missions of his time. As an elite pararescueman (PJ), he was involved in the raid on Son Tay Prisoner of War camp in North Vietnam, for which …
Read More »Donald Trump Indicted in Miami on Charges of Mishandling Classified Documents
Former President Donald Trump was indicted by Federal officials in Miami, and will turn himself into authorities there, according to a source with direct knowledge of the case. Trump himself said on Thursday night that he was indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida home. No other details were …
Read More »Soldier of Fortune Advisory Committee: Meet Blackwater Founder Erik Prince
by Susan Katz Keating Today marks the next installment of a new development at Soldier of Fortune: the SOF Advisory Committee. The members are people I trust and admire, and who I have known over the years. They all are veterans who have made significant marks in the military and security milieu. …
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