Dmitri Sytyi

Dmitri Sergeyevich Sytyi is a Russian financier and businessman who manages media and communications of the Wagner Group in the Central African Republic. He is considered a close ally to Russian president Vladimir Putin and the right-hand man of Yevgeny Prigozhin before the latter's death. Following Prigozhin's death, Sytyi has been described as the man running the Wagner Group and Russian operations in the Central African Republic alongside Vitaly Perfilev.

Biography

Early life and education Sytyi was born on March 23, 1989, in Minsk (Belarussian SSR, USSR). He studied international business at the Saint Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance between 2006 and 2011 and then completed a master's degree at the International University of Catalonia between 2011 and 2012. Sytyi then attended the Skema Business School beginning in September 2014 to pursue his master's in international marketing and business development, but the school declared him a dropout in December 2016. While Lobaye is predominantly a mining company, it also owns media outlets and NGOs including Radio Lengo Songo, Aimons Notre Afrique, and Le Monde en Vrai. Sytyi has also been accused of working for the Information and Communication Bureau, a Central African and Russian pro-government outlet that pays journalists to write articles critical of France, anti-Russian and anti-Touadera figures. He is considered to be heavily connected with rebel groups along the Sudanese-Central African border, and is knowledgeable of Sudanese state secrets.

Maison Russe and assassination attempt On June 3, 2021, Sytyi was appointed director of the Maison Russe, a Russian cultural center in Bangui that disseminates Russian propaganda. The bombing tore off three of Sytyi's fingers and injured his stomach, forcing him to be flown to Russia for treatment. A Wall Street Journal investigation determined that Sytyi's control of Diamville was orchestrated in part by Hassan Bouba, the Central African Minister of Livestock and coordinator between Central African armed groups and Wagner Group. In 2023, Sytyi obtained control of the company First Industrial Co., which produces a popular beer in the CAR known as Africa Ti L'Or and the vodka Wa Na Na. In June 2024, Le Monde stated that Sytyi "writes and implements the Russian agenda in Bangui." Sytyi appeared at the opening of a military base in Haut-Mbomou training fighters from Azande Ani Kpi Gbe and introducing them into the Central African Armed Forces.