Since mid-March, a record of an “intercepted” telephone conversation has been published on social networks, presumably between producer Iosif Prigozhin and billionaire and former senator of the Federation Council Farkhad Akhmedov. The Ukrainian Channel 5 drew attention to the publications, assuming that the conversation took place 1.5-2.5 months ago.
The audio recording lasts a little more than half an hour, including the voice of the singer Valeria, the wife of Joseph Prigogine. “They united, Igor Ivanovich, Sergey Viktorovich and Viktor Zolotov. They blame Shoigu for everything. They call him a dumbass, behind his back, of course, ”says the voice of the producer. Throughout the conversation, the interlocutors criticize representatives of the Russian elites, nepotism, personally Vladimir Putin and his decision to start a «fratricidal» war in Ukraine.
«The country's future has been taken away». War, Putin, and “whore” 157 times in a conversation between ex-senator Akhmedov and producer Prigozhin — full transcript
“They fucked up the country. The question is, what will happen after them? Fuck it, on the one hand, «Kadyrovites», «Prigozhinites», there will be guardsmen. There will be, damn it, «Makhnovshchina» there. They will wave daggers, sledgehammers. Well, this is absolutely nonsense. <…> The President will answer for all this. For all. They will ask him. <…> They fucked us, our children, their future, their fate, damn it, you understand? Akhmedov's voice says on the recording. “To be honest, of course they are fucking criminals,” his interlocutor replies.
“Yeah, he sucks at everything. And the people give a fuck about him. He's Satan, damn it. <…> Hollow, motherfucker. Both this one and the second one are complex. Lilliputians, damn it. Undergrown, insecure. <…> If you fight, then fight. We can't even fight. Because there is no fucking army, they cannot provide it. Everyone stole. <…> Fascism will be there, there will be a military dictatorship. You will see. This is where it all ends,” continues the billionaire.
The man with the voice of Akhmedov, who, judging by the conversation, is in Baku, advises Iosif Prigozhin to do business, earn money, have more rest and “talk less” with Russian politicians.
The ex-senator also talks about how he was affected by the sanctions imposed by the European Union, the UK and Canada after the Russian invasion of Ukraine: “I don’t even have a fucking credit card. If you have money, you can't spend it. <…> The boat is rotting there, blocked. <…> They write that I am a close friend of Putin. Fuck your mother! I last saw Putin in 2008.” Western economic restrictions, which he is trying to challenge through the courts, he compared with the repressions of 1937.
Prigozhin reacted to the publication of the entry in his Telegram channel. He said that the audio is «fake» because «today's technology, neural networks, allow you to fake not only the voice, but also the conversation.» “Everyone knows my political position, it is present in all my interviews and the public field. But you know, when I listened to the audio recording, I almost believed that it was me, ”said the producer.