The founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been laid to rest in a private funeral in his hometown of St Petersburg, as confirmed by his press service. The ceremony, held in a “closed format,” took place in St Petersburg, and those wishing to pay their respects have been directed to visit the city’s Porokhovskoye cemetery. Prigozhin, aged 62, was officially declared deceased by Russian authorities after genetic analysis of remains from a plane crash on August 23 near Moscow.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the crash, dispelling speculations. However, Prigozhin’s status had been questioned by experts and observers both inside and outside Russia after his leadership of a failed armed uprising in June. This incident led many to regard him as a “dead man walking.”
The plane crash claimed the lives of all ten individuals on board, including Prigozhin’s close associate Dmitry Utkin. The Wagner press service conveyed news of Prigozhin’s funeral through a concise statement on Telegram. No further details were provided. According to Russia’s MSK1 website, the funeral transpired around 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Tuesday and was aligned with the wishes of Prigozhin’s relatives.
MSK1 also reported that Prigozhin was laid to rest beside his father’s grave, with the Wagner Group’s black-yellow-red flag visible at the site. Concurrently, the funeral of Prigozhin’s top deputy Valery Chekalov, also aboard the crashed plane, was held at St Petersburg’s Severnoye cemetery on the same day. Chekalov, aged 47, is believed to have managed Prigozhin’s non-military business endeavors, which Western governments have alleged were used to fund the mercenary group.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, announced that President Putin would not attend Prigozhin’s funeral. It’s noteworthy that Prigozhin’s fighters played a significant role in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine initiated in February 2022. Putin refrained from comment for nearly 24 hours after the crash, subsequently sending condolences to the victims’ families and characterizing Prigozhin as a “talented person” who “made serious mistakes in life.”
In June, Prigozhin, once a staunch Putin loyalist, spearheaded a rebellion against the top two generals of the Russian armed forces. His mercenaries briefly seized control of Rostov-on-Don and advanced towards Moscow, halting the uprising approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the capital. Although Putin labeled the rebellion as “treachery” and a “stab in the back,” an agreement was later struck, allowing Wagner fighters to join Russian regular army units or relocate to Belarus, a Russian ally.
Despite official dismissals, speculation persists about potential Russian security involvement in the plane crash. US officials cited by CBS, the BBC’s American partner, suggest that an onboard explosion was the likely cause of the crash. Peskov countered these rumors, denouncing claims of foul play as an “absolute lie.”
