ST PETERSBURG/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Mourners gathered below a light-weight summer season bathe at a cemetery in Russia’s former imperial capital on Friday to pay tribute to a person they mentioned gave his life within the service of his nation.
Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a fiery aircraft crash on August 23 final yr on the age of 62, marking the weird last chapter of considered one of trendy Russia’s most colourful figures .
Prigozhin, a meals caterer turned chief of the Wagner Group mercenaries, noticed his recognition soar after Russia despatched troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
His fighters – together with 1000’s of prisoners he recruited from jails – led Russia’s assault on the town of Bakhmut, one of many longest and bloodiest battles in a “particular navy operation” towards the Kremlin. The popular time period for this battle is “particular navy operations.”
Subsequent to Prigozhin’s tomb within the Porokhovskoye Cemetery in St. Petersburg, an Orthodox priest in a gown learn prayers and made the signal of the cross on his chest, whereas a bunch of girls sang hymns.
Those that got here to pay their respects mentioned Prigozhin must be remembered as a hero of his nation.
“There have been individuals like (Soviet cosmonauts) Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin and (and) Evgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin. Prigozhin, we must be pleased with them,” a person who gave his identify solely as Dmitri mentioned on the mercenary’s graveside.
He described Prigozhin as somebody who took a “patriotic path” out of affection for his motherland.
“Our rising kids ought to respect them,” Dmitry mentioned.
Others posed for photographs in entrance of a life-size bronze statue of Prigozhin, flanked by the Wagner flag and the Russian tricolor.
At a makeshift memorial on a busy avenue in central Moscow, admirers left dozens of bouquets of purple and white roses on a wall hung with photographs of Prigozhin and his Wagner trustworthy.
Passersby stopped to look significantly on the photographs. A person regarded up on the sky and crossed himself devoutly.
Prigozhin, who has used Wagner’s affect on social media to advertise his successes on the battlefield, clashed with the Russian navy final summer season when he repeatedly accused navy brass of incompetence and even treason.
Final June, he led a short insurrection through which his Wagner fighters took management of the southern metropolis of Rostov-on-Don and marched towards Moscow earlier than turning again.
Precisely two months later, the Wagnerian chief’s aircraft mysteriously crashed north of Moscow, killing everybody on board.
Since then, mourners have celebrated Prigozhin as a hero at makeshift monuments throughout the nation, whilst Russian authorities have launched essentially the most severe problem to President Vladimir Putin’s authority since he got here to energy in 1999. Not too keen on it.
On the St. Petersburg cemetery, some say that if Prigozhin have been nonetheless alive, the battle in Ukraine could be nearer to an finish.
“(His) composure (is what’s wanted proper now). His psychological potential to prepare issues and do (what’s vital),” mentioned a person named Alexander.
“I feel if he was there with the Wagner Group PVC (non-public navy firm) and continued his actions, the Ukrainian drawback could be nearer to an answer.”
