Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin Laid to Rest in Secret Ceremony

Wagner’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who held the position of a mercenary boss, has been laid to rest in a private ceremony at a cemetery in St. Petersburg, as confirmed by his team handling media relations.

Prigozhin tragically lost his life in a plane crash that occurred north of Moscow on August 23rd. This marked exactly two months since his involvement in a failed mutiny against high-ranking Russian authorities.

During this thwarted uprising, Prigozhin had led an attempt to remove Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu from his position. This event stood out as the most significant challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s authority since his ascension to power in 1999.

In a message shared on the messaging platform Telegram, the press team representing Yevgeny Prigozhin acknowledged, “A private ceremony was held to bid farewell to Yevgeny Viktorovich [Prigozhin]. Those who wish to pay their respects are welcome to visit the Porokhovskoye cemetery.”

Secrecy had surrounded the funeral arrangements and the Kremlin said earlier that Mr Putin would not attend.

Genetic tests confirmed that Prigozhin had died in last Wednesday’s crash, Russia’s investigative committee announced on Sunday.

The nine other people killed included two top Wagner Group figures – Prigozhin’s right-hand man Dmitry Utkin and head of logistics Valery Chekalov – as well as four of his bodyguards and three crew members.

At the Severnoye cemetery in St Petersburg on Tuesday, Chekalov’s family was joined by dozens of people, some of whom were believed to be Wagner mercenaries and employees from Prigozhin’s business empire.

A preliminary US intelligence assessment concluded an intentional explosion caused the crash, and Western officials have pointed to a long list of Mr Putin’s foes who have been assassinated.