The boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigojine, killed in a plane crash, was buried in secret on Tuesday in a cemetery in Saint Petersburg, his company having confirmed a farewell ceremony held in private.
An AFP photographer was able to see the back of the alleged tomb of Mr. Prigojine without being able to approach, the cemetery of Porokhovskoye, at the northeastern end of the former imperial capital having been cordoned off by a cord law enforcement.
“The farewell to Yevgeny Viktorovich took place in private. Those wishing to say goodbye can go to the Porokhovskoye cemetery,” his company, Concord, said on Telegram.
This is the first message from Concord since Wagner’s aborted rebellion against the Russian general staff at the end of June, which had made Yevgeny Prigojine the enemy of power.
Wagner’s boss, also a businessman who made his fortune in the restaurant business, is from St. Petersburg, as is Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin had announced earlier on Tuesday that Mr Putin was not planning to attend the funeral of Mr Prigozhin, whom he called a “traitor” during his mutiny.
“The presence of the president is not planned, we have no specific information on the funeral,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters late in the morning.
Telegram channels claiming to be linked to Wagner have claimed that the Russian authorities had not been informed of the farewell ceremony, even that Mr. Prigojine’s collaborators had disseminated “false information” about other potential places to cover their tracks.
An adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, Mykhaïlo Podoliak, joked on Telegram about the “secret funeral” of Mr. Prigojine, a symbol according to him of “the real fear of Putin” who “fears real mass demonstrations” and for his “reputation “.
Mr. Prigojine, who after years spent in the shadows had become with the offensive in Ukraine one of the most vocal figures in Russian political and military life, died on Wednesday in the crash of the plane carrying him northwest of Moscow.
The disaster, which also killed his right-hand man Dmitry Utkin and eight others, raised suspicions, with Westerners and Ukraine implying that the Kremlin could be involved.
Mr. Peskov had denied any revenge on Friday, denouncing “an absolute lie” and “speculation”.
On Sunday, the Russian Investigation Committee confirmed the death of Yevgeny Prigojine following “molecular genetic expertise”, without mentioning either the thesis of the accident, pilot error, or those of a bomb. or a surface-to-air missile.
Vladimir Putin, who hailed Mr. Prigojine as a “talented” man but who made “serious mistakes”, for his part promised that the investigation into the causes will be completed.
In any case, Moscow did not wait very long to reframe the thousands of Wagner paramilitaries, obliged by a presidential decree since Friday to take an oath of “loyalty” to Russia, as soldiers of the regular army do.
Yevgeny Prigojine had given up his mutiny after an agreement which provided for his exile with his men in Belarus and the abandonment of the proceedings.
However, he continued to visit Russia and was received at least once in the Kremlin in June.
In a last video before his death, he said he was in Africa where he intended to work for the “greatness” of Russia.
After the announcement of his death, Wagner fighters and residents of Russian cities gathered in front of improvised memorials, a sign of the warlord’s popularity with a section of the population, who appreciated his outspokenness. .
His death caused a shock within Russian nationalist circles, which although favorable to the Kremlin’s offensive in Ukraine, are often critical of the general staff, which they accuse of incompetence and of chaining setbacks.
On Tuesday, another figure in these circles, the blogger and former separatist commander Igor Girkin, saw his request for release from pre-trial detention refused by a Moscow court.
Accused of “extremism” after criticism of Vladimir Putin and the army, Mr. Girkin faces five years in prison.
30/08/2023 09:25:49 – Saint Petersburg (AFP) – © 2023 AFP