Very close to the Red Square, in the center of the improvised memorial in front of the Saint-Maxime-le-Bienheureux church, the three faces form a sort of holy trinity. There is Evgueni Prigojine, the leader of the Wagner group, who died on August 23 in the crash of his plane; Dmitri Outkine, “Wagner” by his nom de guerre, admirer of the IIIe Reich and founder of the militia, died with his boss; and the composer Richard Wagner, who died in 1883. No doubt, we are in between ourselves.
Here, in the very center of Moscow invaded by Russian tourists and luxury cars, the men who come to meditate recognize each other at a glance. Big arms, serious looks, fighter looks. Each adds their own touch, their own tribute: dozens of flowers, here the portrait of a brother in arms, there a bulletproof vest, a piece of bread on a vodka glass, cigarettes, the flag of a unit…
This Sunday, August 27, they follow one another in a regular stream – about one per minute who slips between the onlookers, collects a few moments, then disappears without a word, sometimes wife and children on the heels. Some wear T-shirts or caps bearing the image of the group, but discretion is required – no one to mention with precision his commitment to the side of the group of mercenaries.
To tell the truth, words are scarce. The pain is sometimes too strong for these men who idolized their leader. “I don’t believe in his death”, says one of them, cap and puffy face, who says he has been coming every day for three days. A little earlier in the day, the investigation committee nevertheless ended up confirming the death of the boss of Wagner and his acolytes, five days after the fact, “after genetic expertise”.
“He was telling the truth”
There is also mistrust vis-à-vis these journalists, foreigners in particular, presented as enemies. In St. Petersburg, headquarters of the militia, an Al-Jazeera journalist was beaten near a similar memorial. Prigojine may be a “hero of Russia”, a title officially granted to him by Vladimir Putin for the capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmout, everyone understands that their leader has been in disgrace since his mutiny of June 23 and 24.
You have to half-understand these “He was a real patriot”, “He was telling the truth”repeated as evidence by dozens of mouths. ” Him “unlike all the others: corrupt generals, incompetent ministers, members of the elite sheltered in their luxury residences… This was Yevgueni Prigojine’s credo, whether his men or his sympathizers took up approx.
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