The head of the Wagner mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash last week, has been buried in St. Petersburg. The Kremlin previously said Putin would not attend.
For a long time it was unclear whether Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozchin would still be buried in his hometown of St. Petersburg today. The place of burial was also not announced.
Then, in the early evening, the confirmation: his former press service announced that Prigozhin had been buried in close family circles in camera at the Porokhovskoye cemetery.
Kremlin: Putin does not participate
Cemetery officials said he was buried next to his father. It was not an elaborate funeral – a simple ceremony, just as the relatives would have liked. Now there is an opportunity for all other interested parties to say goodbye to Prigozhin there.
President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to have been among them. At noon, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian President was not expected to attend. No information was given as to where the burial would take place. Only Prigozhin’s relatives knew this.
Other Wagner commanders are also buried
During the day there were already the first burials of the other crash victims, including high-ranking Wagner commanders.
Several cemeteries had been secured by a large police presence. Metal detectors were also deployed at the entrances to check mourners for weapons.