A private burial was held for , ending a tumultuous journey from St. Petersburg street thug to Kremlin-financed mercenary leader, following a suspicious plane crash two months after his brief mutiny that challenged the authority of President Vladimir Putin.
His spokespeople said Tuesday a service took place behind closed doors, and directed 鈥渢hose who wish to bid their farewell鈥� to the 62-year-old head of the Wagner private military contractor to go to the Porokhovskoye cemetery in his hometown. Their statement ended media speculation on where and when Prigozhin would be laid to rest, with his funeral shrouded in secrecy.
A wooden cross towered over his flower-covered grave. Nearby stood a Russian tricolor and a black Wagner flag. Russian media cited unidentified sources as saying Prigozhin was laid to rest Tuesday without any publicity, per his family鈥檚 wishes.
Members of the Russian National Guard were stationed along the fence at the cemetery, steering visitors away after it closed for the day.
Putin鈥檚 spokesman said the president would not attend the service. The Russian leader had decried the armed rebellion in June as 鈥渢reason鈥� and 鈥渁 stab in the back.鈥�
The secrecy and confusion surrounding the funeral of Prigozhin and his top lieutenants reflected a dilemma faced by the Kremlin amid swirling speculation that the crash was likely a vendetta for his June 23-24 uprising.
While it tried to avoid any pomp-filled ceremony for him, the Kremlin couldn鈥檛 afford to denigrate Prigozhin, who reportedly received Russia鈥檚 highest award for leading Wagner forces in Ukraine and was idolized by many of the country鈥檚 hawks.
Putin鈥檚 comments on Prigozhin鈥檚 death reflected that careful stand. He noted last week that Wagner leaders 鈥渕ade a significant contribution鈥� to the fighting in Ukraine and described Prigozhin as a 鈥漷alented businessman鈥� and 鈥渁 man of difficult fate鈥� who had 鈥渕ade serious mistakes in life.鈥�
Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political analyst, noted that Prigozhin has become a legendary figure for his supporters who are increasingly critical of the authorities.
鈥淧rigozhin鈥檚 funeral raises an issue of communication between the bureaucratic Russian government system that doesn鈥檛 have much political potential and politically active patriotic segment of the Russian public,鈥� Markov said.
The secretive service 鈥渂ecame the final stage of a special operation to eliminate him,鈥� said Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
鈥淓verything was as closed as possible, under full control of the security forces, with distracting maneuvers,鈥� she said in a commentary on her Telegram channel.
The country鈥檚 top criminal investigation agency, the Investigative Committee, on Sunday.
The committee didn鈥檛 say what might have caused Prigozhin鈥檚 business jet to plummet from the sky on Aug. 23, minutes after taking off from Moscow for St. Petersburg. Just before the crash, Prigozhin had reportedly returned from a trip to Africa, where he sought to expand Wagner Group鈥檚 activities.
Also on Tuesday, a funeral was held at St. Petersburg鈥檚 Northern Cemetery for Wagner鈥檚 logistics chief Valery Chekalov, who was among the 10 people killed in the crash. Prigozhin鈥檚 second-in-command, Dmitry Utkin, a retired military intelligence officer who gave the mercenary group its name based on his own nom de guerre, also was killed.
A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that caused the plane to crash, and Western officials have pointed to a long list of Putin鈥檚 foes who have been assassinated. The Kremlin rejected Western allegations the president was behind the crash as an 鈥渁bsolute lie.鈥�
Although both were from St. Petersburg, Prigozhin and Putin were not known to be particularly close.
Prigozhin, an ex-convict who earned millions and his nickname 鈥淧utin鈥檚 chef鈥� from lucrative government catering contracts, served Kremlin political interests and helped expand Russia鈥檚 clout by sending his mercenaries to Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic and other countries. Wagner, one of the most capable elements of Moscow鈥檚 forces, played a key role in Ukraine where it captured the Ukrainian eastern stronghold of Bakhmut in late May.
The crash came exactly two months after the brutal and profane mercenary boss against the Russian military leadership. Prigozhin ordered his mercenaries to take over the military headquarters in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and then began a march on Moscow. They downed several military aircraft, killing more than a dozen pilots.
Putin had vowed to punish the participants but hours later that saw Prigozhin ending the mutiny in exchange for amnesty and permission for him and his troops to move to Belarus.
The fate of Wagner, which until recently played a prominent role in Russia鈥檚 military campaign in Ukraine and was involved in a number of African and Middle Eastern countries, is uncertain.
Putin said Wagner fighters could sign a contract with the Russian military, move to Belarus or retire from service. Several thousand went to Belarus, where they are in a camp southeast of the capital, Minsk.
READ ALSO:
