Cars adorned with Wagner mercenary group flags and sporting the motto “Blood, Honor, Motherland, Courage” were seen on Sunday parked outside the gates of the Porokhovskoye cemetery.
Dozens had come to pay their last tribute to late Russian mercenary chief on the 40th day since his death in a mysterious plane crash.
In the Orthodox Christian tradition, the souls of the deceased remain on Earth for 40 days before finding their eternal resting place, and it is customary for Russians to mourn for this period.
Wagner supporters and fans, many wearing hats and T-shirts bearing the mercenary group’s logos, laid flowers on Prigozhin’s headstone.
Current and former Wagner fighters in military fatigues also attended the ceremony. Some wore coverings over their faces, while others carried the signs of the wounds they received in battle.
“I feel empty,” Igor, a Wagner fighter in his 20s, said as he smoked a cigarette outside the graveyard. He had just laid flowers at Prigozhin’s grave.
“He was a true hero who wasn’t afraid to tell the truth about existing problems,” he continued, referring to Prigozhin’s vocal criticism of the Defense Ministry’s handling of the war effort.
“Now, there is no such person anymore.”
Prigozhin, his close ally commander Dmitry “Wagner” Utkin, and eight others were killed in the Aug. 23 plane crash in the Tver region between St. Petersburg and Moscow.
The circumstances of the crash remain unclear. While Russian authorities opened a criminal case into the incident, the investigation hasn’t produced any results so far.
Prigozhin’s Family
Prigozhin’s mother Violetta and his son Pavel visited the businessman’s grave together with a priest who performed a funeral prayer.
Prigozhin’s son Pavel is negotiating the return of Wagner units to Ukraine as part of the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia).
Some Wagner mercenaries appear to believe that the group will continue to operate as a separate military force even after Prigozhin’s death.
“Be sure that Wagner will be never under the control of the Defense Ministry,” said another former Wagner fighter who wished to stay anonymous.
