সহকারী অধ্যাপক
২৯ আগস্ট, ২০২৩ ১১:৪৩ অপরাহ্ণ
Memorial for Wagner chief held in private
Memorial
for Wagner chief held in private
A private ceremony was held to
commemorate Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, his press service said
Tuesday, urging mourners to pay their respects at a cemetery in his native city
Saint Petersburg.
Prigozhin -- a Kremlin confidant turned "traitor" -- was killed last
Wednesday, two months after ordering his troops to topple Russia's military
leadership, AFP reported.
"Yevgeny Viktorovich's farewell
was held in a closed setting. Those wishing to say goodbye can visit the
Porokhovskoye cemetery," it said in a statement, without specifying
whether the mercenary chief killed in a plane crash had been buried.
Observers said the decision by the founder of the Wagner private fighting force
to turn his troops on Moscow was the most significant direct challenge to
President Vladimir Putin's authority since he came to power.
The Kremlin said earlier Tuesday that the Russian leader would not attend
Prigozhin's funeral.
"The president's presence is not envisaged," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov told reporters.
There were no public announcements of when or where Prigozhin, who was 62,
would be buried.
Putin last week described Prigozhin as a man who had made "serious
mistakes in his life, but he achieved the right results."
The Kremlin has dismissed speculation that it orchestrated the crash in revenge
for Wagner's march on Moscow in June.