Prigozhin Buried in Private Funeral

Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash two months after staging a coup against Vladimir Putin.
The Wagner chief rejected concerns about his security leading up to the accident.

Questions remain about Putin’s involvement in the accident.

Prigozhin was buried in his hometown.

(NewsReady.com) – On August 23, Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin boarded a flight on a private jet for a short trip from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Russia. The mercenary leader made a name for himself in the country, not only for his work with Wagner but also for his former career as a restaurant owner who provided services to the Kremlin. Less than half an hour into the trip last month, the plane fell out of the sky and killed everyone on board, including the head of the mercenary group. A week later, Prighozhin was buried at a private ceremony in his hometown.

A Quiet Event

On August 29, a former spokesperson for Prigozhin informed the public that a funeral took place for the leader. The ceremony was held behind closed doors. He said those who wish to pay their respects should go to the Porokhovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.

According to The Associated Press, the preparations for the mercenary boss’ service were kept secret in the days leading up to it. The report claimed the secrecy surrounding the event highlighted the issues it was causing for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime. Prigozhin challenged the president’s leadership in an uprising in June. Though he quickly backed down, he was exiled to Belarus.

There are questions surrounding the plane crash and whether Putin assassinated the Wagner chief and nine others onboard the plane. Prigozhin was reportedly still well-respected by many of Russia’s warhawks, who liked his progress in the fight against Ukraine.

In the wake of the chief’s death, Putin issued a statement acknowledging the contributions he made to the Russian Federation in his lifetime, calling him a “talented businessman” and “a man of difficult fate.”

Plane Crash Probe

Russia recently informed Brazil’s Center for Research and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA) that it doesn’t intend to investigate the plane crash under international rules. The plane was a Brazilian-made Embraer jet, therefore, the country should also be invited to be involved in the probe, but Putin’s government won’t allow it. The decision comes after much speculation that the accident wasn’t an accident, after all.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov recently said they’re looking into many possibilities as the cause of the plane crash, including “deliberate wrongdoing.”