Nicolas Tonev / Photo credit: NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP
While the Russian authorities have officially identified the body of Yevgeni Prigojine – thus confirming his death – the question now arises of the funeral of Wagner’s boss. Hero of the Russian offensive in Ukraine then traitor of the Kremlin, it is difficult for Vladimir Putin to make people forget his former comrade in life.
The end of a false suspense? This Sunday, the death of the boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigojine, whose plane crashed on Wednesday in Russia, was confirmed by genetic expertise, announced Sunday the Russian Investigation Committee. It now remains to organize the funeral of the hero and traitor at the same time. A new thorn in the side of Vladimir Putin? From Krasnoyarsk, in the heart of Siberia, to Rostov in the South, via Saint Petersburg, the Prigojine myth is on the march, with everywhere the same scenes of memorials blooming with roses.
The right formula for his funeral
And on a loop on Telegram messaging, these words from a Wagner official during a ceremony: “Friends, listen, don’t go now to the fight within. The father is no more, but the father, c is the father. Wagner is and will remain the same”. The father, like the guide, is implied and this is also the danger for the Kremlin. The power must now find the right formula for his funeral in order to limit the influence that the martyr hero, Prigojine, will take on in society.
The ceremony will be closely monitored by the Kremlin and will speak volumes. Grandiose or intimate, presence or absence of officials, organization of a military tribute… The Kremlin must find the balance to make people forget as soon as possible this very cumbersome life comrade of Vladimir Putin, hero friend who has become a traitor and popular.