When the Muscovites answer what they think of the leader of the Wagner Group, Pthe death of rigozzi, opinions differ. Some see the Wagner leader as a national hero, while others don’t particularly care.
– I think the West is happy about his death. But the Russian people and Russia are grieving, says Moscow resident Alexander Voronin.
On August 23, a private plane crashed in the Tver region of Russia, and Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and several other top names in the Wagner Group are said to have been on board. All aboard the plane, including Prigozhin, are said to have died in the crash.
In Kiev, the news of the Wagner leader’s death was met with some relief. Outside the Wagner office in St. Petersburg, a place of condolence in memory of Yevgeny Prigozhin has been set up, and many people are flocking to it.
When ordinary Russians in town are asked about the death of the Wagner leader, not everyone cares.
– Personally, I don’t care. I have heard about it. But it’s nothing that will affect my life, says Moscow resident Alina Churangulova.
At the same time, there are Russians who see Prigozhin as a hero and sympathize with him.
– He was a real Russian patriot, and many Russians followed him. I think the West is happy about his death. But the Russian people and Russia are grieving, says Moscow resident Alexander Voronin.
– It is a great tragedy, a very sad event. We feel for the heroes, who are needed more than ever, says another Moscow resident, Andrei Senkin.
Vladimir Putin was silent for almost a day after the plane crash that occurred early Wednesday evening. But on Thursday evening he commented on what happened and called the crash a “tragedy”, reports AFP.
Facts: Prigozhin, the Wagner group and the uprising
The Wagner group is a private mercenary company that has long operated with unofficial connections to the Russian state leadership.
Its top leader and main financier is Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former restaurateur from St. Petersburg and now oligarch.
A conflict has been going on during the Ukraine war between Prigozhin and Russia’s military leadership – Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
On Wednesday evening, Russian authorities said Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a private jet that crashed en route from Moscow to St Petersburg. All ten people on board are said to have died.