one year after his mutiny, Yevgeny Prigojine still respected by many Russians

The leader of the paramilitary group Wagner, who died in a plane crash two months after his attempted putsch, remains admired by part of the population who salute “a patriot”.

A year ago, we wondered if Russian power was not wavering. All day on June 24, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his men shook the Kremlin, marching up the Rostov highway towards Moscow with a column of armored vehicles. The mutiny by the Wagner paramilitary group had posed an unprecedented challenge to the power of Vladimir Putin.

Finally, a short distance from the capital, the mercenaries turned around. Two months later, Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash with unclear circumstances. Today, Yevgeny Prigojine has completely disappeared from the Russian public space, there is never any mention of him publicly, except at his grave, visited daily by numerous admirers who come to pay homage to him.

1^er last June, for the anniversary of the birth of Evgueni Prigojine, his relatives came to add an enormous marble slab and a life-size statue to his grave, enough to make the tomb of the leader of Wagner a little less anonymous, a little more in his image too. Elena sometimes comes to meditate there. This forty-year-old admits to having ambivalent feelings for the former warlord. She is rather legitimist, does not like disorder, but Prigozhin also denounced the weaknesses of the regime, she believes. “He was a patriot despite everything, one of the best sons of his homeland. Russia will always follow a different path, not like Western countries”she judges.

“Here we need a man with an iron fist. Maybe he could have been that kind of person. The country would have taken a different path. It’s a shame.”

The Porokhovksoye cemetery where Yevgeny Prigozhin is buried is located down a road, almost an hour from downtown Saint Petersburg, not very easy to access. It was a desire of those in power who wanted to avoid too conspicuous a cult of the character’s memory. However, Irina, who sells flowers from the back of her car in the parking lot, sees admirers passing by every day. “A lot of people come to see him, they ask me where to go and how to get there. There are a lot of Muscovites who come. People have a lot of respect for him.”

Because he said out loud what many Russians think quietly about their generals in particular, Yevgeny Prigojine remains admired by part of the population. The causes of the crash of his plane remain unexplained, the official investigation ruled out an external impact, but did not reveal a cause of the crash. Elena, like many Russians, however, has no illusions.

“When the events in Rostov began, I was immediately convinced that it was not going to last long. He was killed by our services. The FSB eliminated him, I am 100% sure of that. , I have no doubt.”

A year ago, Yevgeny Prigozhin shook Vladimir Putin’s regime to the point that one could wonder if power was not wavering. On the contrary, it was a demonstration of strength and its control over the country.