Report: Prigozhin Buried Privately in St. Petersburg

Facts

• Russian state media and the Wagner Group's press service reported on Tuesday that the late paramilitary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had been buried in a private funeral in St. Petersburg.¹
• Only relatives and friends were reportedly admitted to the farewell ceremony — which was held at the Porokhovskoye cemetery — in accordance with the wishes of his family.²
• While Prigozhin reportedly didn't receive any military honors, the cemetery was closed for the day and was nearly in lockdown, as police lined the perimeter fence.³
• The secrecy over his closed-format farewell ceremony prevented large crowds or any of Prigozhin's admirers from marking his death, the result of a plane crash.⁴
• Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre hinted at the possibility that Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin was behind Prigozhin's death, stating: 'The Kremlin has a long history of killing opponents.'⁵
• Prigozhin's death was confirmed by Russia's top criminal investigation agency, the Investigative Committee, on Sunday. However, no explanation was given for the plane crash on Aug. 23, which happened minutes after it took off from Moscow.⁶

Sources: ¹Wall Street Journal, ²TASS, ³BBC News, ⁴Reuters, ⁵Al Jazeera and ⁶Associated Press.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Economist. The likely not-so-accidental death of Prigozhin, weeks after he called off the mutiny in June to protest against the prospect of his Wagner troops being integrated into the regular army, is further proof that Putin ultimately relies on terror to maintain his grip over Moscow. He may emerge stronger in the short term, as his biggest threat has been neutralized, but the Russian state is rotting as never before.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Video Ruptly. Though speculation around the plane crash and the death of its passengers are somewhat natural, the West has utilized it to outrageously wage a baseless smear campaign, blaming the Kremlin for this tragedy. Meanwhile, Russian authorities have already set up a special commission to thoroughly examine the circumstances and determine the cause of the unfortunate accident.