In Moscow, an improvised monument to the glory of Evgueni Prigoyine not far from the Kremlin
A portrait of Yevgueni Prigojine, in Moscow, Sunday, August 27, 2023. NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP 
A young man kneels in front of a makeshift monument in Moscow August 27, 2023, paying tribute to the leader of the Wagner group. NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP 
A man places a hat in front of a makeshift monument erected to commemorate Yevgeny Prigoyine in Moscow August 27, 2023. NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP 
A small crowd in front of the Evgueni Prigojine monument in Moscow August 27, 2023. NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP
Since his death on Wednesday, the Kremlin has denied ordering the assassination of Yevgeny Prigoyine, calling the allegations “speculation.” Moscow’s closest ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, backed the Kremlin by saying he “couldn’t imagine” the Russian president giving the order to assassinate Wagner’s boss. Referring to the investigation, Vladimir Putin vowed on Thursday that it would be “fully conducted” and would lead to a conclusion.
Since the plane crash, residents of various Russian cities where the Wagner group had its training centers, from Novosibirsk to Saint Petersburg, have come to lay flowers on improvised monuments to Evgueni Prigoyine, a sign of the leader’s popularity. In Moscow, according to a journalist from Agence France-Presse (AFP), an improvised monument made of flags, flowers and portraits of Prigoyine was erected in one of the central streets, Varvarka, not far from the Kremlin.
“The enemies killed him (…) but we hope that revenge will reach those who committed this crime,” one of Mr. Prigojine’s supporters, who came to the memorial, told the press on Sunday. Yevgueni Prigozhin and Dmitri Utkin “will remain in our history as true heroes, examples of what kind of person one should be,” added this man in a T-shirt with the capital letter “Z”, a symbol of Russians Operation in Ukraine. “Prigojine had many enemies in our country, abroad, in Ukraine and in Africa,” said Renat, 53, who also came to the memorial to pay tribute to the Wagner boss.
Only 8% of Russians believe Vladimir Putin is responsible for the death of his former ally, according to a Sunday Times poll nine hours after the plane crash that killed the leader of the paramilitary group.
Vladimir Putin had called Yevgeny Prigoyine, whom he had known since the 1990s, a “traitor” because of his armed uprising on June 23 and 24, which was directed against the Russian general staff and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and briefly saw Wagner’s men Capture military bases in southern Russia before moving on to Moscow.