The ghost of Prigozhin will haunt Putin for years to come
A portrait of Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen amid flowers at a makeshift memorialYevgeny Prigozhin may be gone – killed when his private jet exploded in the sky outside Moscow on Wednesday – but that in no way guarantees that Vladimir Putin is finally rid of his troublesome crony. Having won over a substantial part of the Russian population, Prigozhin may yet pose as much of a threat to the Russian president in death as he did in life.Prigozhin justified his “march for justice” last June as an attempt to shake up the Russian defence command so the war in Ukraine could be steered more aggressively towards victory for Russia. Aware of the febrile public mood in the coup’s aftermath, Putin clearly felt he had to tread carefully in how he punished the Wagner leader once the “march” stalled, sending him into barely-enforced exile in Belarus (it didn’t take him long to show up in St Petersburg). For similar reasons, the Kremlin will now attempt to stage-manage the posthumous legacy Prigozhin’s me
Yevgeny Prigozhin may be gone – killed when his private jet exploded in the sky outside Moscow on Wednesday – but that in no way guarantees that Vladimir Putin is finally rid of his troublesome crony. Having won over a substantial part of the Russian population, Prigozhin may yet pose as much of a threat to the Russian president in death as he did in life.
Prigozhin justified his “march for justice” last June as an attempt to shake up the Russian defence command so the war in Ukraine could be steered more aggressively towards victory for Russia. Aware of the febrile public mood in the coup’s aftermath, Putin clearly felt he had to tread carefully in how he punished the Wagner leader once the “march” stalled, sending him into barely-enforced exile in Belarus (it didn’t take him long to show up in St Petersburg). For similar reasons, the Kremlin will now attempt to stage-manage the posthumous legacy Prigozhin’s memory will cultivate.
To get an idea of what the Kremlin has planned for this, we will have to wait until Prigozhin’s funeral. Will Putin allow him to be buried with pomp and ceremony, with state media covering the funeral? Or will it be a hasty affair, done in private, under the shadow of darkness? It seems unlikely that Prigozhin will be granted a funeral with all the honours given to “heroes of the special military operation” – not least because of the perceived reputational risk to Putin of appearing weak by mourning too vigorously the life of the man he not so long ago publicly branded a traitor. The Kremlin has already cast doubt on whether the president will even attend the funeral, saying he has a “very full schedule”.
Putin did, however, acknowledge Wagner’s service. Commenting on the plane crash for the first time yesterday, he sent his condolences to the families of those in the downed aircraft. They had, he said, all served with distinction in Ukraine: “We remember this, we know it and will not forget it.” For Prigozhin himself, there were harsher words: a “talented man” who had made “serious mistakes in life”.
Yesterday, American intelligence sources said their early investigations pointed to Prigozhin’s death being an assassination, with some form of sabotage responsible for bringing the plane down. All of this points to Putin. This morning, unsurprisingly, the Kremlin angrily said it was an “absolute lie”.
Two days on from the plane crash, spontaneous memorials to Prigozhin adorned with flowers and candles have begun cropping up in Russia. Locals visiting the memorial have paid tribute to him. Putin’s priority will be to get a grip on this narrative and stamp out the ghost of Prigozhin – otherwise more bloodshed is sure to follow.
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