Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has been buried privately in a “farewell ceremony” in a St Petersburg cemetery, according to his press team.
Prigozhin was killed in a plan crash North of Moscow on 23 August, two months to the day since he led a failed mutiny against top Russian officials.
The aborted rebellion where he had demanded the ousting of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule since he rose to power in 1999.
In a statement on Telegram, the Wagner chief’s Press Service said: “The farewell to Yevgeny Viktorovich [Prigozhin] took place in a closed format. Those who wish to say goodbye may visit Porokhovskoye cemetery.”
Other cemeteries in the Russian city had previously been mentioned in media reports as likely sites for the burial.
Secrecy had surrounded the funeral arrangements and the Kremlin said earlier that Mr Putin would not attend.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov would not give any details about the burial because it was a private family matter.
Genetic tests confirmed that Prigozhin had died in last Wednesday’s crash, Russia’s investigative committee announced on Sunday.
It did not say what might have caused his private jet to plummet from the sky minutes after taking off from the capital heading to St Petersburg.
The nine other people killed included two top Wagner Group figures – Prigozhin’s right-hand man Dmitry Utkin and head of logistics Valery Chekalov – as well as four of his bodyguards and three crew members.
At the Severnoye cemetery in St Petersburg on Tuesday, Chekalov’s family was joined by dozens of people, some of whom were believed to be Wagner mercenaries and employees from Prigozhin’s business empire.
A preliminary US intelligence assessment concluded an intentional explosion caused the crash, and Western officials have pointed to a long list of Mr Putin’s foes who have been assassinated.
The Kremlin has rejected as an “absolute lie” the suggestion by some Western politicians and commentators – who have not provided evidence – that the Russian president ordered Prigozhin to be killed in revenge for the June mutiny.
Thousands of Prigozhin’s fighters had moved rapidly from Russia’s south towards the capital in a “march for justice”, and they reportedly made it to 120 miles from the city before he called off their advance.
Mr Putin slammed the revolt as “treason” and vowed to punish its perpetrators.
But hours later, he struck an agreement that saw Prigozhin ending the mutiny in exchange for an amnesty and permission for him and his troops to move to Belarus.
@Sky News
