[GEO.TV] A private ceremony was held to commemorate the death of Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a private jet crash last week.
The circumstances of his death remain mysterious, but the Kremlin has dismissed speculation that it was orchestrated by the government.
The 62-year-old was the founder of the Wagner private fighting force, which has been accused of carrying out liquidations and other operations on behalf of the Russian government. He was also a close ally of President Vladimir Putin
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...
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The Kremlin said that Putin would not attend Yevgeny Prigozhin's funeral, but there were no public announcements about when or where the funeral would be held.
Prigozhin's death has raised questions about the future of the Wagner group. The group has been weakened by losses in Ukraine, and it is unclear who will succeed Prigozhin as its leader.
Some observers believe that the Kremlin may have orchestrated Prigozhin's death in order to remove a liability. Prigozhin had become increasingly outspoken in recent months, and he had even ordered his troops to march on Moscow in June. This was seen as a direct challenge to Putin's authority.