Precisely two months after defying the Kremlin by turning his mercenaries toward Moscow, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in all likelihood, has died. His demise, on Wednesday, August 23, lives up to the legend built up by a convict who became, on behalf of the Russian state, the leader of a sprawling private militia: violent, spectacular and shrouded in shadow.

The 62-year-old businessman was one of the passengers on board a private plane belonging to him. The aircraft, an Embraer Legacy 600, took off from Moscow and crashed before reaching its destination, Prigozhin's hometown Saint Petersburg, where Wagner is headquartered.

By Wednesday evening, 10 bodies had been found at the crash site near the village of Kuzhenkino, in the Tver region, between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Russian authorities have yet to officially confirm Prigozhin's death. Identification procedures were due to begin on Thursday morning, but given the condition of the bodies, these could take some time and require DNA expertise.

But there is little doubt over the death of the head of Wagner. The readiness of Russian news agencies to give details of the crash was a clear sign of this. Several of Prigozhin's lieutenants, as well as the few media outlets he still controlled, also reported his death. The same sources also confirmed the presence on board the plane of neo-Nazi sympathizer Dmitri Utkin. "Wagner," by his nom de guerre, is the real founder of the mercenary group, which was created in 2014.

Only a few loyal followers – fighters or admirers – still refuse to admit Prigozhin's death, pointing to the presence of a second private jet belonging to the group, which was able to turn back to Moscow. They point to his reputation as a master of deception. Since his failed coup, Russian media has commented extensively on his use of false passports, hairpieces and even look-alikes.

Their denial speaks volumes about the almost mythical stature the former gangster had forged for himself in recent months. For many Russians, Prigozhin will remain the "hero of Bakhmut" – the only major victory achieved by the Russian army in its war against Ukraine in the last year – or the man who dared to defy a hated elite, vilifying oligarchs and ministers in countless interviews and audio recordings. His direct and brutal language and his denunciation of the massive Russian losses on Ukrainian soil gave him an aura of sincerity.

The same people forget – or, on the contrary, glorify– the cult of violence promoted by the Wagner boss. His emblem was a mace, a weapon used by Wagner for public executions that Prigozhin would comment on in a bantering tone. His name is also directly tied to several assassinations, including those of three Russian journalists killed in the Central African Republic in 2018 while investigating the group's activities in that country.

You have 69.59% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.