JUST IN: Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen in new footage 'dismissing reports of his elimination'..

Warlord insists 'everything is fine' in video filmed in Africa during 'the second half of August'..pic.twitter.com/HAydnrJCEq

— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) August 31, 2023

Putin "never forgets"

Back at the memorial the week before, grief mixed with speculation and bitterness.

“He was killed like Nemtsov,” whispers a gray-haired woman next to me, referring to Russian politician and Putin critic Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015. “Though Nemtsov was not as kind to me as Prigozhin. This man was one of the people, unlike Nemtsov.”

He's like a father to us.

A Yandex Delivery car drives up. The driver takes a huge funeral wreath from the trunk and sets it up in front of the crowd. "And who ordered the wreath?" someone asks him. "I don't know. They ordered it; I brought it,” the driver makes a helpless gesture.

Eventually, there were so many cars that there was nowhere left to park. Suddenly, loud music is heard: Vika Tsyganova's song "Wagner" plays from one of the passing cars. The crowd begins to sing softly.

A woman in her 60s says she is shocked by the news of Prigozhin’s death: “He was such an honest person. He ate from the same plate as the soldiers. He was very nice to me ... I am glad that I raised my daughter correctly; she also supports Prigozhin. She believes that Prigozhin’s plane was shot down by air defense. After the mutiny, everyone remembered Putin’s words, that he never forgives betrayal. Was it a betrayal? I think it was."

Anger, and denial

Putin called Prigozhin's actions a betrayal two months ago, after the mercenary leader marched on Moscow, taking the city of Rostov unopposed. Putin described the attempted coup as "terror" and "treason against the country and the people," and that it amounted to "stabs in the back."

But there was no punishment for Prigozhin at the time.

Valery, a Wagnerite, had been in hospital awaiting a leg amputation when Prigozhin began the mutiny. Valery claims that, had he been healthy at that moment, he would have taken part in the march without a doubt: “Prigozhin is like a father to us. We all respect him. I would have done whatever he asked."

Now, with Prigozhin dead, Valery and his colleagues wonder whether they will receive the payments they had been promised for their service and compensation for their injuries.

But some Wagner PMC members still don’t believe Prigozhin is dead. Statements by the Federal Air Transport Agency that Prigozhin was on the passenger list are still not considered confirmation enough, and some members are waiting for what they describe as "accurate information." They condemn the people bringing flowers to the memorials.

I will believe it to my dying breath.

“I will never believe in Prigozhin’s death; everything was planned in advance. He will keep living, just under a different name,“ one person says.

Some followers refuse to believe the news

“Nothing is known yet. Alive or dead, we can’t be sure,” one Wagner fighter tells Important Stories. In a Wagner volunteer chat, another says he is sure that Prigozhin is still alive, and provides a link to a news story saying that Prigozhin had been seen in Mali.

Another sends a voice message imitating Prigozhin's voice, saying: “The top dog is still alive!”

Maxim, who worked for Wagner for several years, tells Important Stories that “We all doubt that he’s dead, because Yevgeny Prigozhin is a fan of these types of antics. He faked his death before. It happened in one of the Arab countries: he died, then he came back and said: “Aha, bitches, did you expect any less of me?”

“Nothing is known yet,” says another chat participant, nicknamed Skif. “Commanders like Prigozhin would not risk their lives just like that. If (his death) is confirmed, we will go to the funeral, put on a uniform, chevrons, take the PMC flags and solemnly bury him. If not, we’ll drink to health so that we live even longer and continue to do what we were doing beforehand," Skif writes.

“Who could replace Prigozhin if he did die? No one, because he is such a key figure," Maxim reflects. "In Wagner, there is no deputy that could take his place. It’s not like the army where there are whole mountains of deputies," he adds.

“In our circle, we don’t know what will happen next,” he goes on. “If Prigozhin is dead, what will happen? Where do we go if the organization dissolves? Everyone thinks they would go to the Ministry of Defense or, damn it, get a job as a security guard for 25,000 rubles a month (about $250 USD) in the (supermarket). But people cannot see themselves in this sort of civilian life. If this crash is real and Prigozhin really is dead, then there will never be any trust in our government again. I now look at the Ministry of Defense with ever more shame. It is a stain on our state. I hope our Dad (Prigozhin) is alive. I will believe it to my dying breath.”