April 14, 2024

Putting the "Coup" in "Cool Statue"


Putting the "Coup" in "Cool Statue"
Of all the people to memorialize... Wagner Group, Telegram.

A new statue in Krasnodar region is dedicated to a pair of fallen military leaders. While that's pretty run-of-the-mill, the appearance of this specific bronze-cast duo is bound to raise eyebrows.

The statue depicts Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitri Utkin, leaders of the Russian private military corporation (PMC) Wagner Group. The pair stand on a plinth in battle gear. The pedestal is marked with their radio callsigns and dog tag numbers.

While Prigozhin and Utkin were (emphasis on "were") part of Russia's War on Ukraine, they were also famously critical of the Russian armed forces. This criticism reached a high point with Wagner's march on Moscow, which fizzled out quickly.

Wagner was subsequently moved out of the front line, disappearing from combat. Shortly after, both Prigozhin and Utkin were conveniently killed in an aircraft crash while en route to Moscow.

The new statue-memorial stands in front of Wagner Group's chapel and was proudly posted on the PMC's Telegram channel, even as Wagner has been somewhat disgraced since their untimely deaths.

You Might Also Like

Wagner Group Still Allowed
  • June 26, 2023

Wagner Group Still Allowed

After Wagner Group's uprising, the State Duma announced new regulations, but did not ban the organization.
Prigozhin's Uprising
  • June 24, 2023

Prigozhin's Uprising

Russia's home-grown mercenaries have taken over Rostov-on-Don and threaten to march on the capital.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955