[1/5] A view shows the grave of Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia, August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsST PETERSBURG, Russia, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Followers of mutinous Russian mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin laid flowers, messages and poetry at his grave on Wednesday, hailing him as a fearless warrior after he was killed along with his inner circle in a yet-to-be-explained plane crash. A man wearing the shirt of his Wagner mercenaries and a cap bearing the Russian flag was among those paying respects at the grave, where red roses and carnations graced a wooden Orthodox cross lablled "Prigozhin, Yevgeny Viktorovich 1961 - 2023". But after fighting for President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, he challenged the Russian state openly. A picture of Prigozhin frowning and the text of Joseph Brodsky's "Nature Morte" lay on the freshly dug ground of his grave.

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Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stringer, Prigozhin, Wagner, Yevgeny Viktorovich, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Joe Biden, frowning, Joseph Brodsky's, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, St, Reuters, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, PETERSBURG, St Petersburg, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Rostov