Russian authorities confirmed on Sunday that the 10 people who died in the crash of a private plane north of Moscow on August 23 were those listed on the jet’s manifest.
The most prominent is Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, 62, the businessman and leader of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, who two months ago led a brief uprising against Russia’s military leadership. He was buried in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Tuesday.
Another is Dmitri Utkin, 53, a longtime Prigozhin lieutenant. Wagner’s mercenary group took its name from his call sign, which he chose to honor the composer Richard Wagner, a favorite of Adolf Hitler. Mr. Utkin is buried outside Moscow on Thursdayaccording to Russian media reports.
The others on board were Wagner’s colleagues, and the flight crew was three: two pilots and a flight attendant. Here’s what The Times learned about them.
Valery Chekalov
Wagner’s chief logistics officer, Mr. Chekalov, 47, oversaw many of Mr. Prigozhin’s projects abroad, including in Syria and Africa, according to the Dossier Center, a London-based Russian opposition news outlet.
Last month, the State Department penalties imposed to Mr. Chekalov for acting on Mr. Prigozhin’s behalf and facilitating the shipment of ammunition to Russia.
He was buried on Tuesday at the Northern Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Yevgeny Makaryan
Mr. Makaryan joined Wagner in March 2016 and fought for Wagner’s attack troops in Syria in 2018, according to the Dossier Center.
He was wounded that year, according to the center, when US aircraft responded to an attack. A New York Times battle reconstruction says pro-Syrian fighters, including Wagner mercenaries, have attacked US, Kurdish and Arab forces in western Syria in one of the bloodiest battles involving troops American fighting the Islamic state.
Sergei Propustin
Mr. Propustin, 44, was one of Mr. Prigozhin’s personal bodyguards.
He is from Novocherkassk in Russia’s Rostov region, a local news outlet reported.
He fought in the second Chechen war, which ended in 2009, according to the Dossier Center. Russian media reported that he was wounded.
Media reports said he joined Wagner in March 2015, and moved to St. Petersburg soon after meeting Mr. Prigozhin, although it is not clear when that was.
Nikolay Matyuseyev
The Dossier Center said it could not find a person with that name on Wagner’s personnel lists but found one Nikolai Matusevich, who has served with Wagner since January 2017 and fought in Syria.
Alexander Totmin
According to his social media accounts, Mr. Totmin, 28, is also one of Mr.’s personal bodyguards. Prigozhin. Biographical information and posts in the accounts state that he was a native of the Altai Territory in western Siberia.
Alexey Levshin
Mr. Levshin was the pilot of the plane. He is from Russia’s Tambov region, which is south of Moscow and several hundred miles east of the Ukrainian border, and had always wanted to be a pilot, according to interviews with his family members by Russian media.
Reports say he attended the Sasovsky Civil Aviation Flight School in the Ryazan region, which is between Tambov and Moscow, as well as St. Petersburg Academy of Civil Aviation.
His wife, Svetlana, told Russian media that he had worked in the aviation industry for seven years, and had been home shortly before leaving for the flight that crashed.
His daughter, Anastasia, told a Russian TV station, RBK, that she had worked with Mr. Prigozhin for several years. “Father is a very good man,” she said. “He is open, has a kind heart, helps everyone, loves life, is a hardworking, wonderful father and husband. He loves us very much, we always felt it, caring, generous, a real family man. “
Rustam Karimov
Mr. Karimov, 29, was the plane’s co-pilot. According to Russian media, he was born in Perm, an industrial center near the Ural Mountains, and lived in St.
His father, Shukur Karimov, told Russian media that Mr. Karimov had served in the military before working for S7 Airlines, one of Russia’s largest passenger carriers. He moved to St. Petersburg for a new job two months ago.
Before his last flight, Mr. Karimov called his mother to inform her that he was going to fly.
It was unclear whether Mr. Karimov was known to have worked with Mr. Prigozhin in the past. His father said that his son could not know Mr. Prigozhin will board, adding that he is “just a pilot.”
Kristina Raspopova
Ms. Raspopova, 39, was the plane’s flight attendant and the only woman on board.
Born in Kazakhstan, he studied at Moscow Finance and Law University, and is divorced, according to his Facebook page. According to her social media profiles, Ms. Raspopova is a “VIP stewardess” who lives in Moscow, her hometown.
His last Facebook post, a picture of his suitcase and a meal, came the day before the plane crashed.
