Yevgeny Prigozhin

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A monument has been unveiled in the Central African Republic (CAR) in honor of the late leader of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozin, the BBC reports.

A statue of Prigojin and his right-hand man, Dmitry Utkin, who both died in a plane crash last year, has been erected in the capital Bangui.

The statue depicts Prigojin in bullet-proof gear, holding a walkie-talkie with his colleague holding an AK-47 rifle.

Fighters from the Wagner group have been in CAR since 2018, when they were invited by President Faustin-Archange Touadéra to help fight rebel groups.

The group’s subsidiaries subsequently won contracts to exploit gold and diamond mines.

They also operate in several other African countries, but their most significant presence is in CAR.

A statement from the Central African Republic’s national police said the monument was “part of the bilateral relationship” between CAR and Russia.

The statue unveiling ceremony was attended by Defense Minister Rameau Claude Bireau and senior military officials.

Prigojin and Utkin died along with others on August 23, 2023, after their private plane crashed northwest of Moscow, with all on board dying on impact.

The incident occurred two months after their failed uprising in Russia. The Kremlin has denied speculation it was to blame for the crash.

The Wagner group has since been renamed Corps Africa, although it continues to operate under the Wagner name in CAR.

President Touadéra defended their continued presence in the country.

“It was said that 80% of the territory was occupied by armed groups. Today, thanks to this cooperation, these figures are completely reversed,” he told the BBC in an interview last December.

Even before Prigojin’s statue was unveiled, Russia’s role in the country was already immortalized by a statue in Bangui of Russian troops protecting a woman and her children.

The CAR has one of the poorest populations in the world, despite being rich in diamonds, gold, oil and uranium.

Since gaining independence from France in 1960, the country has been almost permanently unstable.

Violence has declined in recent years, although fighting occasionally breaks out between rebels and the Wagner-backed national army.

Critics say President Toudera’s government is backed by Russian mercenaries and other groups in exchange for exploiting the country’s resources.

Prigojin founded Wagner in 2014, initially working mostly in the Middle East and Africa before being deployed to Ukraine in early 2022.