Pallbearers carry a picture and the coffin with the body of Maxim Fomin, known under the pseudonym Vladlen Tatarsky, during a farewell ceremony at the Troekurovsky cemetery in Moscow on Saturday. Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE
April 8 (UPI) — Hundreds came out Saturday in Moscow to pay their respects to Russian propagandist military blogger Maxim Fomin, also known as Vladlen Tatarsky, who was killed this week in a bombing.
The funeral took place at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery in Moscow and saw more than 1,000 people attend, Western observers said.
Among those in attendance was Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, Euronews and the Spanish news agency EFE reported.
The well-known right-wing blogger’s coffin was followed by a guard of honor at the funeral. After Fomin’s remains were buried to the sound of a military orchestra, salvos were fired into the sky.
Fomin was killed Sunday while he was giving a talk at a cafe in St. Petersburg. Witnesses said a woman handed him a statute, which turned out to be a bomb and then exploded.
Russian authorities on Monday announced the arrest of Darya Trepova, 26, in connection with the blast.
Fomin had carved out a position as one of the most high-profile pro-Russia commentators on the country’s invasion of Ukraine. He was particularly active on the messaging app Telegram, where he was known to share his opinions and pro-war propaganda. He had more than 550,000 followers on the app.
Russian state news agency TASS reported Fomin had taken part in a number of military operations in Ukraine, including the storm of Mariupol, where they served as drone operators.