Kuban activist Vitaly Votanovsky has received death threats because of his photos from a cemetery owned by the Wagner private military company. The activist posted pictures of the graves on his Telegram channel to show how quickly the cemetery expands. Soon after, he received a phone call, allegedly from a funeral home, that insisted on providing him with a lot in the cemetery at a discount. Votanovski reported this to "7x7" on 5 February.
Vitaly Votanovsky published photos of fresh graves in his "Titushki in Krasnodar" telegram channel. After that, one of the local media claimed that it was receiving complaints about Votanovsky. He was called a "supporter of [Vladimir] Zelensky" regime, starting a campaign of harassment against the activist in telegram comments.
Votanovsky says that after the publication he received a phone call from unknown people who introduced themselves as employees of a funeral home. They offered him to buy a place in the cemetery at a discount and available within the next two years. As a gift, they would process Vitaly's photo for the monument for free. When Vitaly said that he didn’t have plans to die any time soon, the "callers" presented him with arguments to the opposite. A recording of the conversation is at the disposal of "7x7."
According to Votanovsky, a member of the Patriots of Russia party from Krasnoarmeisky district could be involved in the threats. The activist says he hasn’t contacted the police and will wait for "real action.”
The New York Times earlier reported, that the number of graves in the cemetery near the town of Bakinskaya in Krasnodar Krai, which allegedly belongs to the Wagner PMC, has increased sevenfold in two months. The newspaper used in the report satellite images taken on January 24, 2023. According to their information, the cemetery contains 170 graves.
