Activist Vitaly Votanovsky has reported that nearly 20 families whose loved ones were buried in the cemetery of the Wagner Group in the town of Bakinskaya are planning to demand exhumation so they could transfer the bodies home. However, due to financial and logistical difficulties, the process would not be easy. Votanovsky shared this information with the 7x7 media on March 24.
Activist Vitali Votanovsky has reported that relatives of victims from Volgograd, Stavropol, Tula, and Belarus are doing paperwork in connection with a plan to rebury their loved ones. These families have not been given any explanation as to why, without asking them, their relatives were buried in a cemetery far away from their homes. The families are going to approach the Mayor of Goryachi Klyuch, Sergei Belopolsky, for permission to move the remains of their relatives to their place of residence.
A number of documents are required, including proof of kinship, a death certificate, a grave certificate, proof that the body is of no epidemiological threat, and permission from the police. Some relatives might not afford the high costs associated with transporting the bodies. For example, a St. Petersburg resident told Votanovsky that it would take her two days to transport her relative’s remains.
Since the beginning of the war, Votanovsky has been monitoring the Wagner cemetery in Bakinskaya. For publishing the names of buried mercenaries, he received death threats. However, some relatives of the deceased were able to find the location of their loved ones' graves thanks to Votanovsky's Telegram channel.
On March 18, Goryachi Klyuch mayor Sergey Belopolsky spoke against burying Wagner troopers in the resort town. Nevertheless, the head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, insisted on continuing to use the cemetery. Following the conflict, the governor of Kuban, Veniamin Kondratyev, instructed the head of Goryachi Klyuch to "assist" Wagner with funerals.
According to TASS, 780 grave lots have been allocated at the cemetery of Bakinskaya for Wagner troopers. To date, around 500 burials have taken place.
