MOSCOW (Reuters) – Online prices for merchandise bearing the insignia of Russia’s Wagner group – a human skull against a black and red backdrop – have shot up since its abortive armed mutiny, with buyers posting five-star reviews and support for the mercenaries.
Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin sent an armed convoy on a 1,200-km (750-mile) charge towards Moscow in protest over what he said was the incompetence and corruption of Russia’s military leadership. A deal brokered by the leader of Belarus abruptly halted the mutiny late on Saturday.
E-commerce leader Wildberries’ weekly price breakdowns showed how costs have risen. A patch depicting the skull that can be sewn onto clothes fetched 525 roubles ($6) in the period June 25-29, up sharply from 294 roubles during June 18-25.
“Due to the situation in the country, the purchase was spontaneous,” wrote one buyer, Tatiana.
Prices for a black T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of a Wagner fighter holding a violin jumped this week to 1,650 roubles from 1,236 roubles.
On a review of a Wagner flag on Wildberries, one buyer, Vladimir, said: “The Wagner Private Military Company is the best. Good luck to you guys. The flag is excellent.”
The Wagner fighters – who have spearheaded some of Russia’s military actions in Ukraine – were cheered enthusiastically by residents in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday when they briefly took control of the southern Russian city. President Vladimir Putin described their actions as “treason” and “a stab in the back”.
People have also been purchasing other regalia, such as keyrings, on Wildberries’ rival Ozon.
“Very beautiful and original keyring,” wrote one five-star reviewer. “In memory of all those in Wagner’s ranks who died.”
Large numbers of Wagner fighters – including many former convicts granted their freedom in exchange for serving in Ukraine – have been killed on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Wildberries and Ozon declined to comment on Thursday on the surge in merchandise prices.
Elsewhere, Prigozhin face masks were on sale in St Petersburg, alongside those of Putin, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and jailed opposition politician Alexey Navalny.
Under Saturday’s deal that ended the mutiny, fighters of the Wagner group were allowed to join their leader Prigozhin in exile in Belarus, to be integrated into Russia’s regular armed forces or to return to their families.
($1 = 87.2250 roubles)
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alison Williams)
