The great-granddaughter of composer Richard Wagner, Katharina Wagner, commented in a column for the German publication Die Walt on the misuse of her great-grandfather's name by Yevgeny Prigozhin's mercenaries.
Wagner's music has been repeatedly associated with war, nationalism, anti-Semitism, and "political madness," she writes. In particular, Wagner was known to be Hitler's favorite composer.
“This cannot be denied at all, rather, one must find out again and again how the worst forms of political and racist insanity fit into the dramatic events in the work of my great-grandfather. Nevertheless, the occupation of Wagner's work by the National Socialists was disgusting. And when the Russian mercenary army, whose atrocities are unsurpassed, smears the name of Wagner on their bloody flags, then not only does it take my breath away, ”the composer’s great-granddaughter wrote.
PMC Wagner got its name from the call sign of its first commander Utkin – "Wagner". Utkin does not hide his Nazi views and wears a tattoo with a swastika.