The great-uncle of Russia’s most infamous warlord was a beloved resident of this Ukrainian city. Should his name be scrubbed from its museum?

This city of 43,000 in central Ukraine owes its modern existence to the Soviets, who discovered uranium ore here in 1951. “The other Prigozhin is not our business.” Yukhym Prigozhyn’s portrait and medals at the museum in Zhovti Vody on Aug. 3, 2023. He said he wanted to show young people “what talented and nice people live in this great city that was closed for 40 years.” One of Prigozhin’s friends was a geologist named Viktor Yakovlev, who started at the uranium mines shortly after Prigozhin had retired, but came to his apartment studio to learn how to repair watches. In Zhovti Vody, the museum is still officially called the City Historical Museum Named for Yukhym Illich Prigozhin. “Everyone understands that the man we know, who was named an honorary citizen of this city and whose name is on the museum, is our star, our pride,” says Zhovti Vody Mayor Dmytro Hanis.