Wagner boss Prigozhin slams governor of St Petersburg, demands probe

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary forces, Yevgeny Prigozhin, slammed the governor of St Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, in a power struggle playing out in the home town of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Prigozhin called Beglov a "scumbag" who was out of place in the city, and again demanded a criminal investigation into the activities of the lawmaker who is a member of the governing United Russia party.

Beglov has headed the city since 2018, initially as interim governor, then as its elected head, as of 2019.

Beglov has repeatedly faced attacks by Prigozhin, an influential businessman.

But Friday's attack appeared to represent an escalation, as Prigozhin accused the governor in his Telegram blog of lying to the public and neglecting the city's security situation.

Beglov did not initially respond.

Prigozhin, who runs his business out of St Petersburg, as well as Wagner, slammed the governor, accusing him of doing nothing following the assassination of the pro-Kremlin blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin.

Fomin, a loyal supporter of Russia's war on Ukraine, died after a woman handed him a bust that later exploded in a cafe owned by Prigozhin on Sunday.

The blast left 40 people injured. The woman was arrested as a suspected assassin.

"Beglov did not provide any help after this terrorist attack. Moreover, I believe it is his fault that there is no security in the city by which this could have been prevented," Prigozhin said.