The holding of the funeral was in question due to the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall on March 22 – the Egrisi football club group, owned by Vasily Utkin, confirmed the information that everything will happen only on time in March. 23, 8:13. What happened in Krasnogorsk forced many fans to refuse to personally come and say goodbye to the commentator. However, the number of people who decided to go to the gym in cold and rainy weather was still higher.
At the exit of the Krylatskoye metro station, where those who wanted to attend the farewell ceremony stayed, a screen full of candles was burning in memory of those who died in Çiğdem the previous day. It turned out to be symbolic.
At the farewell ceremony of sports commentator Vasily Utkin in Moscow on March 23, 2024
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Security has been strengthened at the perimeter entrance of the Central Clinical Hospital affiliated with the President of Russia, where the farewell hall is located. People were searched not only by police officers but also by traffic cops. Many had Kalashnikovs slung over their shoulders.
At the farewell ceremony of sports commentator Vasily Utkin in Moscow on March 23, 2024
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The event started at 11:00 in the circle of Vasily Utkin’s closest people. His friends and colleagues – former deputy editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow Sergei Buntman, commentators Denis Kazansky and Mikhail Mossakovsky, writer Stanislav Gridasov – spoke warm words. Vasily Utkin’s older sister Anna also addressed the audience with a touching speech, saying that her younger brother’s passion and love for the number one game started with table football.
Then the flower laying ceremony started. The soloist of the group “Accident” Alexey Kortnev and the members of “Quadruple I” were able to personally pay tribute to this day – together with them Utkin participated in the filming of the films “Election Day” and “Election Day”. Election Day-2”, where he played the role of candidate for Governor Igor Vladimirovich Tsaplin; Former editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow Alexey Nakitintov (recognized as a foreign agent by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation), rapper Pharaon, former president of Moscow Spartak Andrei Chervichenko, TV presenter Alexander Oleinikov, vice president Russian Football Union (RFU) Sergei Anokhin, St. . Former St. Petersburg Zenit midfielder Vladislav Radimov is the former press attaché of Moscow Spartak Leonid Trakhtenberg.
A large number of people also gathered at the entrance to the hall – among them were the President of the Russian Premier League (RPL) Alexander Alaev, former head coach of Dynamo Moscow Dmitry Khokhlov, Evgeny, the best football player of the USSR in 1972. Lovchev with actor Alexander Strizhenov, his wife Ekaterina and many others.
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The influx of people wanting to say goodbye caused the funeral to be held slightly earlier than planned. In total, several hundred people gathered to say goodbye to the commentator, whose line went far beyond the boundaries of the Central Clinical Hospital. Many came to Moscow from other cities.
At the farewell ceremony of sports commentator Vasily Utkin in Moscow on March 23, 2024
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After the funeral, everyone was allowed to see Utkin: some stopped for a moment to lay flowers, others looked at him for the last time. Those who came to say goodbye to him on this day left not only carnations and roses, but also club paraphernalia as souvenirs. At the end of the ceremony, among the flowers were a Lokomotiv Moscow scarf, fan stickers of Spartak fans and a few small ducks. The farewell lasted until three o’clock in the afternoon, but was originally supposed to end at 14:00.
Later, the coffin containing Utkin’s body was carried to applause. The hearse departed for the Nikolsko-Trubetskoye cemetery in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Balashikha. Utkin was born and spent his childhood in this town near Moscow.
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Source: Gazeta
Gregory Robert is a sports aficionado and a writer for “Social Bites”. He provides in-depth coverage of the latest sporting events and trends, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the world of sports.