Russia's Night Wolves arrive in Belgrade for funeral of Ratko Mladic

Members of Russia's Night Wolves club, and members of its Serbian branch, arrived today for the church ceremonies taking place before the funeral of Ratko Mladic.

A Telegraf team filmed them arriving in large numbers on motorbikes, and they wore their club's insignia, as well as the inscription "Serbia" in Russian on their jackets.

The Night Wolves, headed by Aleksandr Zaldostanov aka Surgeon, who is close to President Vladimir Putin, is a Russian motorcycle club known for strong attachment to Russian nationalism, Orthodoxy and close ties with the Russian leader.

They were founded in 1989 in the former Soviet Union, and over time they grew from a group of rock bikers to political activists.

The club has its branches and supporters in Serbia and in the Serb Republic (RS, Serb entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina), and their visits and rides often attract a lot of public attention and cause mixed reactions - from support of traditional and national associations to criticism and concerns from Western countries.

Since 07:00 this morning the coffin with the body of Ratko Mladic has been in the Church of St. Luka in Kneza Viseslava Street in Belgrade.

His son Darko and other family members were the first to bow before the coffin, followed by Mladic's closest comrades.

From the early hours of the morning there have been crowds of citizens in front of the church, who are coming to attend the funeral service and burial of Ratko Mladic.

The surrounding streets in the Kosutnjak neighborhood have been closed, and our reporters filmed huge lines of people all around the church.

(Telegraf.rs)