Alexey Milchakov
{{Short description|Russian neo-Nazi (born 1991)}}
{{Family name hatnote|Yurievich|Milchakov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Alexey Milchakov
| native_name = Алексей Юрьевич Мильчаков
| native_name_lang = ru
| image = Alexey Milchakov.png
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1991|04|30|df=y}}
| birth_place = Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
| nickname = "Serb", "Fritz"
| allegiance = {{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Luhansk_People%27s_Republic.svg}} Luhansk People's Republic (2014–2015)
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia.svg}} Russia (2015–present)
| branch = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Russian Airborne Troops.svg}} Russian Airborne Troops
{{flagicon image|Flag of the St George Ribbon.svg}} Army of the South-East (2014)
ENOT Corp{{cite web | url=https://detektor.ba/2019/07/19/how-russian-fighters-train-serb-teens-at-military-patriotic-camps/?lang=en | title=How Russian Fighters Train Serb Teens at 'Military-Patriotic' Camps | date=19 July 2019 }}
Wagner Group
| unit = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Rapid Response Group "Batman".svg}} Rapid Response Group "Batman" (2014)
{{flagicon image|Flag of the DShRG Rusich (variant).svg}} DShRG "Rusich" (2014–present)
| commands = {{flagicon image|Flag of the DShRG Rusich (variant).svg}} DShRG "Rusich"
| battles = {{tree list}}
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- War in Donbas
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Syrian Civil War
- Second Lybian Civil War
- Western Libya campaign
- Central African Republic Civil War
{{tree list/end}}
}}
{{Neo-Nazism in Russia}}
Alexey Yurievich Milchakov ({{Langx|ru|Алексей Юрьевич Мильчаков}}, born 30 April 1991) is a Russian neo-Nazi, suspected war criminal and co-leader and co-founder of the Rusich Group, that operated from 2022 within the Wagner Group.
Milchakov first came to public attention in 2011, after he filmed himself torturing and decapitating a puppy and posted footage of it online.
He has been linked to atrocities in both Syria and Ukraine,{{Cite web |last=Sheldon |first=Michael |date=23 January 2024 |title=The Man in the Matching Uniform: Investigating a Rusich Atrocity in Syria |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/01/23/the-man-in-the-matching-uniform-investigating-a-rusich-atrocity-in-syria/ |access-date=4 April 2024 |website=bellingcat |language=en-GB}} including the participation in beating a man to death with a sledgehammer, and has been described as "the symbol of Russian neo-Nazis fighting in the Donbass".{{cite book |last1=Mareš |first1=Miroslav |last2=Laryš |first2=Martin |last3=Holzer |first3=Jan |title=Militant Right-Wing Extremism in Putin's Russia: Legacies, Forms and Threats |date=25 October 2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780429953620 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hNNyDwAAQBAJ&dq=Alexey+Milchakov&pg=PT285 |access-date=27 September 2022}}
As of 2022, he was sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries.{{cite web |title=ALONG THE SANCTIONED PERSONS: MILCHAKOV Alexey Yurevich |url=https://sanctions.nazk.gov.ua/en/sanction-person/4611/ |website=War & Sanctions |access-date=27 September 2022}}
Biography
He was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Milchakov calls himself a fan of FC Zenit.
= Animal abuse =
Milchakov first came to public attention after he filmed himself torturing and decapitating a puppy in 2011, posting the footage online.{{cite news |title=Dying to kill The Russian neo-Nazis fighting Vladimir Putin's war to 'denazify' Ukraine |url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/07/15/dying-to-kill |access-date=27 September 2022 |publisher=Meduza |date=15 July 2022}} A petition calling to hold him accountable was supported by more than 5,500 people. At the same time, animal rights activists addressed FC Zenit players in order for them to assess Milchakov's actions.{{Cite web |title=Прокуратура занялась фанатом "Зенита", который отрезал голову собаке |url=https://www.vesti.ru/article/2100961 |access-date=9 October 2022 |website=vesti.ru |language=ru}}
In his VK page he also called for killing of homeless people, puppies and children.{{Cite web |date=28 November 2011 |title=Блоггеры добились прокурорской проверки после появления в Сети снимков с фанатом "Зенита", убивающим щенка |url=https://www.newsru.com/crime/28nov2011/zenitdecapitdog.html |access-date=9 October 2022 |website=NEWSru.com |language=ru}}
= Alleged Actions in Syria =
A 2024 investigation by the open source research group Bellingcat analyzed a 2017 photograph that depicted a man in military uniform holding a severed human head near the Syrian city of Palmyra. By comparing the camouflage patterns, Bellingcat concluded the uniform was likely worn by Milchakov or a member of Rusich. Bellingcat geolocated the photograph and found it was 5.5km away from where Wagner mercenaries tortured and beheaded a Syrian man in 2017.
= War In Donbas =
Milchakov participated as a volunteer in the war in Donbas from 2014, stating later he wanted "to kill". According to his own account, Milchakov formed Rusich together with Yan Petrovsky in the summer of 2014, after going through a paramilitary training program run by the Imperial Legion, the military branch of the Russian Imperial Movement.{{cite news |last1=Rondeaux |first1=Candace |last2=Deer |first2=Jonathan |last3=Dalton |first3=Ben |title=Neo-Nazi Russian Attack Unit Hints It's Going Back Into Ukraine Undercover |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/wagners-rusich-neo-nazi-attack-unit-hints-its-going-back-into-ukraine-undercover |access-date=27 September 2022 |publisher=Daily Beast |date=26 January 2022}} He has openly bragged about photographing mutilated and burnt Ukrainian bodies of members of the paramilitary Aidar group in 2014. Milchakov is also reputed to have cut ears of Ukrainian corpses and scratched swastikas on their faces.{{cite book |last1=Wheelwright |first1=Julie |title=Sisters in Arms: Female warriors from antiquity to the new millennium |date=2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=246 |isbn=9781472838025 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J93LDwAAQBAJ&dq=Alexey+Milchakov&pg=PA246 |access-date=27 September 2022}} By 2015, he had been sanctioned by the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada. He has used the call signs "Fritz" and "Serb".
In 2016 Milchakov criticized the leadership of the Luhansk People's Republic for ostentatious “anti-fascism”.{{Cite web |title=Activatica |url=https://activatica.org/content/32b41e80-56bd-41b9-8447-3dd43e00ceee/a-sudi-kto |access-date=25 June 2022 |website=Activatica |language=ru}}
In a 2020 video, Milchakov described himself as a "Nazi", stating: "I'm not going to go deep and say, I'm a nationalist, a patriot, an imperialist, and so forth. I'll say it outright: I'm a Nazi."{{cite news |last1=Kozhurin |first1=Dmitry |title=Who Are The Neo-Nazis Fighting For Russia In Ukraine? |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-neo-nazis-fighting-ukraine/31871760.html |access-date=27 September 2022 |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=27 May 2022}}
In August 2022, Nexta posted a tweet of footage showing Milchakov in Ukraine.{{cite web |title=NEXTA on Twitter |url=https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1563793653025456129 |website=Twitter |access-date=27 September 2022 |quote=Well-known #Russian Neo-Nazi Alexei Milchakov was featured in the video. During the war in #Donbas, he cut off the ears of murdered #Ukrainian servicemen and took pictures with burned corpses.}} According to the German Intelligence Service, Milchakov was allegedly injured in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{cite news |title=Russian Neo-Nazis Participate in 'Denazifying' Ukraine – Der Spiegel |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/23/russian-neo-nazis-participate-in-denazifying-ukraine-der-spiegel-a77762 |access-date=27 September 2022 |publisher=The Moscow Times |date=23 May 2022}}
In January 2025, Apti Alaudinov recorded a meeting with Alexy Milchakov. They spoke together of their "common enemy" and "common goal" in the war, as well as the need to subdue interracial and interethnic tensions in the Russian military.{{cite web |title=Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 6, 2025 |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-january-6-2025 |website=Institute for the Study of War}}
Sanctions
Milchakov is sanctioned by Canada in 2015,{{cite web |title=Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Ukraine) Regulations |url=https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2015/2015-03-11/html/sor-dors40-eng.html |website=Canada Gazette |date=11 March 2015 |access-date=13 April 2023}} and by Australia, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand,{{cite web |title=Russia Sanctions Regulations 2022 |url=https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2022/0074/latest/LMS659655.html |access-date=11 February 2023}} Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States{{cite web |title=Russia-related Designations; Issuance of Russia-related General License and Frequently Asked Questions; Zimbabwe-related Designation, Removals and Update; Libya-related Designation Update |url=https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20220915 |website=Office of Foreign Assets Control |access-date=13 April 2023}} in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{cite web |title=CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1150217/Russia.pdf |access-date=16 April 2023}}