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Yan Petrovsky

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In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Igorevich and the family name is Petrovsky.
Yan Petrovsky
Other name(s)Voislav Torden
Nickname(s)"Slavyan", "Veliky Slavyan"
Born1987 (age 36–37)
Irkutsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance Luhansk People's Republic (2014–2015)
Russia (2015–present)
Service / branch Rusich Group
Commands DShRG "Rusich"
Battles / wars
Part of a series on
Neo-Nazism in Russia
Organisations
Individuals
Murders
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Yan Igorevich Petrovsky (Russian: Ян Игоревич Петровский, born 1987), also known by his nom de guerre "Slavyan" (Russian: Славян, lit. 'Slav') and his new legal name Voislav Torden (Russian: Воислав Торден), is a Russian Neo-nazi and militant, known as one of the leaders of the Rusich Group paramilitary unit.

Yan Petrovsky is presumably designated as the commander of the Zimargl detachment of the Rusich Group, "one of the special separate units formed for operational and reconnaissance tasks on the territory of Ukraine".[1] According to the US Department of the Treasury, in 2022 he took over as commander of the Group after the leader Alexey Milchakov was wounded near Kharkiv.[2]

Petrovsky was arrested in Finland in July 2023 at the request of the Ukrainian government, who sought to extradite him for war crimes committed during the war in Donbas. The extradition request was rejected due to human rights concerns, but Petrovsky was arrested and charged for the same crimes by the Finnish authorities, who claimed universal jurisdiction over the case.[3]

Biography

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Yan Petrovsky was born in 1987 in Irkutsk, Russian SFSR. With his mother, he moved to St. Petersburg. As a child, he was fond of history and participated in the reconstruction of medieval battles. He was going to study as an architect or graphic designer in Russia, but in 2004 his mother married a Norwegian, and Yan left Russia with her, and studied in Oslo as a graphic designer.[4]

After graduating from university, Petrovsky began working at the "True Metal Tattoo" tattoo parlor, an institution famous for regular gatherings of Neo-Nazis from Eastern Europe.[4] Petrovsky patrolled the streets of Tønsberg as part of the Soldiers of Odin and was involved with the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement.[5][1][6] In 2010, the police carried out a raid there. Petrovsky and his associates were detained. During a search in the parlor, forged documents and weapons were found. The police found that the weapon belonged to the Russian radical nationalist Viacheslav Datsik.[7]

Petrovsky is tattooed in pagan and nationalist symbolics: Black Sun, Valknut and various runes. In an interview for Novorossiya TV in 2015 he explained he came to Ukraine to fight against "Khazar kaghanate".[citation needed]

Milchakov and Petrovsky met at a paramilitary training program of the terrorist group Russian Imperial Movement.[8]

In 2014, he went to Donbas, where he fought against the Ukrainian army. During this period, pictures appeared on the Internet in which Petrovsky poses against the background of deceased Ukrainian soldiers.[9][10] In the summer of 2015, Rusich Group fighters announced that they were leaving Donbass. One of the reasons of Rusich leaving the fighting was a conflict with the leader of the Luhansk People's Republic, Igor Plotnitsky.[4]

NRK also reports Petrovsky's participation in the Syrian civil war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.[11]

In 2016, Yan Petrovsky was deprived of a residence permit in Norway because he stayed abroad too long, and was arrested for violating immigration laws, after which he was deported. The Norwegian authorities called Petrovsky a "threat to the security" of the country. Petrovsky was arrested at the home of a leading Nordic Resistance Movement member Ronny Bårdsen.[12][13][14][15] Petrovsky also built a close relationship with the Finnish far-right.[16][17]

In June 2022, Petrovsky appeared at the funeral of war veteran Alexei Pozharov, Fontanka wrote. There, he actually announced the participation of the Rusich Group in a Russian invasion of Ukraine.[9][1]

Petrovsky was involved in providing Sierra Leone's president Julius Maada Bio with military support and bringing him to power.[18]

Arrest in Finland

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On 20 July 2023, Yan Petrovsky was arrested by the Finnish police in Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.[19][20] Ukraine requested the extradition of Yan Petrovsky. The Russian Embassy in Helsinki told RIA Novosti that it had been informed about “the detention of a Russian national in Finland at Kyiv’s request” and that it was “taking measures to provide consular assistance.” Later, Rusich Group announced on its Telegram channel that the task force was halting “any combat missions” until “Slavyan” (Petrovsky) was extradited to Russia.[21]

Petrovsky had entered Finland under the name of Voislav Torden with his wife and three children on 19 July through the Vaalimaa border crossing. According to Petrovsky's lawyer, his intention was that his children "obtain Nordic education" and his wife was already offered a place to study in one of Finnish universities.[22][23] Petrovsky also visited Finland on tourist visa in 2022 under the new identity of Torden, hoping to visit family in France before they settled in Finland, and Petrovsky was only detained on 20 July in Helsinki airport, shortly before their flight to France. According to Petrovsky's legal counsel, he was only involved in "political activity" in Ukraine but Finnish media referred to a number of interviews Petrovsky gave in Russia, describing his military activities as a combatant during the war in Donbas.[20] In October 2023 the efforts to release Petrovsky from the detainment centre by his lawyers continued, but a Finnish court upheld the decision for him to remain detained until the extradition ruling is made.[24]

The Supreme Court of Finland rejected Ukraine's extradition request, citing "conditions in Ukrainian prisons", ordering Petrovsky's release from Finnish prison on December 8, 2023.[25] He was taken into custody by the Finnish Border Guard, with the Prosecutor General of Finland and Police of Finland looking into the possibility of opening a criminal case against him within the Finnish legal framework[26] on charges of war crimes committed against surrendered Ukrainian soldiers.[27] On 18 December, a Finnish court ordered Petrovsky remanded in custody, pending charges of aggravated war crimes.[28]

The investigation was concluded on 11 October 2024, and on 31 October Petrovsky was formally charged with war crimes.[29] Prosecutors alleged that Petrovsky had commanded a group of Rusich soldiers who ambushed a Ukrainian unit in September 2014. The soldiers had deceived the Ukrainians by raising a Ukrainian flag before attacking them, killing 22 and wounding four.[30] Wounded soldiers were executed and mutilated, and a dead body was photographed being degraded by the Russians.[31] Petrovsky's trial began on 5 December.[32]

International sanctions

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In 2022, the Rusich Group and its commanders Milchakov and Petrovsky were included in the US sanctions list for their "special cruelty" in the battles in the Kharkiv Oblast.[33][34]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Финляндия может выдать Украине командира ДШРГ "Русич" Петровского". Газета.Ru (in Russian). 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  2. ^ "Treasury Targets Additional Facilitators of Russia's Aggression in Ukraine". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 2023-08-16. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  3. ^ "Finland charges Russian neo-Nazi commander Petrovsky with five war crimes in Ukraine". The New Voice of Ukraine. 31 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "От тату-мастера до бойца за Донбасс. Кто такой Ян Петровский ("Славян"), которого задержали в Финляндии". fontanka.ru - новости Санкт-Петербурга (in Russian). 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  5. ^ ""Ei ole mahdollista" – Moskovassa yllätyttiin Wagneriin kytkeytyneen johtajan kiinniotosta Suomessa". Helsingin Sanomat. 15 December 2023. Jan Petrovski (nyk. Voislav Torden) on ollut mukana Soldiers of Odinin ja Pohjoismaisen vastarintaliikkeen toiminnassa. [Jan Petrovski (now Voislav Torden) has been involved in the activities of Soldiers of Odin and the Nordic resistance movement.]
  6. ^ "Denne mannen patruljerte med "Odins soldater"". www.vg.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 2016-02-25. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  7. ^ Klungtveit, Harald S. (2010-09-24). "Nynazister tatt med ID-kort og uniformer fra Forsvaret". dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  8. ^ "Russian Neo-Nazis Participate in 'Denazifying' Ukraine – Der Spiegel". Moscow Times. 26 August 2023. Milchakov and Rusich co-founder Yan Petrovsky had met at a Russian Imperial Movement paramilitary training program, according to The Times.
  9. ^ a b "В Петербурге хоронили добровольца с позывным Камень. Плакал даже могильщик". fontanka.ru - новости Санкт-Петербурга (in Russian). 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  10. ^ Townsend, Mark (2022-10-02). "Pro-Kremlin neo-Nazi militia inciting the torture and murder of Ukrainian prisoners". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  11. ^ Svendsen, Christine (2020-11-15). "Han kaller seg "nordmannen"". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  12. ^ Gigstad, Knut (Autumn 2021). Foreign neo-Nazi fighters who went to fight in Ukraine (PDF) (Master's thesis in investigative journalism) (in Norwegian). Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Bergen. UJOU350. Several of the people who were involved are relatively well-known figures within neo-Nazi circles, such as Ronny Bårdsen, one of the leading figures in the Nordic Resistance (via Google Translate)
  13. ^ Harald S. Klungtveit (8 April 2023). ""Brenn din lokale moské": Kjent nynazist selger jødehets og muslimhat i egen nettbutikk". Filter Nyheter.
  14. ^ "Enemy of the State or its founding element?". meduza.io. 26 August 2023.
  15. ^ Svendsen, Christine (2016-10-19). "Kriget i Ukraina: Yan Petrovskiy pågrepet av væpnet politi". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  16. ^ "Ideology-Driven Paramilitary Groups Threaten Russia and Beyond". Jamestown Foundation. 29 March 2024. Yan Petrovskii, was a neo-Nazi who used to live in Norway and built a close relationship with members of the Finnish far-right organization Soldiers of Odin.
  17. ^ "Mixed fortunes for Russia's far right assets". Searchlight Magazine. 2 September 2024. Milchakov's deputy Yan Petrovsky (alias Voislav Torden) is jailed in Finland awaiting trial. He built strong connections with Scandinavian nazis, including members of the Nordic Resistance Movement, which was recently proscribed by the US authorities as a terrorist organisation.
  18. ^ "Twists of fate: Russian pro-Kremlin neo-Nazi asylum seeker faces extradition to Ukraine in Finland". The Insider. 8 December 2023.
  19. ^ "MTV:n tiedot: Wagneriin liitetyn sotajoukon johtaja on otettu kiinni Suomessa". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  20. ^ a b "Wagner-kiinniotto". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  21. ^ "Finland arrests Russian ultra-nationalist wanted in Ukraine for war crimes". Meduza. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  22. ^ "HS: россиянин, подозреваемый в военных преступлениях, въехал в Финляндию благодаря новому имени". Новости (in Russian). 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  23. ^ "Terrorismirikoksista epäilty venäläismies aikoo hakea Suomesta turvapaikkaa – pysyy yhä säilöön otettuna". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  24. ^ "Суд в Финляндии оставил в тюрьме россиянина Тордена". РБК (in Russian). 2023-10-06. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  25. ^ "Korkein oikeus: Wagner-taustainen Voislav Torden päästettävä heti vapaaksi". Helsingin Sanomat. 8 December 2023.
  26. ^ "Korkein oikeus: Rusitš-taistelija vapautui vankilasta – Nyt Suomi selvittää, voidaanko miehestä aloittaa esitutkinta". Helsingin Sanomat. 8 December 2023.
  27. ^ "Suomi tutkii Ukrainassa tehdyiksi epäiltyjä sotarikoksia". Syyttäjälaitos (in Finnish). 2023-12-15. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  28. ^ "Finnish court orders Russian neo-Nazi fighter into custody, awaiting potential war crimes charges". The Kyiv Independent. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  29. ^ Tanner, Jari (31 October 2024). "Finland charges a combatant with war crimes allegedly committed in 2014 in Ukraine". ABC News.
  30. ^ Ivanyshyn, Volodymyr (6 December 2024). "Trial begins in Finland for Russian neo-Nazi fighter accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine". The Kyiv Independent.
  31. ^ Kauranen, Anne (5 December 2024). "Russian accused of war crimes goes on trial in Finland". Reuters.
  32. ^ "Man accused of alleged war crimes in separatist region of Ukraine stands trial in Finland". AP News. Associated Press. 5 December 2024.
  33. ^ "Новые санкции США против россиян: семья Кадырова, детский омбудсмен и банкиры". Telegram. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  34. ^ "Russia-related Designations; Issuance of Russia-related General License and Frequently Asked Questions; Zimbabwe-related Designation, Removals and Update; Libya-related Designation Update". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
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