Dmitry Valerievich Utkin (; 11 June 1970 – 23 August 2023) was a Russian military officer and mercenary. He served as a

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

officer in the

GRU Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series. Gru or GRU may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper * Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga'' Organizations Georgia (c ...

, where he held the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was the co-founder and military commander of the Russian state-funded

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

, with his military alias reportedly being ''Wagner''. Utkin was a

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

. He rarely made public appearances, but was allegedly the commander of the private military company, while

Yevgeny Prigozhin Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin (1 June 1961 – 23 August 2023) was a Russian mercenary leader and oligarch. He led the Wagner Group, a private military company, and was a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until launching a ...

was its owner and public face. Utkin was awarded four Orders of Courage of Russia. Utkin was killed on 23 August 2023 when a plane carrying him, Prigozhin and eight others crashed in

Tver Oblast Tver Oblast (, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was known as Kalinin Oblast (). Population: Tver Oblast is a region of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno. Much o ...

, leaving no survivors.

Early life and education

Dmitry Valerievich Utkin was born on 11 June 1970 in

Asbest Asbest () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Bolshoy Reft River (right tributary of the Pyshma River, Pyshma) on the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, northeast of Yekaterinburg. Po ...

, a village in

Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblastʹ, p=svʲɪrdˈlofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the c ...

, Soviet Union. His mother, a civil engineer, divorced Utkin's father when Utkin was very young. During his early childhood, Utkin and his mother relocated to the village of Smoline in

Kirovohrad Oblast Kirovohrad Oblast (), also known as Kirovohradshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (''province'') in central Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kropyvnytskyi. The oblast's population is It is ...

in Soviet Ukraine, where he was raised. He was described by classmates as very studious, but arrogant. He fathered two children in Smoline. After graduating from high school in Smoline, Utkin moved to Leningrad (now

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

) where he entered the S. M. Kirov Higher Combined Arms Command School and later joined the GRU Special Forces. In the 1990s, he married Elena Shcherbinina, with whom he had three children. They divorced in the early 2000s. In 2015, Shcherbinina reported Utkin as missing on a television program.

Views

According to several news outlets, Utkin was an admirer of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and had multiple Nazi tattoos, including ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) insignia. Utkin also reportedly used call sign ''Wagner'' after German composer

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

, because his work was greatly admired by Adolf Hitler and was appropriated by the Nazis. Allegedly he greeted subordinates by saying "Heil!", wore a

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

field cap around Wagner training grounds, and sometimes signed his name with the lightning bolt insignia of the SS. Members of the Wagner Group have said that Utkin was a

Rodnover The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery and sometimes as Slavic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Classified as a new religious movement, its practitioners hearken back to the historical belief systems of the Slavic pe ...

, a believer in the Slavic native faith.

Military career

Russia and Slavonic Corps

Utkin served as the commander of the 700th Separate Special Detachment of the 2nd Separate Special Brigade of the Russian

military intelligence service, stationed in

Pechory Pechory (; Estonian and Seto: ') is a town and the administrative centre of Pechorsky District in the Pskov Oblast, Russia. Its population in the 2010 Census was 11,195, having fallen from 13,056 recorded in the 2002 Census and& ...

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Pskov. As of the Russian Census ...

, until 2013. After leaving the military, in 2013 Utkin began working for the Moran Security Group, a private company founded by Russian military veterans, which was involved in security and training missions worldwide, and specializes in security against piracy. The same year, senior Moran Security Group managers were involved in setting up the Hong Kong-based Slavonic Corps, which headhunted contractors to "protect oil fields and pipelines" in Syria during its civil war. Utkin was deployed in Syria as a member of the Slavonic Corps, surviving its disastrous mission. Utkin returned to Moscow in October 2013. Russia's

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation �СБ, ФСБ России (FSB) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterin ...

in November 2013 arrested some members of the Slavonic Corps for illegal mercenary activity.

Wagner Group

Almost immediately after returning to Russia, Utkin reportedly created his own mercenary group. The group's name, the Wagner Group, is a reference to the

call-sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assig ...

Utkin was using at the time, "Wagner", which is itself a reference to German composer

(see political and racial views). Utkin and the

, as well as several veterans of the Slavonic Corps, were seen in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

in February 2014 and then in

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

, where they fought for the pro-Russian separatists during the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. ''

Gazeta.ru ''Gazeta.Ru'' () is a Russian news site based in Moscow. In 2012, ownership of ''Gazeta.Ru'' was transferred to Alexander Mamut. In 2020, the state-owned company Sberbank became the sole owner of ''Gazeta.Rus holding company, Rambler Media ...

'' reported that Utkin and his men could have been involved in the killing of several field commanders of the self-proclaimed

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR; , ) is a disputed territory administered as a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitar ...

. Turkish newspaper ''

Yeni Şafak ''Yeni Şafak'' ("New Dawn") is a conservative, Islamist Turkish daily newspaper. The newspaper is known for its hardline support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AK Party and has a very close relationship with the Turkish government. ...

'' reported that Utkin was possibly a figurehead for the company, while the real head of Wagner was someone else. Utkin was seen in the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

during the celebration of Fatherland's Heroes Day on 9 December 2016. He attended the celebration as a laureate of four Orders of Courage, and was photographed with the

President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (, ; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat serving as the Kremlin Press Secretary, spokesman for President of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012. This was reportedly Utkin's last public appearance. '' RBK'' reported that after completing training in

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

, Utkin and his men returned to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

in 2015. Soon after the start of Russian aerial strikes in Syria, reports emerged of the deaths of Russian mercenaries fighting on the ground. Several images spread in social media apparently depicting armed Russian men killed during the Battle of Palmyra in March 2016.

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

reported that approximately 500 to 600 people, mostly Wagner mercenaries, were killed in Syria in 2016. In June 2017, Utkin ordered that a Syrian deserter be tortured and bludgeoned to death on camera. The Wagner Group had an important role in the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. By this time, it was reported that Utkin was Wagner's behind-the-scenes military commander, responsible for overseeing its military operations, while Prigozhin was its owner, financier and public face. The group were the backbone of the Russian forces in the

Battle of Bakhmut The battle of Bakhmut was a major battle between the Russian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian Armed Forces for control of the city of Bakhmut, during the eastern Ukraine campaign, a theatre of the Russian invasion of Uk ...

. Prigozhin began openly criticizing the Russian Defense Ministry for mishandling the war against Ukraine. On 23 June 2023, Prigozhin led the Wagner Group in a rebellion after accusing the Defense Ministry of shelling Wagner soldiers. Wagner units seized the Russian city of

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

, while a Wagner convoy headed towards Moscow. Utkin's role in the Wagner

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

is unknown, though there were reports he was in a tank leading the Wagner convoy towards Moscow. The mutiny was halted the next day when an agreement was reached: Wagner mutineers would not be prosecuted if they chose to either sign contracts with the Defense Ministry or move to

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Sanctions

In June 2017, the United States imposed sanctions against Utkin as the head of Wagner Group. In November 2017, ''RBK'' reported the appointment of Utkin as the CEO of

Concord Management and Consulting Concord Management and Consulting () is a member of the Concord company group, which was half owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin. Based in St. Petersburg, Russia, it owns and operates several restaurants and is also the parent company of Concord Catering. ...

, the managing company of the restaurant holding owned by

, who is believed to have been the financier of Wagner Group.

Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised bell¿ngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British citizen journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in Ju ...

said that this was a different Dmitry Utkin, however. In December 2021, the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

imposed restrictive measures against Utkin and others associated with the Wagner Group. Utkin was accused of being "responsible for serious

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

abuses committed by the group, which include

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and

extrajudicial Extrajudicial punishment is a punishment for an alleged crime or offense which is carried out without legal process or supervision by a court or tribunal through a legal proceeding. Politically motivated Extrajudicial punishment is often a fe ...

summary may refer to: * Abstract (summary), shortening a passage or a write-up without changing its meaning but by using different words and sentences * Epitome, a summary or miniature form * Abridgement, the act of reducing a written work into a shor ...

or arbitrary executions and killings." Utkin was sanctioned by the governments of New Zealand and the United Kingdom in relation to the

Death

Utkin died in a plane crash on 23 August 2023 which also killed nine other people, including Wagner Group leader

. Utkin was buried on 31 August at the

Federal Military Memorial Cemetery The Federal Military Memorial Cemetery (Russian: Федеральное военное мемориальное кладбище) is a national cemetery of Russia, located in Mytishchinsky District, Moscow Oblast, on the north-eastern outskirts ...

in Moscow Oblast.

Memorials

In April 2024, a monument depicting Utkin and Yevgeny Prigozhin was unveiled outside the Wagner Group's chapel in

Goryachy Klyuch, Krasnodar Krai Goryachy Klyuch ( Circassian: Псыфаб, Psəfab, lit. ''warm water;'' , lit. ''hot spring'') is a town and a balneological resort in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Psekups River (Kuban's tributary) south of Krasnodar, the administ ...

, which also contains the largest cemetery for Wagner mercenaries. The municipal government said that the monument was built on private property and did not require authorization from their side. In December 2024, a statue of Utkin and Prigozhin were unveiled in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

, the statue showed Utkin who holds an

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

rifle next to Prigozhin wearing a

bullet-proof vest Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. Fragmentation (weaponry), shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials ...

and holding a

walkie-talkie A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver, HT, or handheld radio, is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer A ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Utkin, Dmitry 1970 births 2023 deaths 21st-century Russian military personnel GRU officers People from Asbest People of the Wagner Group Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas Russian individuals subject to European Union sanctions Russian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Russian mercenaries killed in action Russian military personnel of the Syrian civil war Russian modern pagans Russian neo-Nazis Ukrainian collaborators with Russia Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2023 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Russia Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia) Russian military personnel killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine