Sergei Alexandrovich Fomchenkov (russian: Сергей Александрович Фомченков, born on 8 December 1973 in

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

) is a Russian politician, a former member of the banned

National Bolshevik Party The National Bolshevik Party (NBP; russian: Национал-большевистская партия), also known as the Nazbols (russian: нацболы), operated from 1993 to 2007 as a Russian political party with a political program of Nat ...

(NBP) and then member of The Other Russia. During the

Russo-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...

, he has been serving as commander of various military units; his call sign is "Fomich" (russian: ФОМИЧ).

Biography

Political career

Fomchenkov was head of the Smolensk branch of the NBP since 1998 and later member of its Central Committee. He was one of the organizers of the

Dissenters' March The Dissenters' March (russian: Марш несогласных) was a series of Russian opposition protests that took place on December 16, 2006 in Moscow, on March 3, 2007 in Saint Petersburg, on March 24 in Nizhny Novgorod, on April 14 for th ...

. After the dissolution of the NBP in 2007, he was one of its former members who in 2010 established The Other Russia.

War in Donbas

Fomchenkov was head of the Interbrigades, formed by Russian national-bolsheviks during

pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine From the end of February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in major cities across the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, which resulted in the succe ...

. He served in the ''Zarya Battalion'' and became chief of artillery staff of the 2nd Brigade of the

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...

. Fomchenkov then became commander of the 4th Reconnaissance and Assault Battalion of the Special Forces of the Armed forces of DNR, better known as " Prilepin's Battalion". After the battalion was disbanded in September 2018, Fomchenkov continued to serve in the 9th Marine Regiment of the Armed forces of DNR.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

After the beginning of the

Russian Invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

Fomchenkov created his own detachment (battallion) from volunteers, the

BARS-13 BARS or Combat Army Reserve of the Country (russian: Боевой Армейский Резерв Страны - БАРС) is a Russian military reserve force implemented since 2021. BARS troops have been used in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukrain ...

. He decided to call it the "Russian Legion" (russian: Русский легион) as opposed to the different "Georgian" and "Foreign Legions" existing in the

Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly know ...

. The battalion under his command was almost encircled in Lyman but managed to withdraw to Kreminna during the night between 30 September and 1 October 2022. Currently it is engaged in the Second Battle of Kreminna. On 18 November 2022, Fomchenkov was awarded the

Order of Courage The Order of Courage may refer to: * , a state decoration of the partially recognized republic of Abkhazia * Order of Courage (Iran), a state decoration of Iran * Order of Courage (Russia) The Order of Courage (russian: Орден Мужес ...

.Official BARS-13 Telegram Channel

Personal life

Fomchenkov is married to Russian opposition activist

Taisiya Osipova Taisiya Vital'evna Osipova (Russian: Таисия Витальевна Осипова, born 26 August 1984 in Smolensk) is a Russian opposition activist from the unregistered National Bolshevik Party and " The Other Russia" party. She is the wife o ...

. He has a daughter.

References

External links

Fomich on Myrotvorets

Sergei Fomchenkov
on

VKontakte VK (short for its original name ''VKontakte''; russian: ВКонтакте, meaning ''InContact'') is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predomin ...

BARS-13 official page on VK

Interview with Sergei Fomchenkov

Создатель и глава БАРС-13 комбат Сергей Фомченков: С фронтов СВО мы без Победы не уйдём
(Interview with Sergei Fomchenkov, Arguments of the week, 29 November 2022)
Interbrigades
official channel on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Fomchenkov, Sergei Living people National Bolshevik Party politicians Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas 1973 births