Vadim Krasikov
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Vadim Nikolayevich Krasikov ( ; born 10 August 1965) is a Russian security service
hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany for the
killing Killing, Killings, or The Killing may refer to: Types of killing *-cide, a suffix that refers to types of killing (see List of types of killing), such as: ** Homicide, one human killing another *** Murder, unlawful killing of another human without ...
of 40-year-old
Zelimkhan Khangoshvili Zelimkhan Sultanovich Khangoshvili (, ka, ზელიმხან სულთანის ძე ხანგოშვილი, tr, ; 15 August 1979 – 23 August 2019) was an ethnic Chechen born in Georgia who was a former platoon commande ...
in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, on 23 August 2019. On 1 August 2024, he returned to Russia after a prisoner exchange between Russia and the West. One of the prisoners involved in the exchange for Krasikov,
Ilya Yashin Ilya Valeryevich Yashin (; born 29 June 1983) is a Russian opposition politician who led the People's Freedom Party (PARNAS) from 2012 to 2016, and then its Moscow branch. He was also head of the Moscow municipal district of Krasnoselsky an ...
, would condemn the fact that he was specifically freed in exchange for him due to Krasikov originally being sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Khangoshvili.


Murder of Khangoshvili

Krasikov allegedly maintained close contact with veterans of the former FSB
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 ...
group
Vympel Directorate "V" of the FSB Special Purpose Center, often referred to as Spetsgruppa "V" Vympel ( pennant in Russian, originated from German , and having the same meaning), but also known as KGB Directorate "V", Vega Group, is a stand-alone su ...
. Previously, Krasikov was a suspect in two murders: in the 4 April 2007 murder by three people of the businessman and local politician Yuri Kozlov () who was shot near his home in
Kostomuksha Kostomuksha (; ; ; ) is a town in the northwest of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located from the border with Finland, on the shore of Lake Kontoki. Population: Geography The nearest large cities in Russia are St. Petersburg and ...
,
Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the Northwest Russia, northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of ...
, while he was getting out of his car; and in the 19 June 2013 murder in Moscow of Albert Nazranov () who was from
Kabardino-Balkaria Kabardino-Balkaria (), officially the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 904,200. Its capital is Nalchik. The area contains the highest mountain in ...
. After killing Kozlov, the criminals went to the river to throw away evidence and were spotted by witnesses. Recorded by
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
, the murder of Nazranov was by an assailant who wore a cap and a black tracksuit and approached Nazranov by bicycle; however, upon seeing him, Nazranov pushed the assailant away and ran away, but was killed by the assailant with a pistol from close range with one shot to the chest and one to the head after the assailant caught up with Nazranov by bicycle. A few minutes later, the assailant fled the scene by bicycle. In 2014, Krasikov was arrested by Russian authorities on suspicion of the Nazarov murder and he along with both Vladimir Fomenko and Oleg Ivanov also were arrested by Russian authorities on suspicion of the Kozlov murder. None of them were known to be convicted of any offence. On 3 September 2015, Krasikov received an internal Russian passport with the name Vadim Andreevich Sokolov () and Sokolov's entry in the Russian federal passport database accessible to law enforcement denotes that Sokolov is under state protection which is similar to the notes in the database for suspected Russian GRU officers "Boshirov" and "Petrov" who allegedly were involved in the
poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal The poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, also known as the Salisbury poisoning, was a botched assassination attempt to poison Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies in the cit ...
. After stalking and shooting Khangoshvili in Kleiner Tiergarten Park, Krasikov threw his bicycle, pistol, and a bag containing his disguise into the
Spree River Spree may refer to: Film and television * '' The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbers''), an episode of the television show ''Numb ...
. Witnesses called the police, who detained him. Then investigators found his fingerprints on some of the items retrieved by police divers. Krasikov denied the killing, saying that he was a tourist named Vadim A. Sokolov, the name on his Russian passport. His real identity was finally established using photographs that showed his distinctive tattoos. German prosecutors indicated that Krasikov worked for the Russian
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 ...
, who gave him a false identity, a passport, and the resources for the assassination. According to
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 ...
, Evgeny Eroshkin is allegedly Krasikov's FSB handler. On 2 August 2024,
Dmitri 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.Spetsnaz SpetsnazThe term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or () are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spet ...
FSB officer, had served in the
Alpha Group Spetsgruppa "A", also known as Alpha Group, officially Directorate "A" of FSB Special Purpose Center (Russian: Спецназ ФСБ "Альфа"), is a sub-unit of Russian special forces within the Russian Special Forces Center of the Feder ...
as a
bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...
of
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 ...
(), frequently visited the FSB Anti-Terrorist Directorate on Vernadsky Avenue in Moscow, and had trained at the FSB special forces base "Vympel" before he left Russia to assassinate Khangoshvili.


Personal life

From 12 December 1989 until 27 January 2004, Krasikov was married to Tatyana Ivanovna (née Paramonova) Krasikova (; born 1966, Tygda,
Magdagachinsky District Magdagachinsky District () is an administrativeLaw #127-OZ and municipalLaw #477-OZ district (raion), one of the twenty in Amur Oblast, Russia. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the urban locality (a work settlement) of ...
,
Amur Oblast Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrati ...
). They have two children: a son Maxim Vadimovich Krasikov (born 1985) and daughter Kristina Antanyan (née Krasikova, born 1988). Krasikov married his second wife Ekaterina Aleksandrovna (née Lycheva) Krasikova (; born 1985,
Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
,
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
) in 2010. They have a daughter born 2013.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krasikov, Vadim 1965 births Living people People from Turkistan Region People of the Federal Security Service Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Germany Russian assassins Russian people convicted of murder