Primorsky Partisans

Last updated
Primorsky Partisans
Приморские партизаны
LeadersAndrei Sukhorada (dead by suicide)
Aleksandr Kovtun (arrested)
Dates of operationFebruary – 11 June 2010
Headquartersnone static
Active regions Primorsky Krai, Russia
Ideology Far-right [1]
Size6 members
1 close supporter
Opponents Police of Russia

The Primorsky Partisans were a group of six young men who waged a guerrilla war against the Russian police, who have long been accused of corruption and brutality. [2] [3]

Contents

History

2010 Primorsky Krai Insurrection
DateFebruary – 11 June 2010
Location
Several towns and length of a motorway in south Primorsky Krai, Russian Federation.
Caused by Police brutality, Political extremism, Criminality (alleged by police), Police corruption
GoalsRevenge
MethodsAmbushes, Arson
Resulted inArrival of reinforcements, emergence widespread public support for the accused. Two acquitted. Police tactical victory, mixed strategic victory.
Parties
Primorsky Partisans
Russian law enforcement
Lead figures

Andrei Sukhorada (dead by suicide)
Aleksandr Kovtun (arrested)

Emblem of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.svg Primorsky Krai Superintendent
Andrei Nikolaev [4]

Number
6 Militants
1 Sympathizer in supporting role
Crackdown:
+1,000 OMON Troops
APCs
Helicopters
K9s
Casualties and losses
2 killed (suicide)
3 captured
2 surrendered (one wounded in custody)
Emblem of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.svg : 1 MVD station set alight
2 Militsiya Oiffcers killed [N 1]
1 MVD car stolen
3 wounded [N 2]
Emblem of the traffic police of Russia.svg 3 Traffic officers wounded [N 3]
Two private automobiles stolen
5 civilians robbed, 1 wounded (the accused deny involvement)

From the small village of Kirovsky in Primorsky Krai, Russia's Far East they had long had encounters with the police they described as brutal, and degrading. The group decided on a violent solution to the appalling conditions with the police and waged a campaign against them including shooting traffic policemen, raiding a police station, and stabbing a police officer to death. The police began a large scale manhunt and the Partisans were tracked down to a flat belonging to one of the members 17 miles from the Chinese border, in Kirovsky. Before the shoot out began they posted a video on YouTube describing their motives.

As about a dozen militsiya officers and OMON troops approached, two of the four occupants opened fire with pistols, wounding two police officers. The police were later joined by a platoon of internal troops with BTR armored vehicles. After negotiations lasting five hours, two committed suicide, and the other two surrendered. This created a storm of controversy in Russia, as many Russians sympathized with the Partisans, and resented the police.

In a non-scientific poll by the popular radio station Echo of Moscow, 75% of responders said they viewed the Partisans as Robin Hoods, and 66% stated they would shelter the Partisans if given the chance. [5] Nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky voiced his support for the Primorsky Partisans at a session of the State Duma.

On July 20, 2016 the jury trial came up with an acquittal verdict for all members following the second trial. Their guilt for committing the mass murder and creating an organized crime group was not proved. Vadim Kovtun and Alexei Nikitin were immediately set free. The rest of the Partisans remain behind bars, being accused of other crimes. [6]

Members

Motivation

On October 9, 2010, a 13-minute video entitled "Video Appeal of the Primorsky Partisans" was released on YouTube. [10] In the video the partizans of the group declared a guerrilla war against corruption and Russian Militsiya. [11] [12] The video was removed from the YouTube server several times due to complaints.

Reaction

A poll of listeners to the Echo of Moscow radio station indicated that 60–75 percent of listeners sympathised with the Primorsky Partisans and would offer them help. [13] [14]

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. One stabbed to death in station raid, 1 fatally shot in roadside ambush
  2. 1 wounded in roadside ambush, 2 in operation to apprehend the 4 suspects in the apartment
  3. Roadside ambushes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Bolshevik Party</span> Political party in Russia

The National Bolshevik Party operated from 1993 to 2007 as a Russian political party with a political program of National Bolshevism. The NBP became a prominent member of The Other Russia coalition of opposition parties. Its members are known as Nazbols ,.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OMON</span> Russian special police units

OMON is a system of special police units within the National Guard of Russia. It previously operated within the structures of the Soviet and Russian Ministries of Internal Affairs (MVD). Originating as the special forces unit of the Soviet Militsiya in 1988, it has played major roles in several armed conflicts during and following the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The activity emerged after Nazi Germany's Operation Barbarossa was launched from mid-1941 on. It was coordinated and controlled by the Soviet government and modeled on that of the Red Army.

The Soviet partisans in Latvia were Soviet partisans who were deployed to Latvia and attempted to wage guerrilla warfare against the German armed forces during the German occupation of Latvia. Partisan activity was singularly unsuccessful in Latvia due to the general resistance of the population to the Soviet regime that the partisans represented.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexey Dymovsky</span> Russian police officer

Alexey Alexandrovich Dymovsky is a former militsiya officer who became famous in Russia for speaking out against corruption in law enforcement agencies in November 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxim Kovtun</span> Russian figure skater

Maxim Pavlovich Kovtun is a retired Russian figure skater. He is a three-time European medalist and four-time Russian national champion. On the junior level, he is the 2012 JGP Final champion. Kovtun has successfully landed two quad jumps in a short program, and three quads in a free program.

Oleksiy Oleksandrovych Kovtun is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Keflavík in Iceland.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Gil, also known by the pseudonyms I.G. Rodionov or Radionov, was a colonel of the Red Army and the founder and leader of the German-backed Union of Russian Nationalists and the 1st Russian Waffen-SS "Druzhina". Gil and his unit later went over to the Soviet partisans, and he died in combat with the Wehrmacht.

The Partisans Parade was a solemn Red Army and partisan victory parade held on 16 July 1944 on the field of the former Hippodrome in Minsk on the dedicated to the liberation of Minsk from the German occupation in the 3 July Minsk Offensive. The offensive was part of the Soviet Belorussian Strategic Offensive Operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illia Kovtun</span> Ukrainian artistic gymnast (born 2003)

Illia Yuriiovych Kovtun is a Ukrainian artistic gymnast who competed at the 2020 Olympic Games. He is the 2021 World and 2021 and 2023 European all-around bronze medalist, 2023 European champion on the parallel bars, and is a two-time junior world championships medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyber Partisans</span> Belarusian hacktivist group

Cyber Partisans is a Belarusian decentralized anonymous activist/hacktivist collective emerged in September 2020, known for its various cyber attacks against the authoritarian Belarusian government. The group is part of the broader Belarusian opposition movement.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia occupied vast portions of the territory of Ukraine, having already occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as well as the entire Autonomous Republic of Crimea since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2014. Partisan groups began to be organized in mid-2022. These groups have been involved in intelligence-gathering, sabotage, and assassinations. Much of their activity has taken place in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists</span> Underground organization in Russia

The Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists is a militant anarcho-communist organization in Eastern Europe, part of the Belarusian and Russian partisan movement. It aims for social revolution and a libertarian socialist society. Since the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has sabotaged railway infrastructure in Russia and Belarus, as well as attacking Russian military commissariats and telecommunications. According to The Insider, the group has become "the most active 'subversive' force" in Russia since the war began.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–2023 Belarusian and Russian partisan movement</span> Resistance to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Belarus and Russia

Pro-democratic and pro-Ukrainian partisan movements have emerged in Belarus and Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War. These resistance movements act against the authoritarian governments of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus and Vladimir Putin in Russia, as well as against civilian supporters of these authorities and the armed forces of both countries, with the aim of stopping the war.

The rail war began in different regions of Russia in the spring of 2022 after a similar rail war in Belarus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Busly liaciać</span> Belarusian opposition movement

Busly liaciać is a Belarusian opposition resistance group founded on 13 November 2020 and fighting against the Alexander Lukashenko government. Included together with the Cyber Partisans in the association "Supraciŭ"

The Belarusian partisan movement is an ongoing campaign of resistance against the authoritarian regime of Alexander Lukashenko. It began in response to the violent suppression of the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests. The partisans aim to depose Lukashenko's government and expel Russian troops from Belarus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berdiansk Partisan Army</span> Ukrainian underground partisan group

Berdiansk Partisan Army is a Ukrainian underground partisan group operating in Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine. It has been involved in attacks against the Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

References

  1. "Скинхеды, борцы с системой: Кто такие "приморские партизаны" и какие преступления они совершили". Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  2. Politkovskaya, Anna; translated by Arch Tait (2004). Putin's Russia. Harvill. ISBN   0-8050-7930-0.
  3. Judah, Ben (2003). Fragile Empire
  4. "Приморские партизаны. Они были первыми" [Primorsky Partisans. They were the first]. YouTube . Archived from the original on June 20, 2020.
  5. Ash, Lucy (6 March 2012). "Russians back anti-police rage". BBC News. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  6. Russia Acquits 'Primorsky Partisans' Of Murder In Retrial at Radio Liberity, July 20, 2016
  7. "АПН Северо-Запад / Один из приморских партизан был нацболом". www.apn-spb.ru. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  8. Андрей Сухорада Archived 2015-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "nbp-info.com - nbp-info Resources and Information". nbp-info.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  10. "Видеообращение приморских партизан" [Video Appeal of the Primorsky Partisans.]. YouTube . Archived from the original on April 11, 2023.
  11. "Последнее видеообращение "приморских партизан" появилось в интернете". Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  12. "Russia: New Video from Primorsky Krai Guerrillas · Global Voices". 18 October 2010. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  13. "The Primorsky Partisans". Crossing Continents . BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  14. Если члены "приморской группы" обратятся к Вам за помощью, поможете ли Вы?