Commander known for using prisoners in “meat grinder” assaults to supervise Russian youth policy, IStories reports

Major Igor Yurgin, a participant in the war against Ukraine and recipient of the Hero of Russia award, has been appointed as head of a department in Russia’s Ministry of Education, according to a report by the independent investigative outlet Important Stories.

Yurgin will serve as the head of the Department of State Policy in the Sphere of Upbringing, Supplementary Education, and Children's Recreation. The announcement confirming his appointment initially appeared on the website of the “Time of Heroes” project.

Igor Yurgin, 30, a native of Russia’s Yakutia region and a graduate of the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School, participated in the initial invasion of Ukraine’s Kharkiv Region on Feb. 24, 2022. In early 2023, he was appointed commander of the “Black Mamba” assault unit, part of the 252nd Motorized Rifle Regiment based in Russia's southwestern Voronezh Region. The unit reportedly included convicts recruited from Russian prisons.