What we know about Vadim Krasikov — the ex-FSB officer linked to the potential Navalny prisoner exchange

On February 26, Maria Pevchikh, the chairwoman of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, said that Alexey Navalny was supposed to be released through a prisoner exchange. The Russian opposition politician was reportedly set to be swapped for Vadim Krasikov, an ex-FSB officer who is serving prison time in Germany for the assassination of the former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in 2019. Not much is known about Krasikov — but journalists have linked him to the FSB’s Vympel special forces unit and to two other murders (one in Moscow and one in Russia’s Karelia region). Meduza explains what we know about the man that the Kremlin allegedly had in mind for a potential prisoner exchange.

Murder in Berlin

On August 23, 2019, the former Chechen field commander and Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was killed in Berlin. The perpetrator approached Khangoshvili on a bicycle and shot him. Police promptly arrested the suspect not far from the scene of the crime. He was found with documents bearing the name of “Vadim Sokolov.” A joint investigation by Bellingcat, The Insider, and Der Spiegel later uncovered that this was an alias and that the man’s real name was Vadim Krasikov.

In December 2021, a Berlin court sentenced Krasikov to life in prison, having found him guilty of murdering Khangoshvili. The court also concluded that the Russian authorities ordered Krasikov to carry out the assassination.

The German investigation referred to Krasikov as a high-ranking officer in the FSB’s Vympel special forces unit. The investigation published by Bellingcat, The Insider, and Der Spiegel also found links between Krasikov and the FSB.

Between February and August 2019, Krasikov called eight members of the Vympel Association of Former FSB Spetsnaz Officers, three of whom were in senior positions within the organization. One of the people Krasikov spoke with was Edward Bendersky, the chairman of both this association and the Vympel Charitable Foundation. Krasikov also repeatedly visited the FSB’s Special Operations Center training bases.

Vadim Krasikov was born on August 10, 1965, in the village of Kenestobe in Kazakhstan. In the 1980s, his family moved to Buryatia, a republic in Russia’s Far East. He later moved to the city of Irkutsk with his wife and two children. In 2009, Krasikov moved to the Moscow region, where he lived until his arrest in Germany.

Murder in Moscow

According to The Insider and Bellingcat, Krasikov was the prime suspect in the murder of entrepreneur Albert Nazarov, who was shot dead in Moscow on January 19, 2013. The culprit approached Nazarov on a bicycle, the businessmen resisted, and then the killer shot him several times. This murder, as noted by The Insider and Bellingcat, bears resemblance to the assassination of Khangoshvili in Berlin: in both situations, the killer was on a bicycle and shot the victim at close proximity.

In January 2014, Russian law enforcement agencies placed Krasikov on the federal and international wanted list in connection with Nazarov’s murder. Russia provided information about the search for Krasikov, including his photograph, to Interpol. In June 2015, Russian law enforcement terminated the international warrant for Krasikov’s arrest. A record about the termination of his search appeared in the Russian Interior Ministry’s “Integrated Databank,” but as reported by The Insider and Bellingcat, has since been deleted. The investigation found that more than 80 percent of Krasikov’s photos that were transferred to Interpol match with the images of “Vadim Sokolov” that were circulated after Khangoshvili’s murder.

Murder in Russia’s Karelia region

In December 2019, Novaya Gazeta reported that Krasikov may have been involved in the killing of Yury Kozlov, a businessman from Russia’s Karelia region. In the evening of April 4, 2007, Kozlov drove up to his house in the village of Kontokki. When he got out of his car, he was shot three times in the chest and once in the head. Kozlov’s body was loaded into the vehicle and driven to a location15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from the Finnish border, where it was dumped into the forest. The suspects in the case were Vladimir F., Oleg I., and Vadim Krasikov. According to Novaya Gazeta, this was the same Vadim Krasikov who shot Khangoshvili 12 years later in Berlin.

Vladimir F. and Oleg I. (last names not disclosed) were only arrested in November 2014. According to court documents, they were active FSB officers in 2007 and served at the FSB’s “V” Special Purposes Center — a.k.a. Vympel. Krasikov wasn’t arrested, however. In 2014, the case was transferred from the Karelia region to the Investigative Committee’s central office. Soon after, FSB veterans Vladimir F. and Oleg I. were released from pre-trial detention.

The prisoner swap

The Russian authorities commented on Khangoshvili’s murder and Krasikov’s subsequent arrest. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Khangoshvili was one of the people who organized the bombings on the Moscow metro. “This is a militant, a very cruel and blood-thirsty person. He killed 98 people in just one of the attacks he took part in,” said the president in 2019.

The Kremlin also said that Russia had sent several requests to Germany to extradite Khangoshvili, arguing that his “involvement in extremely bloody terrorist attacks and mass killings has been established.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry called publications linking Krasikov to Russian special services “speculation.”

During his interview with Putin in February 2024, American political commentator Tucker Carlson asked if the Russian president was willing to release Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich. Putin replied that “there is a man who, out of patriotism, eliminated a bandit in one of the European capitals.” “Whether he did this of his own volition — that’s another question,” added Putin, without mentioning any names.

In July 2022, CNN reported that the Russian authorities made Washington an offer to exchange an American imprisoned in Russia for Krasikov. The U.S. appealed to the German authorities, asking about their willingness to include Krasikov in a prisoner swap. According to The Wall Street Journal, Moscow offered to exchange Krasikov for Gershkovich.

On February 26, Maria Pevchikh, the chairwoman of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, said that Alexey Navalny was supposed to be exchanged for Vadim Krasikov. Western media outlets cited sources that said negotiations about a prisoner swap involving Navalny had taken place. According to Pevchikh, she received information on February 15 that “talks were in their final stages.” The next day, on February 16, the Russian authorities reported that Navalny had died in prison.

“It was made clear to Putin that the only way to get Krasikov would be to exchange him for Navalny,” Pevchikh said. She continued:

‘I can’t tolerate Navalny being free,’ thought Putin. ‘And since they’re willing to exchange Krasikov in principle, I just need to get rid of the bargaining chip. Then I’ll offer someone else when the time comes.’

Translation by Sasha Slobodov