A member of Fedorovich’s gang died in Belarus

Semyon Ermolinsky, a member of a neo-Nazi gang from Yekaterinburg, died from coronavirus in Belarus.

In Belarus, Ermolinsky lived under the name Andrei Miller. He started writing science fiction horror stories, conducted live broadcasts with fans on the Internet, but did not show his face. Ermolinsky, according to his mother, became infected with the coronavirus, but did not go to the doctors. He developed complications that caused his death.

The exact date of Ermolinsky’s death is unknown; earlier media reported that he could have passed away in May 2025. In June 2025, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs removed his name from the list of the country's most wanted criminals.

Semyon Ermolinsky was born in St. Petersburg in 1987, graduated from the St. Petersburg College of Aviation Instrumentation and Automation, became interested in knife fighting and began selling knives.

In 2011, he met a lawyer from Yekaterinburg, Vasily Fedorovich. Fedorovich was a blogger on LiveJournal, where under the nickname viper-ns he engaged in far-right propaganda and advocated the legalization of firearms, thanks to which he became deputy chairman of the All-Russian Society of Civil Weapon Owners (VOVGO). On his blog, Fedorovich published fictionalized descriptions of his murders, from which he then collected and published the book “White Laces.” As a lawyer, Fedorovich participated in several regional cases.

Ermolinsky joined Fedorovich’s gang under the nickname “Henry”.

Let us recall that members of the gang, which existed from 2006 to 2012, were responsible for the murder of 14 people, five attempted murders, as well as a number of brutal attacks, kidnappings and other crimes. Some of the victims were killed out of hatred, while some were committed for profit. One of the victims of the gang was its founder Daniil Potashnikov. Members of Vasily Fedorovich’s gang called themselves “society orderlies” and killed pimps, drug dealers and drug addicts. In April 2012, the gang attacked Vladimir Kustov, a member of another Yekaterinburg group with which Fedorovich had a conflict. Kustov wounded Fedorovich during the shootout. Kustov was kidnapped, taken out of town, strangled, and his body was doused with gasoline and burned. In the summer of 2011, gang members attacked the asphalt paving foreman, a businessman from Kurgan and two migrant workers. One person died. Later, US citizen George Carr Yacoubian died from the wounds received in the attack, whose remains were found in an unfinished garage by the police. The investigation of this international murder led the police to a gang of “sane nationalists.”

The police crushed the group in 2012. All participants were detained, and in July 2015 they were sentenced to terms ranging from 6 years in prison to life. Semyon Ermolinsky fled from Russia after the first arrests. In 2017, the criminal investigation department promised a reward of 1 million rubles for him. According to one version, he fled to Algeria, lived there for a year until the money ran out, after which he moved to Ukraine and planned to fight in the Donbass (it is unknown on which side). In 2014, a selfie of him in camouflage uniform in the forest went viral on the Internet. According to another version, Ermolinsky immediately after the first arrests in Yekaterinburg moved to Belarus, made documents for himself in the name of Miller and began writing stories.

In the fall of 2016, he participated in the online competition “West of October” with the story “Jacob’s Lamp”, where he took second place. He published in various web projects, participated in the release of the dark fantasy anthology “Medianne”, and held “The NeverEnding Story” competitions. In May 2019, he made his DARKER debut with the story “Opium for the Mormons.” In total, he published in 39 collections and magazines. Three anthologies featuring Miller's stories were shortlisted for the Masters of Horror Award. He managed to release the first volume of the fantasy “The Terrible Century” and four chapters of the detective story “The Red Queen”.

After Miller did not appear on the Internet for two weeks, fans began to worry. Without receiving payment, the owner of the rented apartment came to the apartment and discovered a body. The cause of death was the consequences of Covid.

During a search of the apartment, a real Ermolinsky passport and new documents bearing the name Miller were found in the closet. Russian police conducted a DNA examination and confirmed the identity of the deceased.

Sources

• Russia's most wanted killer died under the name of science fiction writer Andrei Miller. Where did he hide for 13 years and how did he end his life? // Komsomolskaya Pravda. 2026. May 20.
• Gorbunov Andrey, Lyalin Roman. The most wanted killer in Russia became a famous writer and died hiding from everyone: “Fans erected a monument” // Komsomolskaya Pravda. 2026. May 20.