The court sentenced 19-year-old Yegor B. to nine years in a general-regime penal colony, 15-year-old Vadim R. to nine and a half years in a juvenile correctional colony, 17-year-old Ivan B. to four years in a juvenile correctional colony, and 18-year-old Danila M. to four years and three months in a general-regime penal colony. The last of them was taken into custody in the courtroom.
According to investigators, in 2024 a 17-year-old teenager created a group of friends and peers who shared far-right views. Its members attacked people they considered to lead an “antisocial lifestyle”, as well as foreigners, LGBT representatives, and people with disabilities.
They filmed the attacks and posted them in a private Telegram channel. The most brutal one took place on September 28, 2024: the teenagers met a 44-year-old man with a disability through a dating service, after which five members of the group came to his home, beat him, committed sexual violence, and robbed the apartment.
The incident was recorded on video and then posted in the Telegram channel, and the victim died from his injuries. In August of the same year, members of the group beat an intoxicated man on the street and caused him grievous bodily harm, while another victim was beaten and robbed in his home, including his passport being stolen.
According to the Tula outlet MySlo, the group members considered themselves followers of neo-Nazi Maxim Martsinkevich. They gathered in an abandoned building they called the “Workshop” and trained there in fistfights; according to witness testimony published by MySlo, the teenagers had started attacking people as early as March 2024, and two members claimed they had gone on such “actions” at least 20 times.
Local residents repeatedly complained to the police about the teenagers, but after the investigation into the crimes, the Investigative Committee found shortcomings in preventive work with minors. Several police officers were subjected to disciplinary action.
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