Vadim Krasikov

Vadim Krasikov
Vadim Krasikov
	; Krasikov in 2024
Born	Vadim Nikolayevich Krasikov; 10 August 1965 (age 61); Template:Ill, Baydibek District, Chimkent Region, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union

Vadim Nikolayevich Krasikov is a Russian who was imprisoned in Germany for killing exiled Chechen militia leader Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin's Kleiner Tiergarten, in August 2019.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Journalists have linked Krasikov to two other murders, in Russia.^[4]

The Khangoshvili killing

Vadim Krasikov approached Khangoshvili on a bicycle, prior to shooting him.^[2]^[4] He was seen ditching his gun, and other evidence, by teenagers, who phoned in a tip, to police. He subsequently hopped on a nearby scooter, but was arrested based on the phoned in tip.

Krasikov was carrying false identity papers, that said he was Vadim Solokov, and authorities were not immediately able to identify him as Krasikov.^[5]

The trial

The exchange

The Guardian reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin made clear that Krasikov was the prisoner he most wanted to see released during an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson.^[6] They reported:

Putin alluded to Krasikov in an interview with the rightwing US media personality Tucker Carlson in February, saying the release of Gershkovich could be secured in a prison swap involving a man whom he described as a “patriot” serving a life sentence in a “US-allied country” after being convicted of “liquidating a bandit”.^[6]

In all 24 prisoners were exchanged.^[7] 16 Western journalists, and Russian dissidents were released from Russian prisons, in exchange for 8 Russians held by the west.

Russian authorities acknowledged Krasikov was an FSB agent, after his repatriation.^[8]

References

↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named CenterDossier2019
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 "The Story of Vadim Krasikov: The Kremlin's Favorite Assassin" (video). The Christo Files via YouTube. 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
↑ "Who are the prisoners in the Russia-West swap?". BBC News. 2024-08-01. Archived from the original on 2025-02-10. Retrieved 2025-02-08. One of the most high-profile prisoners to be released back to Russia is Federal Security Service (FSB) agent Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 murder of an exiled Chechen commander in a Berlin park.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 "Suspected Accomplice in Berlin Tiergarten Murder Identified as FSB/Vympel Officer". bell¿ngcat (www.bellingcat.com). 2020-08-29. Archived from the original on 2020-08-29. Retrieved 2024-09-17. Exactly one year ago this week, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen and former Chechen rebel commander, was shot dead in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten. The killer – traveling under the guise of a tourist and using a Russian passport in the name of Vadim Sokolov – was arrested by Berlin police following a tip-off from two teenagers who had seen him dispose of evidence into a river.
↑ "Berlin Chechen shooting: Russian assassination suspected". BBC News. 2019-09-17. Archived from the original on 2024-12-07. Retrieved 2019-09-17. The suspect, named only as Vadim S, reportedly had a large sum of cash in his flat, searched by investigators. He has been formally accused of 'treacherous killing'. Vadim S travelled to Berlin from Moscow via Paris a few days before the attack, and had a return ticket to Moscow, German media report.
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Deborah Cole (2024-08-01). "German decision to release FSB hitman in prisoner swap 'not taken lightly'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2024-12-22. The German government has said it did not take the decision to release a jailed FSB hitman lightly, as it confirmed its involvement in a historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the west.
↑ Neil MacFarquar (2024-08-01). "Who Is the Russian Assassin Freed as Part of a Sweeping Prisoner Swap?". The New York Times. p. A10. Retrieved 2025-02-08. The deal also included numerous Russian political dissidents that the Kremlin released from jail, while Western nations traded eight Russian prisoners. Mr. Krasikov, in his late 50s, appeared to be the linchpin of the multifaceted deal, since Mr. Putin himself indicated that was whom he wanted.
↑ Valerie Hopkins. "Russian Dissident Says He Was Traded Against His Will in Inmate Swap". The New York Times. Bonn. p. A5. Archived from the original on 2024-09-27. Retrieved 2024-08-04. After he was returned to Moscow, the Kremlin acknowledged that Mr. Krasikov was an operative of the F.S.B., one of the intelligence agencies that grew out of the Soviet K.G.B.

[CenterDossier2019-1] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named CenterDossier2019

[ChristoFiles2024-03-06-2] 2.0 ^2.1 "The Story of Vadim Krasikov: The Kremlin's Favorite Assassin" (video). The Christo Files via YouTube. 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2025-02-08.

[bbc2024-08-01-3] "Who are the prisoners in the Russia-West swap?". BBC News. 2024-08-01. Archived from the original on 2025-02-10. Retrieved 2025-02-08. One of the most high-profile prisoners to be released back to Russia is Federal Security Service (FSB) agent Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 murder of an exiled Chechen commander in a Berlin park.

[bellingcat29082020-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 "Suspected Accomplice in Berlin Tiergarten Murder Identified as FSB/Vympel Officer". bell¿ngcat (www.bellingcat.com). 2020-08-29. Archived from the original on 2020-08-29. Retrieved 2024-09-17. Exactly one year ago this week, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen and former Chechen rebel commander, was shot dead in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten. The killer – traveling under the guise of a tourist and using a Russian passport in the name of Vadim Sokolov – was arrested by Berlin police following a tip-off from two teenagers who had seen him dispose of evidence into a river.

[Bbc2019-09-17-5] "Berlin Chechen shooting: Russian assassination suspected". BBC News. 2019-09-17. Archived from the original on 2024-12-07. Retrieved 2019-09-17. The suspect, named only as Vadim S, reportedly had a large sum of cash in his flat, searched by investigators. He has been formally accused of 'treacherous killing'. Vadim S travelled to Berlin from Moscow via Paris a few days before the attack, and had a return ticket to Moscow, German media report.

[theguardian2024-08-01-6] 6.0 ^6.1 Deborah Cole (2024-08-01). "German decision to release FSB hitman in prisoner swap 'not taken lightly'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2024-12-22. The German government has said it did not take the decision to release a jailed FSB hitman lightly, as it confirmed its involvement in a historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the west.

[Nytimes2024-08-01-7] Neil MacFarquar (2024-08-01). "Who Is the Russian Assassin Freed as Part of a Sweeping Prisoner Swap?". The New York Times. p. A10. Retrieved 2025-02-08. The deal also included numerous Russian political dissidents that the Kremlin released from jail, while Western nations traded eight Russian prisoners. Mr. Krasikov, in his late 50s, appeared to be the linchpin of the multifaceted deal, since Mr. Putin himself indicated that was whom he wanted.

[Nytimes2024-08-02-8] Valerie Hopkins. "Russian Dissident Says He Was Traded Against His Will in Inmate Swap". The New York Times. Bonn. p. A5. Archived from the original on 2024-09-27. Retrieved 2024-08-04. After he was returned to Moscow, the Kremlin acknowledged that Mr. Krasikov was an operative of the F.S.B., one of the intelligence agencies that grew out of the Soviet K.G.B.

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