To remain updated on our newest investigations, be part of Bellingcat’s new WhatsApp channel right here.
Editor’s notice: Vladislav Gillung formally modified his title to Vladislav Romanov in his twenties. Though the primary recorded use of him as Romanov is from the interval between 2020 and 2022, we’ll seek advice from him as such all through many of the story for consistency.
In September 2019, a 21-year-old man named Vladislav Gillung registered as a candidate for Russia’s municipal elections within the metropolis of St. Petersburg.
Tweets by the previous marketing campaign chief for the anti-corruption activist and opposition candidate, Alexei Navalny, present that Gillung was trying to run as a part of the motion opposing Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
The native electoral committee refused his candidacy. Nevertheless, solely weeks later, he appeared to have switched sides as he attended an occasion for the pro-Putin United Russia get together.
Vladislav Gillung has since modified his title to Vladislav Romanov and have become near Rusich, a neo-Nazi paramilitary group that’s below western sanctions. Rusich members have been accused of, and co-founder Yan Petrovsky convicted of, battle crimes.
An investigation by Bellingcat has tracked Romanov from these early days in St. Petersburg, discovering that he seems to have assisted in Rusich’s fundraising and enterprise actions. He has even been pictured close to the entrance line in japanese Ukraine.
Romanov’s financial institution quantity has appeared in Rusich’s requires donations. On high of this, he’s listed because the individual promoting Rusich merchandise on a Russian webstore.
The cash Rusich makes in these ventures helps fund its operations, in line with consultants Bellingcat spoke to.
Help Bellingcat
Your donations instantly contribute to our capacity to publish groundbreaking investigations and uncover wrongdoing all over the world.
When Bellingcat reached out to Romanov by way of e-mail, he stated that he joined Navalny’s motion as a result of he “needed to enter politics and signify the pursuits of society”. He additionally acknowledged serving to run Rusich’s on-line retailer however denied working for the group. “I don’t work with Rusich. They simply requested somebody with expertise and schooling to take over their retailer, and I helped them out with out pay. I don’t see something particular about it,” Romanov stated. There is no such thing as a suggestion that he has been instantly concerned within the violent actions different members of the group have been accused of or discovered responsible of, nor has he been positioned below worldwide sanctions or been accused in any felony circumstances associated to the group.
Denis Mikhailov, a Navalny marketing campaign chief for the 2019 municipal elections, stated that he recalled Romanov. Mikhailov advised Bellingcat that Romanov was a “reserved and well-mannered man”, who “all the time listened greater than he talked”.
However it quickly grew to become obvious after the elections that their views differed on quite a lot of topics. “We talked about Ukraine, and he expressed that he sympathises with the so-called LPR/DPR,” breakaway areas of Luhansk and Donetsk in japanese Ukraine, Mikhailov stated.
Mikhailov has since left Russia as strain on these linked to the now deceased Navalny (who was poisoned by Russian secret service brokers in 2020 and died in jail in 2024) has elevated. He was not conscious that Romanov had moved in the direction of United Russia, however he stated he was not completely stunned by this flip of occasions. “I don’t bear in mind [Romanov’s] actual phrases, however, along with the subject of Ukraine, he stated one thing about Putin’s system being the one method to construct a political profession.”
When requested why he left the opposition motion, Romanov advised Bellingcat that he “grew to become very upset within the concepts of Navalny and his workforce”, as a result of they labored “to destabilise Russia”.
Simply two months after the 2019 municipal elections, Romanov was pictured at an occasion the place the branding of the youth wing of the United Russia get together was clearly seen.
Romanov advised Bellingcat that he “was once a member of each the youth wing and the United Russia get together itself”.
“I haven’t been a member for 3 years now, as politics not pursuits me. I desire my career” as a businessman, he stated.
The folks he posed with on the occasion included Monika Pakhomi, a council member of St. Petersburg’s Izmailovskoe district. Based on the council’s web site and VK web page, Pakhomi was awarded a medal for her work supporting the occupation of Ukraine by the regional All-Russia Individuals’s Entrance – an organisation below European Union sanctions. Pakhomi didn’t reply to requests for remark.
This picture allowed Bellingcat to seek for and establish additional footage of Romanov accessible on-line.
One picture posted to Twitter, now referred to as X, confirmed him armed and alongside outstanding Rusich fighters, together with Yan Petrovsky (who has been convicted of battle crimes by a Finnish courtroom) and the Russian nationalist politician, chairman of the Rodina get together, Alexey Zhuravlev (at the moment below worldwide sanctions), within the previously occupied metropolis of Izyum in japanese Ukraine. Bellingcat had beforehand reported on Zhuravlev’s journey to Izyum with out realising that Romanov had accompanied him there.
When Bellingcat requested him in regards to the journey, Romanov stated that he spent two days with Alexey Zhuravlev in Izyum, “to ship humanitarian help to the residents”, and the “LPR [Luhansk People’s Republic] fighters gave Alexey and me computerized weapons for a few pictures, and we took footage as a memento”.
He added that choice for the journey was dealt with by his college along side the Youth Parliament of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, which is why Zhuravlev was there.” Bellingcat sought to substantiate this with Romanov’s college, the St.Petersburg State College of Economics, however didn’t obtain a response earlier than publication.
“When requested if he ever fought in Ukraine, Romanov stated: “I by no means fought attributable to lack of coaching.” He additionally claimed that he “by no means joined Rusich”.
“Sadly, I’ve no army abilities, so even when I needed to affix, I couldn’t. I’m only a businessman,” he stated in messages over e-mail.
Rusich’s Merchandise Man
Rusich is a paramilitary group that has been an lively drive in Russia’s battle in Ukraine. A number of of its fighters have been concerned in Wagner operations in locations like Syria, Libya, and the Central African Republic.
Subscribe to the Bellingcat publication
Subscribe to our publication for first entry to our printed content material and occasions that our employees and contributors are concerned with, together with interviews and coaching workshops.
One former commander and founding member, Yan Petrovsky, has been convicted of battle crimes by a Finnish courtroom and one other, Alexey Milchakov, has been implicated in battle crimes.
The organisation and its leaders are below worldwide sanctions, and so are a few of its cryptocurrency wallets, however many individuals related to Rusich are nonetheless largely unknown to the general public. Vladislav Romanov was – till now – a kind of it seems has been working behind the scenes.
Within the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the group claimed to Meduza that it had an IT and a Monetary division that organised fundraisers and donations from supporters and was additionally lively in cybercrime.
On April 2, 2024, Rusich posted a message on Telegram stating that it was funded solely by means of organised fundraising and promoting.
But they now additionally promote their very own merchandise as properly, together with protein powders, key chains and Alexey Milchakov sticker packs.
Jonathan Deer, who has researched Rusich on the New America suppose tank, advised Bellingcat it was widespread for Rusich to say, “‘We’d like XYZ and we’d like it on this quantity. We’re requesting that you just both donate the merchandise itself or donate to us at this card quantity’”. Although this nonetheless occurs, Deer thinks requires donations have develop into much less frequent.
Rusich runs its personal web site to help with merchandise operations, however it makes use of Ozon.ru, a Russian webshop, as properly. The vendor on the Rusich Ozon web page is listed as Vladislav Konstaninovich Romanov, with items shipped from St. Petersburg.
Bellingcat seemed for this title on-line and located 4 people in a leaked Alfa-Financial institution database (Alfa-Financial institution is without doubt one of the largest non-public banks in Russia, at the moment below EU and US sanctions).
Considered one of these people was the proprietor of a card quantity ending in 1073. This similar card quantity, it transpires, appeared in messages from an previous Rusich Telegram channel. Though that channel not exists, some messages had been archived on TGStat, a web-based analytics device for Telegram, comparable to this one from 2022.
Within the messages, benefactors had been instructed to donate utilizing crypto or to simply switch cash to the Alfa-Financial institution card quantity that matched Romanov’s (ending in 1073).
A message on September 9, 2022, said Rusich had collected 900,000 Rubles (at the moment US $14,805). Two days later, they claimed to have obtained 1.2 million Rubles (then $19,740). Each messages listing Romanov’s Alfa-Checking account because the place the place donations must be despatched.
It isn’t doable to know for positive what Rusich spent the cash on. However the September 9 message did say the unit wanted all kinds of apparatus.
The truth that an account itemizing Romanov’s particulars seems to be dealing with cash for Rusich suggests he isn’t just a “grunt”, stated Deer of New America. Different open supply info gathered by Bellingcat, in the meantime, tied his title to additional income producing tasks.
Telephone Numbers and Contact Books
On June 9, 2025, the Rusich Telegram channel instructed folks to contact an account named “rozzkr” for ad-related inquiries. Equally, messages despatched to the Rusich Telegram channel obtain an automatic response asking those that wish to promote with them to contact rozzkr, their “supervisor”. Rozzkr seems to be linked to one in every of Romanov’s telephone numbers, which ends in 0663, and was seen in a number of leaked databases.
Based on the 2022 Yandex Meals information leak, for instance, a Yandex Meals account with this title and quantity was utilized in December 2021.
The rozzkr Telegram account itself incorporates little element. It features a first title that consists solely of numbers, an anonymised profile image and a seemingly random location. The account proprietor additionally added a regular message for all empty chats: a picture of Alexey Milchakov in camouflage uniform and a few accompanying textual content that claims it prices 100,000 Rubles to position an advert of their Telegram channel.
Value info from the rozzkr account is in keeping with what Rusich posted on Jan. 27, 2024, the place they stated the cash can be used for the group’s wants.
Romanov advised Bellingcat that the quantity ending in 0663 was “certainly an previous telephone quantity registered” to him. However he stated that in “round 2017-2018” one in every of his “acquaintances” requested to borrow his SIM card to register a piece Telegram account. “Judging by the whole lot, that is the one,” he stated, including that he didn’t know that “this quantity was nonetheless lively” and that he had no concept “who at the moment owns the @rozzkr account on Telegram”. Bellingcat tried to name the quantity and it did now look like inactive.
Romanov didn’t share who he gave the SIM card to or element why or how the telephone quantity continued for use in his title after 2018.
Different leaks additionally present a Vladislav Konstantovich Romanov offered the identical telephone quantity to a Russian courier service (CDEK) in 2021 and 2022.
Curiously, Bellingcat additionally seen on the Sherlock Telegram bot that one other quantity linked to the rozzkr account was used for cell banking by somebody named Vladislav Konstantinovich R – this aligns with Romanov’s first title, patronymich and the primary letter of his surname.
Bellingcat requested Romanov in regards to the second quantity linked to the account and known as the quantity itself. The quantity appeared to now be disconnected and Romanov didn’t reply to additional questions on this earlier than publication.
Leaked information from ZAGS (ЗАГС), Russia’s civil registration, reveals that Gillung legally modified his title to Romanov. Romanov stated his dad and mom divorced in his childhood and that Gillung is his mom’s surname. He determined to tackle his father’s surname “as is customary in Russia”.
Romanov can be instantly linked to Rusich-leader, Alexey Milchakov, by means of a telephone quantity each appeared to make use of at the very least as soon as.
Milchakov reveals up a number of instances in an information leak from the courier service, CDEK, typically utilizing a telephone quantity ending in 386. The identical quantity additionally seems with two different names within the CDEK leak: Anton Yakovlev and Vladislav Konstantinovich Gillung (Romanov’s earlier authorized title).
Romanov advised Bellingcat that “Alexey [Milchakov], an previous acquaintance of mine, as soon as requested me to select up a parcel for him when he was away.”
A Fb leak reveals that Milchakov used that quantity to create his now-deleted Fb web page.
Individuals utilizing Numbuster and GetContact, in the meantime, tagged the identical telephone quantity as belonging to Milchakov.
Contact e book apps like these harvest information from customers’ telephones and have been utilized in many investigations, comparable to Bellingcat’s Berlin Tiergarten assassination investigation (the place Numbuster and GetContact had been used) and the investigation into the loss of life of Colombian protestor, Lucas Villa (the place TrueCaller was used).
In Numbuster, one in every of Romanov’s telephone numbers (ending in 663 and that he used for his Yandex Meals account) is tagged as “Vlad United Russia St. Petersburg Youth Politics”.
Requested how he met Milchakov, Romanov claimed that they met at a gun store in St. Petersburg when he was shopping for his looking rifle.
Bellingcat contacted Rusich earlier than publication to ask in regards to the particulars on this story however didn’t obtain a response.
Aiganysh Aidarbekova contributed to this report for Bellingcat.
Bellingcat is a non-profit and the flexibility to hold out our work depends on the sort assist of particular person donors. If you want to assist our work, you are able to do so right here. You can even subscribe to our Patreon channel right here. Subscribe to our Publication and comply with us on Twitter right here and Mastodon right here.