Introduction
As heavy metal music begins to play on a video, a black and white face appears on the screen, eyes cold and staring into the viewer. Written across the person’s face in English are the words “Please stop me.”
The still image quickly changes to a video of a man on the ground. Three unseen individuals, including the person holding the camera, beat and kick the man as the letters “M.K.Y.” are superimposed over the footage. Less than 20 seconds long, this is only one in a series of videos from the extremist group Maniac Murder Cult or Маньяки: культ убийства in Russian — often abbreviated as “MKY,” “MKU,” or “MMC” — whose members released the footage over the social media platforms Telegram and VKontakte.
MKY can be placed among other militant accelerationist groups that advocate for acts of violence in order to bring down the current social order. Specifically, MKY exists amid a network of threat actors called “The Com” (or “The Community) — which includes groups like 764, No Lives Matter (NLM), NSO9A, and others. With membership requirements demanding extortion, abuse, and violence — both online and offline — MKY literature instructs would-be members to participate in various degrees of offline criminality, including assault, murder, and terrorism to maintain their membership. While there are many elements of white supremacy, National Socialism and neo-Nazi occultism, the purpose of MKY’s activities is to spread disorder and chaos with the purpose of building the organisation’s notoriety rather than clearly political or revolutionary ends.
Through examination of reports from law enforcement, the small body of research conducted on the group, as well as social media postings and publications produced by MKY, this Insight will explore the new emerging threat the group presents.
Image shared on Maniac Murder Cult’s since deleted Telegram channel. Source: Telegram
Origin and Spread of the Maniacs
Much of the information about the origins of MKY comes from the organisation itself and Russian state media sources. Sometimes contradictory, this makes corroboration and verification of the available sources difficult. What is known, based on social media postings, is that MKY was initially formed in Dnipro, Ukraine, and later spread into Russia and Western Europe. Writings from the group allege that MKY began in 2017, though according to Accelerationist Research Consortium research fellow Marc-André Argentino, who has studied and written about MKY extensively, the first official MKY videos were not posted until 2018 on the web forum 2chan.
The group was founded by the pseudonymous figure “Egor Yakovlev.” Russian authorities claim this person was the then-21-year-old Yegor Krasnov, a Ukrainian national. Also using the name Maniac, images of Krasnov show a young man covered in crude tattoos depicting white nationalist, neo-Nazi, and horror movie iconography. Images are often edited to cover Krasnov’s face with anime characters or others, while sometimes he is unmasked.
Side-by-side images of Yegor Krasnov (AKA Maniac AKA Egor Yakovlev) shared on Telegram channels associated with the Maniac Murder Cult. Source: Telegram
In the third edition of the MKY publication Haters Handbook, an alleged autobiography of Krasnov details a turbulent homelife, the formation of MKY, and its growth and spread. Claiming that Krasnov was the child of abusive teenage parents, it details an early interest in horror movies, murders, Nazism, skinheads, school shootings, and serial killers. In 2015, at the age of 14, Krasnov allegedly killed a sleeping homeless man. Soon after, the text reports him participating in the football hooligan scene and developing connections with neo-Nazis. Little of Krasnov’s origins can be verified, though some details line up with the available evidence. Pictures shared in Telegram channels dedicated to him after his arrest show a young Krasnov attending football matches. Several of the victims shown during MYK’s later video releases also appear to be homeless.
Images of Yegor Krasnov and friends while attending matches for Football Club Dynamo Kyiv, shared on a Telegram channel dedicated to Krasnov and the Maniac Murder Cult. In the image on the right, Krasnoc’s hand tattoo is visible. Source: Telegram
MKY was formed, the publication claims, after Krasnov was pushed out of an ultra-nationalist group. The organisation started recruiting like-minded individuals in Dnipro, greater Ukraine, and Russia. By 2019, short videos of street fights and attacks on random people, some of whom appear to be living on the street, were being shared on VK. In total, 38 videos branded as MKY products were released on Telegram and VK, purporting to show assaults, stabbings, and more. The videos and images shared on Telegram make use of symbolism related to neo-Nazi skinhead culture. This includes overt iconography like swastikas and the Sieg Hail salute as well as more distinctive markers such as white boot laces and red suspenders—typically denoting belonging to the National Socialist skinhead subculture rather than other branches.
A Ukrainian tabloid reports that Krasnov was arrested in 2020 for attacks in the Dnieper region, including an assault on two individuals who were reportedly sprayed with tear gas, beaten, stabbed, and robbed. Police alleged at the time that Krasnov and seven others were responsible for five different attacks. Previous research into MKY found the videos contained recordings of 33 different attacks in Dnipro alone.
“I convinced everyone that it was necessary to kill,” a biography purported to be written by Krasnov reads. “Convinced everyone that in order to achieve the common goal of the ideology it is necessary to kill all people. They followed me. We started to act. I created a cult of murder.”
The cover image of the Haters Handbook Third Edition showing an edited image of Yegor Krasnov.
In 2021, MKY arrests were reported in six Russian cities, including Gelendzhik, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tambov, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl. Reporting indicates that over the year, 18 people were arrested, though press releases from the Federal Security Service (FSB) claim to have carried out searches “against 106 supporters of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi youth group MKY.”
According to Russian Telegram channels, this included 17-year-old Mark Borzenko, who was arrested allegedly on his way to a Rostov-on-Don “military enlistment centre with 14 Molotov cocktails.” Many of the Russian claims of reporting and arrests related to MKY are dubious.
The group continued to produce materials and publish content online following its founder’s death and subsequent arrests of alleged MKY members. During this time, MKY’s reputation as a group for individuals willing to commit real-world violence spread, and the organization was able to form alliances with accelerationist networks in Western Europe and North America, underlining that MKY is a transnational force. Notably, this included the Atomwaffen Division/National Socialist Order offshoot, NSO9A.
In July 2024, the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District released a four-count indictment against Michail Chkhikvishvili, allegedly MKY’s new leader and who operated under the alias “Commander Butcher” within MKY. Charged for “soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence in New York City,” according to a press release from the US Department of Justice, Chkhikvishvili is alleged to have participated in soliciting and planning with an undercover law enforcement member to commit a mass casualty attack in New York City.
Following the news of his arrest, Injekt Division, another militant accelerationist organisation that has been recently releasing the personal information of members of misanthropic and Satanic movements, claimed Chkhikvishvili had previously lived in an apartment block in Tbilisi, Georgia and was employed by the military. A graphic from Inkjet Division includes a picture alleged to be of Chkhikvishvli in a military uniform.
Published Content: Recruitment, Rules, and Methods
Maniac Murder Cult spreads its violent propaganda via PDF manuals and stylised videos and images on social media platforms Telegram and VKontakte. The videos are overladen with loud music and depict beatings and stabbings of victims — all serving as propaganda material.
Still image from a Maniac Murder Cult video. Source: Telegram
Images from Maniac Murder Cult. Source: US Department of Justice
Manuals created by MKY offer practical tips on weapons selection, how to attack would-be victims, evade the law, manipulate people, and other nefarious tactics. In the third edition of the Hater’s Handbook credited to Chkhikvishvili, prospective members must answer detailed questions in an “entrance exam” and then complete varying degrees of criminal tasks before entry. These acts are divided into four categories. “Direct actions” include assault, murder, arson, and committing mass acts of terrorism. “IT” covers developing viruses, programs and websites; swatting; doxing; and hacking. “Recruitment/campaigning” involves bringing in new members, vandalism, and creating propaganda material. Points are also awarded for “microbiology”, which covers the creation of bioweapons, chemicals, and poisons. All actions must be documented with video or photos. In addition, members are exhorted to communicate in cloaked, secure apps such as Wire and Xabber.
MKY leadership assigns monthly “murder points” based on the type of criminal activity committed and the quality of the recordings. Members who fail to meet the required score without a valid reason may be punished. Punishments include suspension, expulsion, and ultimately, death for the most egregious of crimes—leaking or spreading false information about MKY.
MKY manuals, which dive into weapons and techniques and are attributed to Krasnov as the author, are used in conjunction with attack planning. Court documents from Chkhikvishvili’s case outline a cartoonish plan developed by Chkhikvishvili as he attempted to persuade the undercover officer to dress as Santa Claus and distribute poisoned candy to Jews and non-white children. He also supplied a manual on the use of “cold weapons” (knives, hammers, screwdrivers, and more) and the Manhunt Instruction, which explains how to escape law enforcement after committing killings.
Other manuals include a “murder guide,” authored by MKY and NLM, and contains a previously published Krasnov weapons manual and NLM content, text and images culled from various sources, including jihadists. The third edition of Haters Handbook, by far the longest version, also contains essays by nexions from the Order of Nine Angles like Satanic Front and NSO9A.
Ramifications and Recommendations
The arrest of Chkhikvishvili this year and the dissemination of manuals and digital propaganda in English, demonstrate an intense motivation to plan or inspire violence in the West. While MKY is only one group with a small following, it exists among a much larger and pernicious network dedicated to enacting harm against what it views as a decadent and noxious society.
Because the group espouses violence — whether individual acts or mass casualty incidents — and exploits existing societal divisions, the MKY ethos is appealing to extremists radicalising online, specifically a subset of the militant accelerationists milieu.
MKY members’ reliance on secure, anonymous channels, in addition to the group’s emphasis on evading detection online and offline, is an increasing challenge for law enforcement when tracking MKY actions. Its statements, as reported by law enforcement MKY makes attempts to purge images and footage of identifying digital meta-data. Manuals give simple explanations for avoiding detection and capture after killing, alongside ideological justifications for the acts. The group’s heavy emphasis on real-world violence encourages peers to commit a range of attacks. The United States was of particular interest to Chkhikvishili due to the availability of firearms to make actions as impactful as possible.
Social media companies require diverse strategies to identify and remove extremist content like propaganda produced by MKY. A difficult task in a threat landscape dominated by small, adaptable, and often tech-savvy networks and a digital marketplace that includes platforms offering little moderation and anonymity as a package deal. Ultimately, the divides between national security and technological innovation will have to be bridged in a manner that both protects individual privacy and addresses emerging threats.
Peter Smith is a researcher focused on conflict and non-state extremist movements. An investigative journalist with the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, his work has appeared in CTC Sentinel, Militant Wire, Eurasianet, Lawfare and more.
Sharon Adarlos is an independent journalist, writer and artist with an interest in crime, conflict, and militant movements. She has written for Al Jazeera, The Wall Street Journal, American Banker, Princeton University, and others. Previously as a criminal justice reporter, she covered homicides and breaking news in New Jersey and New York City.