Bogdan Yakimenko (Max Vertzinsky)
Moscow
26 yr old (born in 03.09.1999)
Address: 107996, г.Москва, ул. Матросская Тишина, дом 18, ФКУ СИЗО-1 УФСИН России по г. Москве ("Матросская тишина"), Якименко Богдан Тарасович, 1999 г.р.
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He is known among anti-fascists under the pseudonym Max Vertzinsky. At the time of his arrest, he was a first-year student at the Faculty of Law of the South Federal University, ran the Skinheads R.A.S.H group on VKontakte, and was the creator of the non-commercial antifascist clothing merch "Antifa United".
He was detained after a fight with a group of neo-Nazis on 5 January 2020 in Moscow, along with another persecuted man, Mikhail Ivanov. Supporters claim that Yakemenko did not use any weapons during the fight. The next day, officers of the Centre "E" and the FSB came to the department. According to the detainees, they pressurised and threatened them, trying to induce them to cooperate. A case of hooliganism and battery was opened against both of them. One of the attacking neo-Nazis became a victim in the case. Yakimenko was under house arrest, then under the signature on non-departure. On 15 September 2021 Yakimenko was sentenced to imprisonment. On 27 April 2022, the court of appeal overturned the sentence. On 29 May 2023 Yakimenko was sentenced to four years of forced labour.
Yakimenko attributes the attention from Centre "E" and the FSB to his own anti-fascist activism.
On 5 June 2024, he was detained in Rostov-on-Don on a case of creating an extremist community and taken to Moscow. Telegram channel Antifa ru wrote that Yakimenko was tortured with electric shocks, demanding that he refuse the services of a lawyer and stay in touch with human rights activists. On 10 June Yakimenko was sent to the pre-trial detention centre. Later it was reported that he was also charged with hooliganism, the details are unknown.
On 26 September 2024, the court of appeal cancelled the verdict in the first case. A new sentence was passed on 18 August 2025, details are unknown.
On 1 December 2025 Yakimenko was brought to court in the extremist community case with a broken arm.
You can read more about politically persecuted people in the Telegram channel OVD-Info LIVE and our database of politically motivated criminal prosecutions.
Bogdan Yakimenko (Max Vertzinsky)
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Address: 107996, г.Москва, ул. Матросская Тишина, дом 18, ФКУ СИЗО-1 УФСИН России по г. Москве ("Матросская тишина"), Якименко Богдан Тарасович, 1999 г.р.
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