Commander, Wagner Legion Istra
Олександр Сергійович Кузнєцов; Александр Сергеевич Кузнецов; Alexander Kuznetsov; Ratibor; Ратибор; Radimir; Varlaam Makarovich Martynov
Kirov Higher General Command School in St Petersburg; served in Chechnya during Second Chechen War; commanded Senezh GRU special forces training unit, Moscow
Aleksandr Kuznetsov, Andrey Bogatov, Dmitriy Utkin, and Andrey Troshev are identified as "relatives/associates”; Apti Alaudinov and Aleksandr Kuznetsov negotiated over the transfer of Wagner fighters to Spetsnaz Akhmat following the June 2023 mutiny and August 2023 death of Prigozhin; Andrey Bogatov, Dmitriy Utkin, Aleksandr Kuznetsov and Andrey Troshev all attended a Kremlin ceremony with Vladimir Putin; Bogatov, Utkin and Kuznetsov were all reportedly evacuated from Syria as part of a group of Slavonic Corps Limited “specialists” on 19 October 2013; historian Aleksandr Polishchuk claimed that Aleksandr Kuznetsov was a member of the group commanded by Aleksandr Bednov in Ukraine; Ruslan Zaprudskiy is Aleksandr Kuznetsov’s deputy within Wagner Legion Istra; Andrey Ivanov is Aleksandr Kuznetsov’s subordinate within Wagner Legion Istra; Igor Sukhodolskiy is Aleksandr Kuznetsov’s subordinate within Wagner Legion Istra; Ruslan Chlalyan is Aleksandr Kuznetsov’s subordinate within Wagner Legion Istra; Aleksandr Kuznetsov appeared on Vladimir Solovyev’s show in December 2022; Utkin, Bogatov and Kuznetsov were all among the Slavonic Corps Limited “specialists” evacuated from Syria on 19 October 2013
Brief description
Aleksandr Kuznetsov is one of the most famous Wagner commanders. He has fought in multiple countries and was part of Wagner’s Council of Commanders. He now leads Wagner Legion Istra, one of the groups set up by the Ministry of Defence to replace Wagner following the death of Wagner owner Yevgeniy Prigozhin.
Known associates
Person 1 | Person 2 | Details | Type of relationship | Core relationship |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Apti Alaudinov and Aleksandr Kuznetsov negotiated over the transfer of Wagner fighters to Spetsnaz Akhmat following the June 2023 mutiny and August 2023 death of Prigozhin. | Meeting | |||
Historian Aleksandr Polishchuk claimed that Aleksandr Kuznetsov was a member of the group commanded by Aleksandr Bednov in Ukraine. | Joint service | |||
Dmitriy Utkin, Andrey Bogatov and Aleksandr Kuznetsov were all among the Slavonic Corps Limited “specialists” evacuated from Syria on 19 October 2013. | Joint service | |||
Wagner commanders Dmitriy Utkin, Andrey Troshev, Andrey Bogatov and Aleksandr Kuznetsov were all photographed together at a Kremlin award ceremony with Putin in December 2016 | Meeting | |||
Wagner commanders Dmitriy Utkin, Andrey Troshev, Andrey Bogatov and Aleksandr Kuznetsov were all photographed together at a Kremlin award ceremony with Putin in December 2016 | Meeting | |||
Dmitriy Utkin, Andrey Bogatov and Aleksandr Kuznetsov were all among the Slavonic Corps Limited “specialists” evacuated from Syria on 19 October 2013. | Joint service | |||
Wagner commanders Dmitriy Utkin, Andrey Troshev, Andrey Bogatov and Aleksandr Kuznetsov were all photographed together at a Kremlin award ceremony with Putin in December 2016 | Meeting | |||
Aleksandr Kuznetsov appeared on Vladimir Solovyev’s show in December 2022. | Meeting |
In-depth profile
Date profile information last updated: 3 February 2025
Who is Wagner commander Aleksandr Kuznetsov (Ratibor)?
Aleksandr Kuznetsov leaders Wagner Legion Istra, one of the groups to succeed the Wagner group, and has been active across multiple conflict zones.
Aleksandr Kuznetsov (Ratibor) is the commander of Wagner Legion Istra, one of the groups to claim the legacy of the original private military company (PMC) Wagner. He joined Wagner in 2014 and was regarded as one of the group’s founders. His involvement with the group in many ways reflected Wagner’s global engagements: He has been active in Ukraine (twice), Syria, Libya, Sudan, and the Central African Republic. However, little open-source information is available on Kuznetsov’s relationships within Wagner and he has not publicly displayed any ‘political’ ambitions. Despite his extensive involvement with the group, he has not been sanctioned by key Western states, highlighting gaps in sanctions regimes.
Overview
- Kuznetsov: Wagner’s global operative
- Open-source information about Kuznetsov’s relationships inside and outside Wagner limited
- Commander Kuznetsov’s road to Wagner
- Digital Kuznetsov: The Wagner commander’s limited online presence
- An inconsistent global response to Wagner commander Kuznetsov
- Sources
Kuznetsov: Wagner’s global operative
Kuznetsov is a former military commander who fought with separatists in Donbas, Ukraine in 2014 (Rondeaux, Imhof and Margolin, 2021). Since then, he has been involved in PMC operations in Syria (Sukhankin, 2019), Libya (Meduza, 2019), Sudan (CNN, 2022), Central African Republic (Uncoveringwagner.org, undated), and again in Ukraine (Kartoteka, 2023). He was the commander of Wagner’s 1st Attack and Reconnaissance Company and a member of its Council of Commanders, the body that coordinates its operations (Kuryer.Sreda, 2023; BBC Russian Service, 2023).
Kuznetsov’s activities in many ways reflect not only Wagner’s global footprint, but also the evolution of Russian PMCs more broadly. He initially fought in Donbas with Rusich, the far-right paramilitary group that is now considered part of Wagner (Warheroes.ru, undated; Rondeaux, Imhof and Margolin, 2021). He then served in Syria in 2016 with the Moran Security Group, which provided the foundations for the emergence of Wagner (11). Kuznetsov was photographed attending an awards ceremony at the Kremlin in December 2016 alongside Dmitriy Utkin, Andrey Troshev, and Andrey Bogatov, and Novaya Gazeta has argued that these four men can be considered “the founders of PMC Wagner” (Novaya Gazeta, 2023). Most reporting simply dates Kuznetsov’s first involvement with Wagner to 2014.
Kuznetsov was seriously wounded fighting with Wagner in Libya in late 2019, receiving medical treatment in St Petersburg (Meduza, 2019). Subsequently, CNN has claimed that Kuznetsov has overseen the gold-processing operations of the Wagner-affiliated company Meroe Gold in Sudan (CNN, 2022). He was appointed commander of the 1st Attack and Reconnaissance Company in December 2021 (Kuryer.Sreda, 2023). Kuznetsov returned to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February 2022 (Kartoteka, 2023) and, in December 2022, he featured in a video report from the frontline published by prominent Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyev (VK, 2022).
Kuznetsov’s role in shaping Wagner’s future
Gulagu.net claimed that Kuznetsov was in command of Wagner operations in the city of Rostov during Wagner’s attempted ‘coup’ on 23-24 June 2023 (Gulagu.net, 2023). If true, this would indicate that he was both involved in planning events and supportive of them. However, no further information is available to corroborate these claims.
It was reported in April 2024 that Kuznetsov would lead a group of former Wagner fighters and join Spetsnaz Akhmat (Vazhnyye istorii, 2024).
Kuznetsov’s seniority within Wagner makes it likely that he will play an important role in shaping the group’s future following the death of Wagner owner Yevgeniy Prigozhin in August 2023. However, available open-source information does not point to any political ambitions to lead the group and he has not been observed to make any statements about its future or any of the candidates to replace Prigozhin.
Open-source information about Kuznetsov’s relationships inside and outside Wagner limited
Family
Kuznetsov is married with two children. Biographical details of his family are reported on the internet but excluded from this report because of a lack of evidence that they are involved in any illegal or PMC-related activity.
Business interests
None reported.
Commander Kuznetsov’s road to Wagner
Professional background and criminal record
Kuznetsov is a professional soldier. In a video posted to video-sharing platform RuTube, Kuznetsov claimed that he had been part of a unit operating in Georgia that had pursued Chechen rebel fighter Khamzat Gelayev, who was killed in 2004 (RuTube, 2023). In 2008, Kuznetsov served as company commander of a Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) special forces unit stationed in Solnechnogorsk, Moscow Oblast (Fontanka.ru, 2017; Novaya Gazeta, 2023).
Also in 2008, Kuznetsov was arrested on suspicion of abduction and robbery. He was eventually sentenced in 2010 and served time in a colony in Nizhniy Novgorod Oblast, before a court reduced his sentence and granted him parole in April 2013 (Fontanka.ru, 2017). As outlined above, Kuznetsov became involved in PMC activities in 2014, shortly after his release.
Digital Kuznetsov: The Wagner commander’s limited online presence
Kuznetsov appears to have a private and inactive profile on OK: https://ok.ru/profile/552694694515 and an empty profile on VK: https://m.vk.com/id722026054 (Mirotvorets, undated).
There is also a VK account that uses Aleksandr Kuznetsov’s name and profile picture: https://vk.com/aleksandrkuznecov104. Recent posts relate to Wagner, but older ones are primarily concerned with various films, and there is no evidence to suggest the profile actually belongs to Wagner’s Kuznetsov. Even if it does, the posts contain nothing of evident interest and the profile was inactive for several years.
An inconsistent global response to Wagner commander Kuznetsov
Kuznetsov was sanctioned by the European Union on 13 December 2021, on the grounds that he was “responsible for the Wagner Group’s activities that threaten the peace, stability and security of Libya” (Official Journal of the European Union, 2021). Switzerland has sanctioned him on the same grounds. He was sanctioned by Ukraine on 26 February 2023 for his activities in that country (President of Ukraine, 2023). The UK sanctioned him for his activities in Ukraine on 7 November 2024 (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, 2024).
As of the time of researching this profile, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada have not sanctioned Kuznetsov, despite his prominent and global role within the group. This illustrates an ongoing problem with inconsistent approaches to sanctioning among Western partners.
