Janus Kostia Putkonen (born 16 January 1974 inPernå)[1] is a Finnish theater director, journalist, eurosceptic[2] and propagandist.[3] Putkonen was the editor-in-chief of the Verkkomedia website, which was active from 2011 to 2013. From 2015 to 2018, he was the director of the Russian-backed Donetsk Separatist Information Center Doni-News.[4] Since 2019, he has been the editor-in-chief ofMV-media. Putkonen focused Russian funded Doni-news and MV-media to support pro-Russian propaganda about theDonetsk People's Republic.[5][3]
In 1994 Putkonen participated onKerttu Selin [fi]'s Tähtimannekiini modeling contest and won.[6][7] Next year he was the press favorite of theMr. Finland [fi] competition, but did not place in the prize positions.[8]
In 2009 Putkonen moved to the city ofNakhon Sawan in Thailand with his family. In 2011 he started to work on his fake news outlet Verkkomedia, which was operated from his home office.[9]
The Kilvenmaa collective project was founded by Janus Putkonen in 2013 in the city ofAlajärvi.[10] It was supposedly an anti-capitalist commune based on conspiracy theories of society. Its story ended when Putkonen escaped his debts to Thailand. Afterwards participants revealed that all they did was smoke marijuana and post disinformation on the Internet on topics decided by Putkonen.[11]
In summer of 2015 Putkonen moved from Nakhon Sawan toDonetsk in Ukraine, while his wife and child stayed in Thailand.[2] Soon Ukrainiannon-governmental organizationMyrotvorets added Putkonen to their ‘Peacemaker’ list, on suspicion of cooperating with Russia and propaganda against Ukraine.[13][14]
In September 2016, Putkonen went public on offeringIlja Janitskin political asylum in theDonetsk People's Republic.[15] Putkonen also appeared on leaked mail dump known as Egorova Leaks. Tatiana Egorova was an employee of "DPR Ministry of Information".[16][17]
In 2017, Putkonen appeared on an episode ofViceland'sBig Night Out Ukraine. In it, Putkonen explains that he hopes Novorossiya will show an example of insurgence to other countries.[18] He has also been involved in recruiting Finns for the war in eastern Ukraine on the Russian side.[19][20]
Putkonen is the editor-in-chief of the Finnish fake news outletMV-media starting April 2019.[21]
In October 2022, Putkonen organized a friendship tour from Finland to Russia'sSt. Petersburg, with help from Kosti Heiskanen (whose real name is Konstantin Mikhailovich Lebedev[22]). This was branded as a trip organized by Fennomatkat, which is thought to be a subsidiary brand of Fennomaa. According to both Putkonen and Heiskanen they got help with travel documents from Rustravel Oy.[23] These kinds of friendship tours are echoes from the era ofSoviet Union. In Finland, there was even a company named Ystävyysmatkat ("Friendship Tours"), which was founded in 1977 and went bankrupt in 1991.[24][25]
Putkonen's parents are opera singerMarko Putkonen and theater director Tuovi Putkonen. He has two sisters, horse farm owner Esma Haddas and actress Krista Putkonen-Örn.[26][27] He has one child with his wife.[9][2]
^"Putkonen Janus Kostia".Center for Research of Signs of Crimes against the National Security of Ukraine, Peace, Humanity, and the International Law (in Ukrainian). 16 November 1974. Retrieved2022-04-12.
^"Finn leads Ukraine rebels' media effort". 2015-11-30. Retrieved2022-04-23.Putkonen has become a public figure in Ukraine, appearing on a 'Peacemaker' list maintained by Ukrainian activists.
