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Miguel Krassnoff | |
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| Born | Mikhail Semyonovich Krasnov (1946-02-15)15 February 1946 (age 79) |
| Nationality | Chilean |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated atPunta Peuco Prison |
| Parent(s) | Simon Krasnov (father) Dina Marchenko (mother) |
| Relatives | Pyotr Krasnov (grandfather) Nikolay Krasnov (great-grandfather) Ivan Krasnov (great-great-grandfather) Ivan Krasnov (great-great-great-great-grandfather) |
| Conviction | Crimes against humanity |
| Criminal penalty | 1,007 years imprisonment[1] |
Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko (bornMikhail Semyonovich Krasnov,Russian:Михаил Семёнович Краснов; born 15 February 1946) is a Chilean military official involved in human rights violations during thedictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. He held several high-ranking positions in thePinochet regime, including in the Chilean intelligence agency,DINA. As such, he was responsible for the interrogation, torture, and disappearance of political prisoners at the detention center,Villa Grimaldi. After Pinochet's demise, Krassnoff was convicted by Chilean courts ofcrimes against humanity.
His father, Semyon Krasnov was a RussianWhite Army soldier who, after the Empire's defeat in theRussian Civil War, fled toYugoslavia and then toFrance, arriving in Nazi Germany in 1942. After the defeat of Germany inWorld War II, he was extradited back to theSoviet Union along with his father,Pyotr Krasnov. There, both men were put on trial and executed. As a result of this, young Miguel and his mother, Dina Marchenko, fled to Chile.[2][3]
Semyon's father and Miguel's grandfather, Pyotr Krasnov, was aDon Cossack historian andLieutenant General who became one of the leaders of thecounter-revolutionaryWhite movement and later a Nazi collaborator who mobilized Cossack forces to fight against the Soviet Union during World War II.[4]
He grew up speaking Russian at home and learned about the experiences of his ancestors. He believed that it was his fate to fight against communism but denies that he ever acted in the name of family revenge.[3]
Krassnoff was schooled at theSchool of the Americas, then located inPanama, before he returned toChile.[5] Upon returning to Chile, he served as Professor of Ethics at the Chilean Military Academy. On 11 September 1973, still serving his professorship, Krassnoff participated in the assault on the house of Chile's socialist president,Salvador Allende, which culminated in the1973 Chilean coup d'état.[3]
After the coup, he was appointed to theNational Intelligence Directorate (DINA)—the Chilean secret police—underManuel Contreras. Krassnoff became director of the agency's twoHalcón (Falcon) units, which were part of theCaupolicán Group. In turn, the group reported to theBrigada de Inteligencia Metropolitana (BIM).[6] The BIM was ultimately responsible for suppressing political opposition in theSantiago region and the operation of detention camps in the region, including the Villa Grimaldi. The fate of the prisoners was decided by the group commanders and then relayed to the DINA headquarters via the BIM.[7]
In 1979, after the dissolution of DINA, Krassnoff was assigned to Defence Intelligence. He later regretted that he was barred from becoming military attaché to the Soviet Union or securing a promotion to the rank of general because of his previous involvement in DINA.[3]
Krasnoff was one of the army officers involved in planning and administering Villa Grimaldi, the detention camp implicated in the torture of Chilean citizens under the Pinochet regime.[8] He is referenced several times in the testimonies ofLuz Arce, a prisoner and torture victim at Villa Grimaldi and later a collaborator with the regime.[9] In 2006, Krassnoff was sentenced to 144 years imprisonment for over 20 counts of crimes against humanity.[10][11] In 2016, he was also sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for the 1974 abduction ofJosé Ramírez Rosales.[12]
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