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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/Maniac Murder Cult.md
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@ -13,22 +13,22 @@ start: 2017
location: "Dnipro, Ukraine (online, global)"
created: 2026-05-21
updated: 2026-10-04
summary: "Maniac Murder Cult (MKY) is a Ukrainian neo-Nazi accelerationist network whose 'Murder Points' system rewards escalating real-world violence, proscribed by the UK and Canada in 2025, with leader Michail Chkhikvishvili sentenced to 15 years in U.S. federal prison in 2026."
summary: "Maniac Murder Cult (MKY) is a Ukrainian-founded neo-Nazi accelerationist network rewarding escalating violence through 'Murder Points,' proscribed by the UK and Canada in 2025; its leader Michail Chkhikvishvili received 15 years in 2026."
---
[[Maniac Murder Cult]] (also known as MKY, MKU, MMC, Maniacs Murder Cult, and Maniacs: Cult of Killing) is a neo-Nazi accelerationist organization founded in [[Dnipro]], [[Ukraine]], approximately 2017-2018 by [[Yegor Krasnov]] ("Maniac") when he was approximately 16 years old. It combines explicit national socialism, theistic Satanism, and extreme misanthropy into an ideology it calls [[Racial Holy War|RaHoWa]] (Racial Holy War), and it implements a tiered "Murder Points" reward system that incentivizes escalating real-world violence as a form of organizational advancement. The group's self-declared terrorist identity and its encouragement of livestreamed attacks distinguishes it analytically from purely nihilistic networks within [[The Com]] ecosystem. The UK proscribed MKY as a terrorist organization on July 2, 2025; Canada listed it alongside [[764 Network|764]] and [[Terrorgram Collective]] on December 10, 2025.[^1]
### Origins in Dnipro
Krasnov founded the group in Dnipro after an alleged expulsion from another far-right formation, taking approximately 15 members with him. The group's first branded content (short videos of street attacks) appeared on the Russian imageboard 2chan in 2018, then migrated to VK and [[Telegram]] in 2019. The name derives from Krasnov's alias and the group's ideological framing of murder as a spiritual and political act.
The Haters Handbook (third edition, 2023) says Krasnov founded the group after being pushed out of an ultra-nationalist group, and claims MKY has been active since 2017.[^2] [[Kommersant]], citing [[Federal Security Service|FSB]] information, wrote in 2023 that he had belonged to several neo-Nazi organizations in Ukraine but did not fit in.[^3] The group's first branded content (short videos of street attacks) appeared on the Russian imageboard [[2chan]] in 2018, then migrated to [[VKontakte|VK]] and [[Telegram]] in 2019.[^1]
Ukrainian authorities arrested Krasnov in 2020, after which [[Michail Chkhikvishvili]] assumed operational leadership. Chkhikvishvili, a Georgian national who used the alias "Commander Butcher," expanded the network's international reach and shifted its recruitment toward Telegram and [[Wire]]/[[Matrix]] for encrypted internal communications distinct from its public-facing channels.[^2]
Police in Dnipro detained Krasnov in January 2020 after a knife attack on the city embankment was filmed and posted online;[^4] by March 2021 he was on trial in the Kirovskyi district court of Dnipro with a co-defendant on robbery and attempted murder charges, and was still directing MKY Telegram channels from jail.[^5] After his arrest, [[Michail Chkhikvishvili]] assumed operational leadership. Chkhikvishvili, a Georgian national who used the alias "Commander Butcher," expanded the network's international reach and shifted its recruitment toward Telegram and [[Wire]]/[[Matrix]] for encrypted internal communications distinct from its public-facing channels.[^2]
### Ideology and Murder Points System
MKY's ideological framework combines three elements: neo-Nazi accelerationism (the belief that mass violence against Jews, racial minorities, and LGBTQ+ individuals will precipitate societal collapse and enable a fascist reconstitution), theistic Satanism drawn from [[Order of Nine Angles|O9A]]-adjacent traditions, and a misanthropic exaltation of serial killers and mass murderers as exemplary figures. Venerated "saints" include the 2019 [[Brenton Tarrant|Christchurch]] attacker, [[Ted Kaczynski]] (the Unabomber), and the [[Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs]] - three Ukrainian teenagers who filmed and distributed murders in 2007.
The "Murder Points" system operationalizes this ideology through a formal rank structure: crimes earn different point values (higher for more severe acts), with accumulated points translating to elevated rank within the network. A documented tier hierarchy means members progress from vandalism through assault to arson to terrorism and murder, with the network's internal status architecture rewarding escalation. This distinguishes MKY from the largely status-driven nihilism of other Com subgroups: MKY's violence serves both internal rank and stated ideological goals.[^3]
The "Murder Points" system operationalizes this ideology through a formal rank structure: crimes earn different point values (higher for more severe acts), with accumulated points translating to elevated rank within the network. A documented tier hierarchy means members progress from vandalism through assault to arson to terrorism and murder, with the network's internal status architecture rewarding escalation. This distinguishes MKY from the largely status-driven nihilism of other Com subgroups: MKY's violence serves both internal rank and stated ideological goals.[^6]
### International Reach and Attributed Violence
@ -40,23 +40,30 @@ Though Ukrainian in origin, MKY expanded internationally through Telegram recrui
[[Nashville]], [[Tennessee]] (January 22, 2025): [[Solomon Henderson]], 17, shot and killed student [[Josselin Corea Escalante]] at Antioch High School before dying by suicide. Henderson's manifesto cited MKY and named Chkhikvishvili specifically. Nashville Metropolitan Police Department's January 2026 investigative update concluded Henderson had no co-conspirators and that there was no evidence of direct operational direction from MKY.
[[Sweden]] (2024): A 14-year-old known online as "Slain764" stabbed two elderly individuals; at least six additional attacks were recorded and promoted on Telegram by this individual before their arrest in September 2024. The ISD and ADL attribute this activity to the intersection of 764 and MKY networks.[^4]
[[Sweden]] (2024): A 14-year-old known online as "Slain764" stabbed two elderly individuals; at least six additional attacks were recorded and promoted on Telegram by this individual before their arrest in September 2024. The ISD and ADL attribute this activity to the intersection of 764 and MKY networks.[^7]
### Prosecutions and Designations
The primary prosecution of MKY leadership was brought by the [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Department of Justice]] against Michail Chkhikvishvili in the Eastern District of New York. Chkhikvishvili was indicted in July 2024 for soliciting hate crimes and planning a mass casualty attack in New York City. He was arrested in [[Chisinau]], Moldova in July 2024 and extradited to the United States in May 2025. He pleaded guilty in November 2025 and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon in May 2026.
Yegor Krasnov, the founder, was arrested by Ukrainian authorities in 2020. His subsequent legal status under Ukrainian law has not been reported in English-language sources.
Krasnov was held in the Dnipro pre-trial detention center while on trial in 2021. The FSB said in December 2021 that he acted under the patronage of Ukrainian special services, which the [[Security Service of Ukraine]] called false.[^8][^9] The [[Basmanny District Court]] of [[Moscow]] arrested him in absentia on February 14, 2022 on a charge of murdering two or more persons, and the [[Supreme Court of Russia]] designated MKU a terrorist organization on January 16, 2023, on a claim by Prosecutor General [[Igor Krasnov]].[^10][^11]
Alongside the U.S. prosecution, the UK proscribed MKY as a terrorist organization on July 2, 2025, making membership a criminal offense in England and Wales. Canada designated MKY as a terrorist entity on December 10, 2025, in the same order that designated 764 and Terrorgram Collective.[^5]
Alongside the U.S. prosecution, the UK proscribed MKY as a terrorist organization on July 2, 2025, making membership a criminal offense in England and Wales. Canada designated MKY as a terrorist entity on December 10, 2025, in the same order that designated 764 and Terrorgram Collective.[^12]
A [[Limestone County, Alabama|Limestone County]], Alabama indictment reported on December 5, 2025 names MKU (Maniac Murder Cult), 764 and [[No Lives Matter]] as groups with which [[Carson Albert Butler]] allegedly conspired against [[Athens High School]] students and staff; see [[Athens High School Terrorism Case]].[^6]
A [[Limestone County, Alabama|Limestone County]], Alabama indictment reported on December 5, 2025 names MKU (Maniac Murder Cult), 764 and [[No Lives Matter]] as groups with which [[Carson Albert Butler]] allegedly conspired against [[Athens High School]] students and staff; see [[Athens High School Terrorism Case]].[^13]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Argentino, Marc-Andre, Gay, Arthur, and Bastin, Naomi. "Nihilism and Terror: How M.K.Y. Is Redefining Terrorism, Recruitment, and Mass Violence." CTC Sentinel, Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. August/September 2024. https://ctc.westpoint.edu/nihilism-and-terror-how-m-k-y-is-redefining-terrorism-recruitment-and-mass-violence/
[^2]: Argentino, Marc-Andre. "Brotherhood of Blood: Understanding the Origins and Trajectory of the Maniac Murder Cult." GNET, December 4, 2024. https://gnet-research.org/2024/12/04/brotherhood-of-blood-understanding-the-origins-and-trajectory-of-the-maniac-murder-cult/
[^3]: ADL. "764." https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/764
[^4]: ADL. "Antioch, Tenn. Shooter Inspired by Broad Extremist Beliefs and Previous Mass Killers." https://www.adl.org/resources/article/antioch-tenn-shooter-inspired-broad-extremist-beliefs-and-previous-mass-killers; ISD. "From sextortion to violence: The threat of the 764 network in the US." https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/from-sextortion-to-violence-the-evolving-threat-of-the-764-network-in-the-us/
[^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, OPA. "Georgian National Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Soliciting Hate Crimes and Planning Mass Casualty Attack." May 2026. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/georgian-national-sentenced-15-years-prison-soliciting-hate-crimes-and-planning-mass; Government of Canada. "Government of Canada Lists Four New Terrorist Entities." December 10, 2025. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2025/12/government-of-canada-lists-four-new-terrorist-entities0.html
[^6]: Wesley Tomlinson, "Indictment: Teen committed terrorism, attempted murder targeting Athens High staff, students," The Decatur Daily, December 5, 2025, https://www.decaturdaily.com/news/limestone_county/indictment-teen-committed-terrorism-attempted-murder-targeting-athens-high-staff-students/article_f6921221-e422-4cb9-a33d-acc4b3430aa4.html
[^3]: Aleksey Sokovnin, "ВС запретил движение МКУ," Kommersant, January 16, 2023. https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5773015
[^4]: Valentyna Letiak, "Різав ножем і знімав на відео: у Дніпрі затримали 19-річного маніяка," Fakty ICTV, January 29, 2020. https://fakty.com.ua/ua/proisshestvija/20200129-rizav-nozhem-i-znimav-na-video-u-dnipri-zatrymaly-19-richnogo-maniyaka/
[^5]: Andrey Soshnikov, "Что такое «М.К.У.». Рассказываем о «культе» убийств, созданном украинскими скинхедами, и его последователях в России," Current Time, March 26, 2021. https://www.currenttime.tv/a/chto-takoe-m-k-u/31171118.html
[^6]: ADL. "764." https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/764
[^7]: ADL. "Antioch, Tenn. Shooter Inspired by Broad Extremist Beliefs and Previous Mass Killers." https://www.adl.org/resources/article/antioch-tenn-shooter-inspired-broad-extremist-beliefs-and-previous-mass-killers; ISD. "From sextortion to violence: The threat of the 764 network in the US." https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/from-sextortion-to-violence-the-evolving-threat-of-the-764-network-in-the-us/
[^8]: "ФСБ сообщила о задержании 106 сторонников неонацистской группировки «М.К.У.»," Meduza, December 13, 2021. https://meduza.io/news/2021/12/13/fsb-soobschila-o-zaderzhanii-106-storonnikov-neonatsistskoy-gruppirovki-m-k-u-yakoby-sozdannoy-pod-rukovodstvom-ukrainskih-spetssluzhb
[^9]: Aleksey Aleksandrov, "«Из СИЗО создать такую разветвленную сеть сложно». Что в Украине знают об «основателе М.К.У.»," Current Time, December 14, 2021. https://www.currenttime.tv/a/iz-sizo-sozdat-takuyu/31608632.html
[^10]: "Суд в Москве заочно арестовал лидера украинской радикальной группировки «М.К.У.»," Kommersant, February 15, 2022. https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5216949
[^11]: "Верховный суд России объявил движение «М.К.У.» террористической организацией," Meduza, January 16, 2023. https://meduza.io/news/2023/01/16/verhovnyy-sud-rossii-priznal-dvizhenie-m-k-u-manyaki-kult-ubiystv-terroristicheskoy-organizatsiey
[^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, OPA. "Georgian National Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Soliciting Hate Crimes and Planning Mass Casualty Attack." May 2026. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/georgian-national-sentenced-15-years-prison-soliciting-hate-crimes-and-planning-mass; Government of Canada. "Government of Canada Lists Four New Terrorist Entities." December 10, 2025. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2025/12/government-of-canada-lists-four-new-terrorist-entities0.html
[^13]: Wesley Tomlinson, "Indictment: Teen committed terrorism, attempted murder targeting Athens High staff, students," The Decatur Daily, December 5, 2025, https://www.decaturdaily.com/news/limestone_county/indictment-teen-committed-terrorism-attempted-murder-targeting-athens-high-staff-students/article_f6921221-e422-4cb9-a33d-acc4b3430aa4.html