Miguel Krassnoff

His father, Semyon Krasnov, was a Russian White Army soldier who, after the Empire's defeat in the Russian Civil War, fled to Yugoslavia and then to France, arriving in Nazi Germany in 1942. After the defeat of Germany in World War II, he was extradited back to Russia (now the Soviet 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 a Don Cossack historian and Lieutenant General who became one of the leaders of the counter-revolutionary White 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 the School of the Americas, then located in Panama, before he returned to Chile.[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 the 1973 Chilean coup d'état.[3]

After the coup, he was appointed to the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA)—the Chilean secret police—under Manuel Contreras. Krassnoff became director of the agency's two Halcón (Falcon) units, which were part of the Caupolicán Group. In turn, the group reported to the Brigada de Inteligencia Metropolitana (BIM).[6] The BIM was ultimately responsible for suppressing political opposition in the Santiago 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 of Luz 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 of José Ramírez Rosales.[12]