Maniac Murder Cult was established around 2017–2018 and became known when it began spreading videos of brutal assaults on social media such as Telegram and VKontakte. Since then, the group, abbreviated as MKY, has been linked to a long list of serious crimes abroad, including several murders.
In 2023, it was classified as a terrorist organization by Russia, and last year also by the United Kingdom and Canada.
Prosecutor Lars Hedvall has described MKY as a neo-Nazi organization with strong Satanist traits.
"They are trying to bring about a social collapse through acts of violence that will result in a new social order. They want to see a new fourth kingdom with a white man as ruler," he has told TT.
Founded by Ukrainians
The founder, Ukrainian Yegor Krasnov known as “The Maniac,” has claimed to have carried out at least 15 murders, according to Expo. After Krasnov was arrested in Ukraine in 2020, leadership was taken over by a Georgian man, who was extradited to the United States in 2025 on suspicion of planning the mass murder of Jewish schoolchildren in New York.
In its ruling, the Attunda District Court said that MKY should be classified as a terrorist organization, and that the ideology is characterized by "ideologies of racial purity, anti-Semitism, control of gender identity and pronounced misanthropy (hatred of humanity)."
The group is structured as a cell-based organization, with operations in several cities and countries. The members communicate through digital platforms, primarily on Telegram, according to the investigation. Despite the large geographical spread, the activities are coordinated by the leadership via these channels, the court writes in its ruling.
Contact with the leader
The identity of the current leader is unknown, according to the investigation, but he has been in direct contact with the Swedish 20-year-old who is now being sentenced.
Attunda District Court believes that it is proven that the 20-year-old, who lives in the Stockholm area, has offered to build a Swedish cell of the group. He has also tried to recruit new members and spread propaganda material on behalf of the group, including by graffiti.
The man has admitted to some of the crimes and has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison.
However, the district court did not classify his actions as a serious crime, as the prosecutor had sought, partly because the man did not have a sufficiently central role in the organization.
