Hennadii S. Afanasiev (Tor)

Afanasiev Hennadii Serhiiovych was born on November 8, 1990, in Simferopol. He graduated from the Taurida National University with a degree in Law and worked as a photographer. Prior to the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, he was not involved in public activities, but during the Russian military invasion of the peninsula, he started participating in protest actions and attending meetings where the public's actions against the occupation were planned. Before the "referendum" in Crimea, he was involved in recording videos in support of the Ukrainian movements. Since the end of August 2016, Hennadii Afanasiev has been a special representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, working on a special public platform that helps to free Ukrainians illegally imprisoned in Russia. On May 9, 2014, during the Victory Day celebrations, Hennadii Afanasiev was detained in the occupied Simferopol. On December 24, 2014, he was found guilty of terrorism and sentenced by the Moscow City Court to 7 years of imprisonment in a strict regime colony. On September 4, 2015, the Russians transferred Hennadii Afanasiev to the Komi Republic, to the "VK-25" in Syktyvkar. On August 19, 2015, the international human rights center "Memorial" recognized him as a political prisoner. In March 2016, Ukraine appealed to Russia for the extradition of four Ukrainians, including Hennadii Afanasiev. On June 14, 2016, Hennadii returned to Ukraine. After his release from Russian imprisonment, he underwent rehabilitation in the Czech Republic for some time. From July 2016 to October 2018, he collaborated with "Crimea. Realities" - a Crimean project of the Ukrainian service "Radio Liberty". He published 80 columns of memoirs about his arrest and imprisonment. Based on these publications, he published the book "Rise After the Fall" in 2018. From the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he served in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, defending Kyiv. He fought as part of the 130th battalion of the 241st brigade. He was killed on December 18, 2022, near the village of Bilhorivka in the Luhansk region. The farewell and funeral service took place on the territory of the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral on December 30, 2022.