Artur Ryno was born in 1989 in Russia and grew up in Moscow during a time of rising nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Little is publicly documented about his early family life, but by his teenage years, Ryno had already become deeply embedded in racist ideologies and the neo-Nazi subculture that flourished among some Russian youth.

He connected with extremist groups both offline and through online forums, where hate-filled propaganda against migrants and non-Slavic ethnicities was widely shared.

Artur Ryno led a teenage gang that carried out a shocking string of racially motivated murders between 2006 and 2007. Alongside co-leader Pavel Skachevsky, Ryno targeted migrants and foreign workers from Central Asia and the Caucasus region. The group roamed Moscow streets, particularly near apartment blocks and metro stations, looking for dark-skinned individuals.

Their method was brutal: sudden ambushes using knives, bats, and fists. Most attacks were unprovoked and random, designed only to kill. The gang filmed several of these murders, proudly sharing them online as extremist propaganda.

One of their last known victims was Karen Abramian, an Armenian businessman who was stabbed to death outside his home in April 2007. His murder led to Ryno’s arrest. Police investigations soon uncovered a disturbing catalog of other victims, some of whom had been killed weeks or months prior with no apparent suspects.

Ryno confessed to killing 37 people, though only 19 murders were verified by prosecutors through physical evidence and witness testimony. Due to his age (under 18 at the time of the crimes), Russian law prevented a life sentence. Instead, in 2008, Ryno was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor, the maximum for a juvenile offender.

His sentencing sparked outrage across Russia, especially among migrant communities, who felt the punishment did not match the severity of the crimes. In 2009, the UK government banned him from entering the country.

As of today, no official confirmation exists about whether Ryno has been released, rearrested, or deported to another facility post-2017.