A Kaliningrad resident burned himself alive in protest against the war, but the authorities did not allow anyone to know about it
In Kaliningrad, on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 37-year-old programmer Alexander Okunev committed self-immolation in protest against the war. And no one found out about it, "Important Stories" writes .
The first mention of this incident appeared in an open report by Estonian foreign intelligence, without specifying the name of the deceased.
"On the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale aggressive war, at five in the morning on February 24, 2025, a man born in 1988 wrote "No to War" on the snow near the monument to the Russian soldier in Kaliningrad and set himself on fire in protest," the document stated.
As became known from a report on the results of the investigators' duty, Okunev's charred body was found by a passerby around 06:40 AM near the monument to the 1200 Guardsmen, where the Eternal Flame is located.
Next to the body, "No to War" was written on the snow with a spray can.
What happened was reported to the head of the city administration, Elena Dyatlova, who immediately took the case under her control. She was assisted by Yevgeny Maslov, head of the local cultural heritage protection service, and Andrei Yermak, Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Kaliningrad region.
The latter was particularly worried that the self-immolation took place near the monument to the Great Patriotic War — too symbolic.
Officials decided to hide the incident. By 09:15, traces of the self-immolation had been removed, and the city authorities reported to their superiors that no one had seen anything. As a result, the information indeed did not appear in any media and was not mentioned on social networks. Okunev's relatives also did not talk about the self-immolation.
Alexander Okunev and his family. Collage: "Important Stories". Photo: social networks
Family members spoke about some "examinations" within the investigation, which established — "there was no external influence."
Relatives were interrogated by the Investigative Committee; the police came to Okunev's former colleagues for a "character reference," but left with nothing: "They said he worked well, didn't communicate with anyone. How else to characterize him?"
A close acquaintance of Okunev recounted the contents of his suicide note to "Important Stories":
"He wrote that there is another way.
In his world, apparently, there should have been world peace. He no longer wanted to live in such a world, so he made that decision."
You can read more here.
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