Accused of blowing up Prilepin’s car, Permyakov fought as a pro-Russian militia for the DPR

The terrorist’s sister lives in St. Petersburg

The life path of Alexander Permyakov, accused of committing a terrorist attack near Nizhny Novgorod – the explosion of Zakhar Prilepin’s car using an anti-tank mine, as a result of which Prilepin was wounded and his driver died, became known. A native of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, Permyakov, after fighting for the Donbass on the side of the pro-Russian militia, went over to the other side.

Alexander Permyakov was born in 1993 in the small town of Druzhkovka (population about 50 thousand people). He and his sister grew up without a father and were brought up in a boarding school for orphans and the poor. When he was 15 years old, he committed a robbery with a group of friends and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Alexander Permyakov served time near Bakhmut, and when he was released, he returned back to Druzhkovka, where he became a laborer.

In 2014, Alexandra’s sister Irina (an employee of the medical clinic) moved to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg. But Permyakov himself remained, and, as he himself said, he left to fight on the side of the militias for the DPR.

A supporter of the independence of Donbass fought without a single scratch until 2015. And on February 28, Alexander tried to cross the border with Russia on foot near the village of Kuibyshevo, but at the Taganrog customs, a knife from AKM was found in his backpack, which fighters from hot spots are trying to bring to civilians. A criminal case was not initiated because the militia turned back.

Somehow, Alexander Permyakov was able to return to his hometown and apparently keep his pro-Russian stance secret. But, perhaps, at that time, he had already changed his views. Zakhar Prilepin, who is accused of blowing up the car, said in a video published by the Investigative Committee that he was recruited by the SBU in 2018. Nevertheless, Alexander Permyakov lived in Druzhkovka all this time until the spring of 2022. He had a relationship with a girl named Anna, he worked, like most of his life at a construction site.

In March 2022, Alexander Permyakov moved to Kamianets-Podilsky, in the Khmelnitsky region in western Ukraine. He did not talk about the purpose of changing his place of residence, the only thing he explained to his relatives was that he moved away from the war as a migrant. Already from there, Alexander’s passion flew to Germany as a refugee, and he somehow (people of military age are forbidden to leave the borders of Ukraine) arrived in Russia in August 2022.

According to relatives, Alexander Permyakov first of all went to St. Petersburg to his sister. He traveled by public transport (never had a personal car) and stayed at a hostel. When asked by relatives about friends, Alexander said that he was on his own. He left the northern capital for Moscow, where he lived and worked until February 2023.

On the 19th, Permyakov again arrived in St. Petersburg. Only this time he arranged a surprise – on this day his mother had a birthday (a woman over 70). Alexander stayed on a visit for two days, but he hardly spoke about himself, on the contrary, he even avoided joint photographs and questions about life.

The few things he shared – did not work out with work in Moscow, and now he is going to Nizhny Novgorod for work. Already from there, he called and wrote to relatives, mainly interested in the health of his mother. None of his relatives suspected anything disturbing.

According to our information, despite the constant stories about work at a construction site, none of the relatives know anything specific about where Alexander Permyakov allegedly worked. His contact number does not have any remarkable “digital footprints”. He was extremely careful not to use his phone to order deliveries, or in taxi apps, and did not leave his number in any public resources.