Arkady Dorofeev was a police officer in the 2000s, but his career ended after he was caught committing burglaries and sentenced to nearly four years in prison. In 2022, he joined the notorious Wagner mercenary army to fight in the war against Ukraine. As a lieutenant, Dorofejev quickly became a favorite of Russian state media and pro-war bloggers, even receiving the country’s highest state award — Hero of the Russian Federation. However, as reported by the independent outlet Mediazona, the decorated “hero” is now on trial over murder charges that were allegedly publicly showcased in media and online.
According to Mediazona, the trial of Arkadij Gennadijevič Dorofejev has begun at the Southern District Military Court. The case is being heard by a permanent court panel in Donetsk, and the charges are extremely serious:
- Aiding and abetting murder committed by a group of individuals with public display.
- Abuse of official authority involving violence (a charge that in the Russian legal system is almost always used in cases of torture).
The name of the defendant fully matches that of Hero of Russia, junior lieutenant Arkady Dorofeev. He is a soldier who frequently appeared in state media and pro-war Telegram channels as a symbol of Russian success on the battlefield.
Mediazona contacted his son Andrey, who confirmed that his father indeed holds the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. He has been in detention for “quite some time.” The trial is being held behind closed doors, meaning the public and media have no access to details of the evidence.
The former policeman’s son added that he considers the case against his father to be “unfair,” but declined to provide further details due to the current situation in Russia.
Russia’s state news agency TASS, citing the Ministry of Defense, reported that Dorofeev helped capture Ukrainian soldiers. Information obtained from these prisoners allegedly enabled units of the “Center” army group to advance on the front line. Dorofejev himself claimed that he took command of an assault on a fortified position after his superior was killed — an action for which he reportedly received the country’s highest honor. His New Year message was even published by the popular military Telegram channel “Black Hussars.”
However, his past paints a very different picture. His son confirmed that Dorofejev was a police officer in the 2000s but later turned to crime. According to court records in Altai Krai, the former officer carried out a series of burglaries in the Barnaul area, stealing anything he could get his hands on: household appliances, dishes, clothing, and food. In one case, homeowners caught him in the act, holding tools used for changing car tires.
In court, he admitted guilt only partially. Notably, he denied stealing several very specific items, including:
- a microwave oven and a welding machine,
- children’s winter clothing and T-shirts,
- twelve eggs, a can of pâté, and two kilograms of beef.
In 2019, he was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison. In 2022, he faced another theft conviction, but the proceedings were interrupted by his decision to join the Wagner mercenary group. He was recruited directly from penal colony No. 3 in Irkutsk, which allowed him to go to the front and subsequently (temporarily) rehabilitate his image in the eyes of the Russian public.
