Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko was born on Mikhail Semyonovich Krasnov, Russian: ; born 15 February 1946 and is a Chilean military official involved in human rights violations during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
13 Facts About Miguel Krassnoff
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Miguel Krassnoff held several high-ranking positions in the Pinochet regime, including in the Chilean intelligence agency, DINA.
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Miguel Krassnoff's father, Semyon Krasnov was a Russian White Army soldier who, after the Empire's defeat in the Russian Civil War, fled to Yugoslavia and then to France, arriving in Nazi Germany in 1942.
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Semyon's father and Miguel Krassnoff's grandfather, Pyotr Krasnov, was a Don Cossack historian and Lieutenant General who became one of the leaders of the counter-revolutionary White movement and later a Nazi collaborator who mobilized Cossack forces to fight against the Soviet Union during World War II.
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Miguel Krassnoff grew up speaking Russian at home and learned about the experiences of his ancestors.
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Miguel Krassnoff believed that it was his fate to fight against communism but denies that he ever acted in the name of family revenge.
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Miguel Krassnoff was schooled at the School of the Americas, then located in Panama, before he returned to Chile.
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On 11 September 1973, still serving his professorship, Miguel Krassnoff participated in the assault on the house of Chile's socialist president, Salvador Allende, which culminated in the 1973 Chilean coup d'etat.
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Miguel Krassnoff became director of the agency's two Halcon units, which were part of the Caupolican Group.
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In 1979, after the dissolution of DINA, Miguel Krassnoff was assigned to Defence Intelligence.
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Miguel Krassnoff later regretted that he was barred from becoming military attache to the Soviet Union or securing a promotion to the rank of general because of his previous involvement in DINA.
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Miguel Krassnoff is referenced several times in the testimonies of Luz Arce, a prisoner and torture victim at Villa Grimaldi and later a collaborator with the regime.
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In 2006, Miguel Krassnoff was sentenced to 144 years imprisonment for over 20 counts of crimes against humanity.