EXTREMISTS from Ukraine

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Ukrainian Extremists of all time. This list of famous Ukrainian Extremists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

1. Andrei Chikatilo (1936 - 1994)

With an HPI of 73.57, Andrei Chikatilo is the most famous Ukrainian Extremist.  His biography has been translated into 41 different languages on wikipedia.

Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo (Russian: Андрей Романович Чикатило; Ukrainian: Андрій Романович Чикатило, romanized: Andrii Romanovych Chykatylo; 16 October 1936 – 14 February 1994) was a Ukrainian-born Soviet serial killer nicknamed "the Butcher of Rostov", "the Rostov Ripper", and "the Red Ripper" who sexually assaulted, murdered, and mutilated at least fifty-two women and children between 1978 and 1990 in the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, and the Uzbek SSR. Chikatilo confessed to fifty-six murders; he was tried for fifty-three murders in April 1992. He was convicted and sentenced to death for fifty-two of these murders in October 1992, although the Supreme Court of Russia ruled in 1993 that insufficient evidence existed to prove his guilt in nine of those killings. Chikatilo was executed by gunshot in February 1994. Chikatilo was known as "the Rostov Ripper" and "the Butcher of Rostov" because he committed most of his murders in the Rostov Oblast of the Russian SFSR.

2. Boris Savinkov (1879 - 1925)

With an HPI of 66.89, Boris Savinkov is the 2nd most famous Ukrainian Extremist.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Boris Viktorovich Savinkov (Russian: Бори́с Ви́кторович Са́винков; 31 January 1879 – 7 May 1925) was a Russian revolutionary, writer, and politician. As a leading figure in the Socialist Revolutionary Party's (SR) Combat Organization in the early 20th century, he was a key organizer of high-profile assassinations of tsarist officials, including that of Interior Minister Vyacheslav von Plehve and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. Following the February Revolution of 1917, Savinkov served as Assistant Minister of War in the Russian Provisional Government. After the October Revolution, he became a prominent leader of armed resistance against the Bolsheviks, notably founding the Union for the Defense of the Motherland and Freedom. Savinkov's political career was characterized by dramatic shifts in allegiance and a reputation as an enigmatic "revolutionary rogue." He transitioned from militant anti-tsarism to patriotic nationalism during World War I, and later became a dedicated anti-Bolshevik, before an apparent, though controversial, repentance in Soviet captivity. He was deeply involved in numerous conspiracies, collaborating at various times with diverse figures and groups, including several foreign governments. His complex personality—a blend of charm, intelligence, ruthlessness, and a penchant for intrigue—drew varied contemporary assessments, from a "Russian Bonaparte" to a diabolical figure. As a writer, using the pseudonym V. Ropshin, Savinkov authored several novels, memoirs, and poems that often reflected his revolutionary experiences and inner conflicts. His most famous work, The Pale Horse, provided a controversial depiction of terrorist psychology and the moral dilemmas faced by revolutionaries. In 1924, Savinkov was lured back to the Soviet Union by the OGPU in a sophisticated sting operation known as Operation Trust. He was arrested, put on trial, and sentenced to death, though this was later commuted. He died in Lubyanka prison in Moscow in 1925; official accounts stated suicide by defenestration, but the circumstances surrounding his death remain disputed, with some evidence and contemporary claims suggesting murder.

3. Anatoly Onoprienko (1959 - 2013)

With an HPI of 61.12, Anatoly Onoprienko is the 3rd most famous Ukrainian Extremist.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Anatoly Yuriyovych Onoprienko (Ukrainian: Анатолій Юрійович Онопрієнко; Russian: Анато́лий Ю́рьевич Оноприе́нко, Anatoly Yuryevich Onoprienko; 25 July 1959 – 27 August 2013) was a Soviet and Ukrainian serial killer and mass murderer. Known by the nicknames The Beast of Ukraine, The Terminator, and Citizen O, Onoprienko confessed to killing fifty-two people upon being apprehended in April 1996.