Russian man sets himself on fire at war memorial on anniversary of Ukraine invasion, authorities suppress news of it

A 37-year-old Kaliningrad resident set himself on fire at the 1,200 Guardsmen memorial on February 24, 2025 — the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Alexander Okunev’s act of protest was suppressed by authorities, the independent Russian investigative outlet iStories found, working alongside Delfi Estonia and the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT.

Okunev was a systems administrator at a commercial equipment company and had no history of activism, iStories reported. Former colleagues describe him as solitary, quiet, withdrawn, and somewhat odd — someone who kept to himself, never discussed politics, never argued about the war, and had almost no friends.

Those same colleagues also describe him as kind, responsive, and fair, with a sharp programmer’s mind. He always helped everyone, they said, and was passionate about origami — quietly leaving a small flower on a colleague’s desk on their birthday.

About six months before the self-immolation, Okunev quit his job. When colleagues asked why, he said only that he had not found other work and did not explain further. After leaving, he stayed home and barely communicated with anyone, according to one former colleague.

Okunev arrived at the 1,200 Guardsmen memorial at around 5 a.m. on February 24. Despite numerous cameras at the site, his burned body was not found until 6:40 a.m., when a passerby came across it, iStories reported. The words “No to war” had been painted in the snow nearby.

Investigators from the Leninsky district branch of the Kaliningrad Investigative Committee responded to the scene. Kaliningrad city administration head Yelena Dyatlova was informed and, according to an iStories source in European intelligence, took personal control of the situation. By 9:15 a.m., all traces of the incident had been removed. Dyatlova was assisted by Yevgeny Maslov, head of the local cultural heritage protection service, and Andrei Yermak, the culture and tourism minister of the Kaliningrad Region. Yermak, journalists reported, was particularly worried that the self-immolation had taken place near a World War II memorial, because it was “too symbolic.”

No local outlet reported on Okunev’s self-immolation. Telegram channels carried nothing either. Those close to him also told no one. One of them explained it to journalists this way: “What’s the point of publicizing it and talking about it? What for?” After the self-immolation, an investigation was conducted in which, according to his relatives, certain “expert analyses” established that there had been “no outside influence.” Those close to him were questioned, and investigators visited his former workplace seeking a character reference.

According to an acquaintance, Okunev had behaved “completely normally” in the days before the self-immolation. One person close to him said Okunev had left a suicide note. “He wrote that there is another way. In his world, apparently, there was supposed to be peace throughout the world. He no longer wanted to live in a world like this, so he made that decision,” the source told iStories. The note made clear, according to that person, that Okunev understood that “most likely this won’t appear anywhere in the news, it won’t be widely covered anywhere.” The text of the note itself was not published.

Neither Dyatlova nor Maslov responded to journalists’ questions. Culture Minister Andrei Yermak said he was not familiar with the results of the investigation into the “accident” and would not comment. He said he was confident that law enforcement would “comment on the situation once the investigation is complete,” iStories reported.