News
Stanislav Orlov, the commander and founder of Russia’s recently disbanded Espanola brigade, was shot dead at his home in Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea on Dec. 4, according to an investigation by the independent outlet Astra. Orlov, known by the call sign “Ispanets” (lit. “Spaniard”), was first reported dead on Dec. 19.
Rumors about Orlov’s death had been circulating for more than a week prior to the announcement of his funeral, with multiple Kremlin-aligned channels — RTVI and Tsargrad chief among them — speculating that the Espanola commander had either been detained on suspicion of arms trafficking or else killed “while firing back during the arrest.” Several weeks prior, prominent Espanola member Ruslan Kazantsev (callsign “Altai”) had been arrested on charges of arms trafficking and involvement in organized crime.
According to Astra, the killing of Orlov took place on Dec. 4 at a dacha cooperative called Flotsky, where he had been living for much of the year leading up to his death. Video surveillance footage obtained by Astra shows that at 12:17 p.m. local time on Dec. 4, four vehicles arrived at Orlov’s home. Several masked men wearing camouflage and carrying automatic weapons got out. Neighbors reported hearing several gunshots. Witnesses told Astra that Orlov did not return fire.
The three vehicles that arrived at Orlov’s dacha on Dec. 4, 2025.
Source: Astra
About six hours later, an ambulance arrived at the house. Medical workers removed Orlov’s body and left the dacha compound. Law enforcement officers remained at the scene to conduct a search. Afterwards, officers detained Roman Dudnikov, the property manager who cared for birds and animals and handled household tasks for Orlov. Dudnikov is now being held in pretrial detention on suspicion of arms trafficking and involvement in an organized crime group.
Astra reported that Kazantsev, the former commander of Espanola’s naval detachment also remains under arrest.
On the day Orlov’s death became public, the Telegram channel of the neo-Nazi Rusich Sabotage and Assault Reconnaissance Group posted a message that read:
“It is important to understand that the death of The Spaniard was not connected to his patriotic views or sentiments. It was caused by a combination of factors (which we will not discuss), but we can state with certainty that his death has nothing to do with what is now fashionably described as a purge of the right-wing, patriotic or nationalist space. It is connected exclusively to mundane, everyday matters.
And since Stas was our comrade, we wish him peace on his final journey.”
A funeral service for Orlov was scheduled to begin at noon Moscow time on Friday at the lower church of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Several thousand people gathered hours before the ceremony was set to begin. Large numbers of police officers, members of the Rosgvardiya (Russia’s National Guard), and other security and special services were deployed around the cathedral. The area was sealed off with barriers on all sides, with police vans parked nearby. All attendees were subjected to thorough security checks, with bags and backpacks screened on conveyor belts.
What is Espanola?
The Espanola unit was formed in the spring of 2022 as part of the Vostok battalion of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic.” Its core was made up of football ultras, many of whom, according to journalists and human rights groups, adhere to neo-Nazi views. The group was led by Orlov, a former member of the Red-Blue Warriors fan group who had taken part in combat in Donbas since 2014. Orlov was also a member of the Union of Donbas Volunteers, an organization linked by media reports to former Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov.
Starting from 2023, recruitment into Espanola was carried out through the private military company Redut. In 2024, the unit was integrated into Russia’s Defense Ministry as part of the “Volunteer Corps” and was officially renamed as the 88th Reconnaissance and Sabotage Brigade. The unit's official number has been referred to (1, 2) as a reference to a coded Nazi salute (H being the eighth letter of the alphabet, and 88 translating to HH for “Heil Hitler”). In 2025, recruitment began through the Dobrokor system, which media reports have linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU.
According to the independent investigative outlet Important Stories, Espanola’s activities may be connected to the state-owned Russian Railways company, as well as to the Rotenberg brothers, close allies of Vladimir Putin going all the way back to his youth in Leningrad.
The unit has claimed involvement in battles around Mariupol, Vuhledar, Avdiivka, and Chasiv Yar.
In October 2025, Espanola announced that it was disbanding. In a statement on its Telegram channel, the unit said its core members were “creating new structures within the defense system and law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation.” According to the plans, an autonomous naval detachment of Espanola will continue to operate, while the “Melodiya” (lit. “Melody”) reconnaissance center has been spun off into a separate entity. Assault and electronic warfare units are also set to be formed, drawing from the remnants of the former group.