Overview

Boris Nizhevenok (call sign “Zombie”) was commander of the Wagner Group’s Third Assault Detachment. In the Central African Republic (CAR), he oversaw the training of personnel in the military (the Forces Armées Centrafricaines, or FACA) and other law enforcement agencies. An experienced special forces operator who primarily served in elite units, Nizhevenok was instrumental in Wagner operations in the CAR, Ukraine, and Sudan.

Born on November 26, 1974, in Bogucharsky District, Voronezh Oblast, Russia, in the former Soviet Union, Nizhevenok is married with a daughter. He completed his education at Gymnasium #9 and Cossack High School #73, graduating in 1991. After graduation, Nizhevenok entered a military academy but was expelled in 1992 for disciplinary violations. After his expulsion, he deployed to the Ossetian-Ingush conflict as a private. After completing his service in the Ossetian-Ingush conflict, Nizhevenok signed a military contract in 1995.

Since 1995, Nizhevenok served in several elite units, including in special forces units of Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU), such as the Third Guards Separate “Warsaw-Berlin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Third Degree” Spetsnaz Brigade, and also served in the Third Reconnaissance Company (“A” Special Purpose). Between 1990 to 2000, he was deployed first in Kosovo and then in Chechnya. Between 2003 and 2004, Nizhevenok served in a special rapid reaction unit (Russian: СОБР) in Voronezh before returning to Chechnya. From 2008 to 2010, he was part of the Reconnaissance Battalion of the Eighth Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade. In 2010, Nizhevenok completed training at a center for intelligence units of the North Caucasus Military District, then continued his service in the Chechen Republic.

Nizhevenok’s association with Wagner is believed to have begun around 2014 when he was appointed commander of a Wagner detachment in the Northern Military District zone in Ukraine, although internal documentation records a later join date. Although he described himself as “a simple rural guy,” other soldiers had already declared him a “real Russian warrior” and a “living legend” by the time he joined Wagner. Nizhevenok commanded Wagner troops in the CAR in 2018 and 2021. Internal documents from 2018 also list him as being stationed in Sudan. In August 2023, shortly before Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death, Nizhevenok was seen with Prigozhin in the CAR. From 2022 to 2023, Nizhevenok was stationed in the vicinity of the Ukrainian cities of Bakhmut and Donetsk. His career has earned him several accolades, including the title “Hero of Russia,” five Orders of Courage, the Order of Merit to the Fatherland (Fourth Degree), and two Medals of Courage.