Activism in Russia Dmitry Petrov joined the
Russian anarchist movement in 2004, when he was still a teenager. In the 2000s, he was known among Russian anarchists under the pseudonym "Ecologist" for his environmental activism. He was involved in organising protests against the construction of waste incineration plants, the defence of the Bitsevsky Park and the Khimki Forest, etc. In addition to environmental protection activities, he also participated in street fights against Russian neo-Nazis, the activities of the anarchist trade union , social protests (in particular, against the eviction of dormitory residents), independent book publishing and cultural and educational events. To take part in the Belarusian protests, he illegally crossed the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, as he faced extradition to Russia in Belarus. He was engaged in promoting information about Kurdistan and the Middle East in general as part of the research project
Hevale: Revolution in Kurdistan, co-authored and co-edited the books
Life without a State: The Revolution in Kurdistan and
Desert Flowers: 10 Years of the Rojava Revolution, as well as a translator of the study
Kurdistan. Real Democracy under War and Blockade. His materials about Kurdistan also appeared in the Ukrainian publications
Commons and ''''. During his stay in Kurdistan, he found out that the FSB was interested in him and, against the backdrop of persecution of anarchist and anti-fascist activists by the Putin regime, he decided not to return to Russia and moved to
Kyiv in 2018.
Combat in the Russian invasion of Ukraine After the start of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he participated in the creation of an "anti-authoritarian platoon" in the
Territorial Defense Forces of the
Kyiv region, as well as the
Resistance Committee initiative and a number of volunteer solidarity networks. Later, he was transferred to the
95th Air Assault Brigade, within which he fought in the
Battle of the Svatove–Kreminna line in autumn and winter. In the spring of 2023, he moved to another unit and was transferred to fight in the
Battle of Bakhmut. He was a co-founder of the
Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists (BOAK). In his farewell letter to the BOAK in case of his death at the front, he wrote that he would remain a member of the organisation after his death. He was killed in the battle of Bakhmut along with Irish socialist
Finbar Cafferkey and African-American activist Cooper "Harris" Andrews. == Personal life ==