Vadim Gusev

Vadim Gusev is a Russian mercenary leader and the former head of Slavonic Corps, a private military company based in Hong Kong. ^[1] He once worked for RusCorps ^[2] and was one of the top managers of the private military company Moran Security Group.

Since the late 2000s, he has been one of the top managers of the Russian private military company Moran Security Group, which is the predecessor of the Wagner Group ^[3] . In 2013, he and Yevgeny Sidorov created the Slavonic Corps, a mercenary unit, to fight in Syria. The FSB interrogated and ultimately charged Gusev with a violation of Article 359 of the Russian Criminal Code, ^[2] over his role in Syrian civil war. ^{[4] [5]}

Gusev was ultimately jailed in October 2014. He faced up to eight years imprisonment but received a three-year sentence. Regular squad members were reportedly unpaid and faced no prosecution in Russia. ^[6]

After his release from prison, Gusev headed the private military company Longifolia from 2014 to 2017 ^[7] .

References

1. Weiss, Michael (21 November 2013). "The Case of the Keystone Cossacks". Foreign Policy.
2. Rondeaux, Candace (7 November 2019). "Forward Operations: From Deir Ezzor to Donbas and Back Again". Decoding the Wagner Group: Analyzing the Role of Private Military Security Contractors in Russian Proxy Warfare. New America.
3. "Задачи ставили генералы. Как была создана ЧВК «Вагнер» и при чем здесь нынешний тульский губернатор Алексей Дюмин". Новая газета (in Russian). 2024-11-02. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
4. "The Last Battle of the "Slavonic Corps"". The Interpreter. 13 November 2013.
5. "Slavonic Corps (Syria)". Pro-Government Militias Guidebook. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
6. Eremenko, Alexey (28 October 2014). "2 Jailed in Russia's First-Ever Mercenary Conviction". The Moscow Times.
7. "У нас длинные листья". Досье (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-03-06.