The improbable tale of the Russian tiger hunters recruited to kill Kim Il Sung



Features The improbable tale of the Russian tiger hunters recruited to kill Kim Il Sung The Yankovsky family fled the Russian Revolution only to get wrapped up in the rise of the North Korean state Anton Sokolin June 20, 2025 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Yuri Yankovsky showing off his tiger hunting trophies \| Image: Nikita Mikhalkov's documentary "Russians without Russia" The Russian émigré Valery Yankovsky had been living in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula for the better part of two decades when a Japanese official asked the skilled tiger hunter to take down an unusual big-game target — the communist guerilla fighter Kim Il Sung. Valery didn’t take the opportunity to change the course of history by killing the future North Korean leader, one of the 20th century’s most notorious tyrants, and skepticism surrounds his account of the episode. The Russian émigré Valery Yankovsky had been living in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula for the better part of two decades when a Japanese official asked the skilled tiger hunter to take down an unusual big-game target — the communist guerilla fighter Kim Il Sung. Valery didn’t take the opportunity to change the course of history by killing the future North Korean leader, one of the 20th century’s most notorious tyrants, and skepticism surrounds his account of the episode. Try unlimited access Only $1 for four weeks Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis Year-one discount if you continue past $1 trial period The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Features

The improbable tale of the Russian tiger hunters recruited to kill Kim Il Sung

The Yankovsky family fled the Russian Revolution only to get wrapped up in the rise of the North Korean state

Anton Sokolin June 20, 2025

The improbable tale of the Russian tiger hunters recruited to kill Kim Il Sung

Yuri Yankovsky showing off his tiger hunting trophies | Image: Nikita Mikhalkov's documentary "Russians without Russia"

The Russian émigré Valery Yankovsky had been living in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula for the better part of two decades when a Japanese official asked the skilled tiger hunter to take down an unusual big-game target — the communist guerilla fighter Kim Il Sung.

Valery didn’t take the opportunity to change the course of history by killing the future North Korean leader, one of the 20th century’s most notorious tyrants, and skepticism surrounds his account of the episode.

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The improbable tale of the Russian tiger hunters recruited to kill Kim Il Sung

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