Misha Mavashi, the Russian rapper who founded the nationalist movement Severny Chelovek (“Northern Man”), has died at the age of 41. He died overnight into Sunday, October 25, 2026, in Voronezh, where he lived.
An associate announced his death on the rapper’s own Telegram channel, saying he had died “as a result of an accident” and that no further details would be given for now. He asked people to show respect to Mavashi and his family and not to spread speculation. The Investigative Committee for the Voronezh region said it was establishing the circumstances of the death of a 41-year-old musician and public figure living in the city.
From healthy-living rap to nationalism
Mavashi was born Mikhail Nits on January 29, 1985, in Kostanay, in what is now Kazakhstan. He became known as a rapper and poet, frontman of MAVASHI group, whose songs centred on fitness and a healthy lifestyle and made him a well-known figure online.
He later said that in 2016 he “fell into depression”. After 2022 he publicly backed Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.
Severny Chelovek
In 2022 he founded Severny Chelovek, a nationalist movement whose ideology centred on opposition to migrant workers. It quickly drew attention and support from some regional authorities in Russia. In September 2025 a court in Ukraine sentenced him in absentia to eight years in prison on charges of financing actions aimed at changing the country’s borders.
Georgy Filimonov, governor of the Vologda region, was among those who mourned him, saying his work had been a source of strength for many people.