Janus Kostia Putkonen (born 16 January 1974 in Pernå)[1] is a Finnish theater director, journalist, eurosceptic[2] and propagandist.
Putkonen focused Russian funded Doni-news and MV-media to support pro-Russian propaganda about the Donetsk People's Republic.
[12] In summer of 2015 Putkonen moved from Nakhon Sawan to Donetsk in Ukraine, while his wife and child stayed in Thailand.
[2] Soon Ukrainian non-governmental organization Myrotvorets added Putkonen to their ‘Peacemaker’ list, on suspicion of cooperating with Russia and propaganda against Ukraine.
[13][14] In September 2016, Putkonen went public on offering Ilja Janitskin political asylum in the Donetsk People's Republic.
[21] In October 2022, Putkonen organized a friendship tour from Finland to Russia's St. Petersburg, with help from Kosti Heiskanen (whose real name is Konstantin Mikhailovich Lebedev[22]).