Anatoly Vladimirovich Chepiga (, born 5 April 1979) is a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the Russian General Staff's Main Directorate (also known as

GRU Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series. Gru or GRU may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper * Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga'' Organizations Georgia (c ...

), the

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

service of the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He is reported to have served in the

Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

and the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. He is known to have operated under the cover names "Ruslan Tabarov" and "Ruslan Boshirov".

Hero of the Russian Federation award

According to Western sources, he received the title

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation ( rus, Герой Российской Федерации, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ), also unofficially called Hero of Russia ( rus, Герой России, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲiɪ), is ...

in 2014, the highest honour awarded by the

President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...

. According to Ukraine, this was probably a reward to Chepiga for being the head of the team providing personal security for the then-deposed

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...

during the successful "extraction mission" from Ukraine to Russia. Chepiga was reportedly in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in October 2014, using the name Ruslan Boshirov, and Ruslan Tabarov. '' The Insider'' published photographs of the memorial to the graduates of the FEFU – Heroes of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation behind the monument to

Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky ( 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish general who served as a top commander in the Red Army during World War II and achieved the ranks of Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland. He a ...

on the territory of the school, where the name "Chepiga A. V." is stamped. It is written on the official website of DOSAAF in the Ivanovo district of the Amur Region that "in December 2014, Colonel A. Chepiga was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for performing a peacekeeping mission". The assignment of this title is mentioned on the portal of graduates of the

Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School The Marshal of the Soviet Union K. K. Rokossovsky Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School, also known by its abbreviation DVOKU (), is a military academy of the Russian Armed Forces. Established on 11 February 1940 as the Vladivostok In ...

(DVOKU) and in the article by Olga Kapshtyk, journalist of the Suvorov Onslaught newspaper.

Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

together with

Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised bell¿ngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British citizen journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in Ju ...

published a photo of the boarding school "Heroes Alumni" booth from

Odnoklassniki Odnoklassniki (), abbreviated as OK or OK.ru, is a social networking service and online video sharing website primarily in Russia and former Soviet Republics. The site was launched on March 4, 2006 by Albert Popkov and is currently owned by VK. ...

social network, on which "Anatoly Vladimirovich Chepiga is clearly visible, his name, surname and patronymic are well read". In an interview with Business FM online and the

TV Rain TV Rain ( rus, Дождь, Dozhd, p=ˈdoʂtʲ, a=Ru-дождь (doʂtʲ).ogg; stylized as ДО///ДЬ) is an independent Russian-language television channel. Launched in Russia in 2010, it has been based in the Netherlands since 2022. It focuse ...

channel, Alexander Borzhko, chairman of the

DOSAAF DOSAAF (), full name ''Volunteer Society for the Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and Navy'' (), was a paramilitary sport organization in the Soviet Union that was concerned mainly with weapons, automobiles and aviation. The society was establ ...

regional branch of the Amur Region, who was the commander of the DVOKU cadet battalion, where Chepiga served, confirmed that "Chepiga was given the Hero of Russia", although he does not know for what exactly. A spokesman for the President of Russia,

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (, ; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat serving as the Kremlin Press Secretary, spokesman for President of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012.Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

awarded a medal to a person with that name was checked: "Yes, they checked. I have no information that a person with that name was awarded".

RIA Novosti RIA Novosti (), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (), is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013, by a decree of Vladimir Putin, it was liquidated and its assets and workforce were transferred to the newly created ...

reports that to the clarifying question about whether it is possible that a person receives a reward, but this information is classified and for this reason Peskov does not have such information, he replied: "Once again, we do not want to continue these groundless discussions".

Reported activities

and its investigative partner ''The Insider'' claimed that Chepiga was one of the suspects in the

poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal The poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, also known as the Salisbury poisoning, was a botched assassination attempt to poison Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies in the cit ...

and the killing of Dawn Sturgess, having travelled to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

together with

Alexander Mishkin Alexander Yevgenyevich Mishkin () is a doctor in the Russian General Staff's Main Directorate (also known as GRU), the military intelligence service of the Russian Federation. On 8 October 2018, investigative website Bellingcat and its partner ...

under the alias of Ruslan Boshirov. Later in October 2018, Turkish media outlets reported that Chepiga was also likely to be linked to the assassination of the Chechen militant field commander Abdulvakhid Edelgiriyev, in late 2015, in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. Turkish journalists noted the resemblance of Anatoly Chepiga to Andrey Sholkhov, under which alias he had operated. In April 2021 Chepiga, alongside

, was linked to the

2014 Vrbětice ammunition warehouses explosions Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrel ...

in the

. He is wanted by the

Czech Police The Police of the Czech Republic () is the national agency in the field of law enforcement in the Czech Republic. It was established on 15 July 1991 under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. The agency is taske ...

. Based on government database leaks, "Agentstvo" established that in 2019, only a year after the failed Skripal assassination attempt and Bellingcat investigation, the family of Anatoly Chepiga changed their surnames to Korulin.

References

External links

Bellingcat's investigative page for the Chepiga identification
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chepiga, Anatoliy 1979 births Living people People from Amur Oblast GRU officers Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School alumni Heroes of the Russian Federation Russian individuals subject to European Union sanctions Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Russian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List

Hero of the Russian Federation award

Reported activities

See also

References

External links