Igor Strelkov (officer)
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Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́нович Стрелко́в, p=ˈiɡərʲ ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ strʲɪlˈkof), is a Russian army veteran and former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who played a key role in the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and later the
war in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
as an organizer of militant groups in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). While leading a group of separatist militants into Ukraine in the 2014
Siege of Sloviansk The siege of Sloviansk was an operation by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to recapture the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast from pro-Russian insurgents who had seized it on 12 April 2014. The city was taken back on 5 July 2014 after shelling ...
, Girkin gained influence and attention, being appointed to the position of Minister of Defense in the Donetsk People's Republic, a puppet state of
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. Girkin was dismissed from his position in August 2014, after 298 people died when
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...
was shot down. Dutch prosecutors charged Girkin and three others for murder, and issued an international arrest warrant against him. Girkin has admitted "moral responsibility" but denies pushing the button. On 17 November 2022, Girkin was found guilty for the murder of 298 people, convicted of all charges in absentia, and issued a life sentence. Girkin, a self-described
Russian nationalist Russian nationalism is a form of nationalism that promotes Russian cultural identity and unity. Russian nationalism first rose to prominence in the early 19th century, and from its origin in the Russian Empire, to its repression during early ...
, was charged by Ukrainian authorities with terrorism. He has been sanctioned by the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, and Ukraine for his leading role in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have called him a retired colonel of the
GRU The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых сил Росси́йской Федера́ци ...
(Russia's external military intelligence organisation). After his service in the war, Girkin returned to Russia as a political activist in 2014, reportedly believing that the "liberal clans" (liberal part of Russian elites) must be destroyed in favor of "law enforcement" ones. In 2016, he formed a political group advocating to " nitethe Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, and other Russian lands into a single all-Russian state and ransformthe entire territory of the former USSR into an unconditional zone of Russian influence." During the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
, Girkin regained attention as a milblogger, taking a strong pro-war stance but fiercely criticizing the military for what he saw as incompetence and "insufficiency". In October 2022, Girkin joined a volunteer unit fighting against Ukrainian forces.


Early life

Girkin was born in Moscow, Russia, on December 17, 1970. According to ''The New York Times'', "his ideological rigidity precedes any connections he has to Russia's security services, stretching back at least to his days at the Moscow State Institute for History and Archives. There, Girkin obsessed over military history and joined a small but vocal group of students who advocated a return to
monarchism Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...
."
Vice News Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's current affairs channel, producing daily documentary essays and video through its website and YouTube channel. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories". Vice News was create ...
claimed that "during the 1990s, Girkin wrote for the right-wing Russian newspaper ''Zavtra'', which is run by the anti-Semitic Russian nationalist
Alexander Prokhanov Alexander Andreyevich Prokhanov (russian: Алекса́ндр Андре́евич Проха́нов; born 26 February 1938) is a Russian writer, a member of the secretariat of the Writers Union of the Russian Federation and the author of more ...
" and where Alexander Borodai was an editor. Writing for ''Zavtra'' ("Tomorrow"), Girkin and Borodai, who too was reported to have fought for Russia-backed Transnistria and
Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is locat ...
separatists in
Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...
and
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
, together covered the Russian war against separatists in Chechnya and Dagestan. He would also often write as a "Colonel in the Reserves" on Middle East subjects, such as the conflicts in Libya, Egypt and Syria, and for the
Abkhazian Network News Agency ANNA News (Analytical Network News Agency) is a Russian pro-Kremlin news agency. The agency's name ANNA used to stand for "Abkhazian Network News Agency"; after the head office moved to Moscow, when registering in Roskomnadzor on September 22, 20 ...
(ANNA), a Russian-language pro-Russian publication which supports Abkhazian separatism in Georgia.


Involvement in Transnistria, Bosnia, and Chechnya

The Russian media has identified Girkin as an officer of the Russian military reserves who has expressed hardline views on eliminating perceived enemies of the Russian state. He has fought on the federal side in Russian counter-separatist campaigns in Chechnya and on the pro-Moscow separatist side in the conflict in Moldova's breakaway region of
Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
. In 1999, he published his memoirs of the fighting in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2014, he was accused by Bosnian media ( Klix.ba) and a retired
Bosnian Army The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Oružane snage Bosne i Hercegovine, OSBiH, Оружане снаге Босне и Херцеговине, ОСБИХ) is the official military force of Bosnia and Herz ...
officer of having been involved in the Višegrad massacres in which thousands of civilians were killed in 1992. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
reported Girkin may have worked for Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in a counter-terrorism unit, citing Russian military experts. According to Russian media, he has served as an FSB officer and his last role before retirement was reportedly with the FSB's Directorate for Combating International Terrorism. In 2014 Anonymous International disclosed what it said were Girkin's personal emails, revealing that he had served in the FSB for 18 years from 1996 to March 2013, including in Chechnya from 1999 to 2005, ''
The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...
'' reported. The newspaper also said Girkin was born in Moscow and that it contacted him by email and phone but that he would not confirm the claims. A local pro-Russia militia leader in Ukraine, Vyacheslav Ponomarev, a self-described old friend of Girkin's, said the information about Girkin was true. His pseudonym "Strelkov" ("Strelok") can be roughly translated as "Rifleman" or "Shooter". He has also been dubbed Igor Groznyy ("Igor the Terrible"). Alexander Cherkasov, head of Russia's leading human rights group Memorial, is convinced that the "Igor Strelkov" involved in Ukraine is the same person as a Russian military officer called "Strelkov", who was identified as being directly responsible for at least six instances (on four occasions) of the
forced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a State (polity), state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or po ...
and presumed murder of residents of Chechnya's mountain
Vedensky District Vedensky District (russian: Веде́нский райо́н; ce, Веданан кӏошт, ''Vedanan khoşt'') is an administrativeDecree #500 and municipalLaw #14-RZ district (raion), one of the fifteen in the Chechen Republic, Russia. It i ...
village of Khatuni and nearby settlements of Makhkety and Tevzeni in 20012002, when "Strelkov" was attached to the 45th Detached Reconnaissance Regiment special forces unit of the
Russian Airborne Troops The Russian Airborne Forces (russian: Воздушно-десантные войска России, ВДВ, Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii, VDV) are the airborne forces branch of the Russian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1992 from units ...
based near Khatuni. None of these crimes were solved by official investigations. The website of Chechnya's official human rights ombudsman lists several residents of Khatuni who went missing in 2001 (Beslan Durtayev and Supyan Tashayev) as having been kidnapped from their homes and taken to the 45th DRR base by the officers known as "Colonel Proskuryn and Strelkov Igor". Another entry lists the missing person Beslan Taramov as abducted in 2001 in the village of Elistandzhi by the 45th DRR servicemen led by "Igor Strelko (nicknamed Strikal)". Cherkasov also lists Durtayev and Tashayev (but not Taramov) among the alleged victims of "Strelkov". Cherkasov and other observers suspected it was in fact the same "Strelkov" until May 2014, when Girkin himself confirmed he has been present at Khatuni in 2001, where he fought against the "local population". According to Cherkasov, as a result of Girkin's actions in Chechnya, two sisters of one of those "disappeared", Uvais Nagayev, in effect turned to terrorism and died three years later: one of these sisters, Aminat Nagayeva, blew herself up in the 2004 Russian aircraft bombings over the
Tula Oblast Tula Oblast (russian: Ту́льская о́бласть, ''Tulskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically in the European Russia region of the country and is part of the Central Federal District, covering ...
aboard a
Tu-134 The Tupolev Tu-134 (NATO reporting name: Crusty) is a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain ot ...
"Volga-Aeroexpress" airliner, killing 43. The other sister, Rosa Nagayeva, participated in the
Beslan hostage crisis The Beslan school siege (also referred to as the Beslan school hostage crisis or the Beslan massacre) was a terrorist attack that started on 1 September 2004, lasted three days, involved the imprisonment of more than 1,100 people as hostages ( ...
that same year. The emails leaked in May 2014 and allegedly authored by Girkin contain his diaries from Bosnia and Chechnya that he sent to his friends for review. One story describes an operation of capturing Chechen activists from a village of Mesker-Yurt. Asked by one of friends why he didn't publish them, Girkin explained that "people we captured and questioned almost always disappeared without trace, without court, after we were done" and this is why these stories cannot be openly published.


Involvement in the War in Donbas and annexation of Crimea


Crimea

Girkin was one of the major "Russian self-defence" commanders in the
2014 Crimean crisis In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv ...
. In an interview on 22 January 2015, he explained that the "overwhelming national support for the self-defence" as portrayed by the Russian media was fiction, and a majority of the law enforcement, administration and army were opposed to it. Girkin stated that under his command, the rebels "collected" deputies into the chambers, and had to "forcibly drive the deputies to vote o join Russia. He was also reported to be instrumental in negotiating the 2014 defection of the
Ukrainian Navy The Military Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Військо́во-морські́ си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни, ВМС ЗСУ) is the maritime forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Ar ...
commander Denis Berezovsky. According to an accomplice, Girkin arrived in Crimea describing himself as the "Kremlin's emissary," and soon after formed the Crimean self-defense forces. His position was above that of self-declared Crimea prime minister
Sergei Aksyonov Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov (russian: Сергей Валерьевич Аксёнов, uk, Сергій Валерійович Аксьонов, ro, Serghei Valerievici Aksionov; born 26 November 1972) is a Russian politician serving, since ...
. His main task in March 2014 was the accelerated military training of the newly formed Crimean forces, and selecting the best among them for transfer to the invasion of the Donbas. Girkin personally negotiated and oversaw the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Crimea. According to Girkin, he was in charge of the Simferopol Photogrammatic Center's assault.


Sloviansk


Pro-Russian capture of Sloviansk

According to Girkin, the head of the newly instituted Russian government in Crimea
Sergei Aksyonov Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov (russian: Сергей Валерьевич Аксёнов, uk, Сергій Валерійович Аксьонов, ro, Serghei Valerievici Aksionov; born 26 November 1972) is a Russian politician serving, since ...
asked him to deal with the northern provinces. On 12 April 2014, Girkin led a group of militants who seized the executive committee building, the police department, and the
Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian ...
offices in
Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...
. Girkin claimed that his militia was formed in Crimea and consisted of volunteers from
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
,
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
, and also from other regions of Ukraine (Vinnitsa, Zhitomir, Kyiv) and many people from Donetsk and the Luhansk region. According to him, two-thirds were Ukrainian citizens. The majority of men in the unit had combat experience. Many of those with Ukrainian citizenship had fought in the Russian Armed Forces in Chechnya and
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
, while others had fought in Iraq and Yugoslavia with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In an interview, Girkin stated that he was given orders not to give up Sloviansk. On 15 April 2014 the
Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian ...
(SBU) opened a criminal proceeding against "Igor Strelkov" for his actions in Sloviansk and Crimea, describing him as the chief organizer of the "terror" in
Sloviansk Raion Sloviansk Raion ( uk, Слов'янський район) was a raion of Donetsk Oblast, located in southeastern Ukraine. The administrative center of the district was the city of Sloviansk, which was separately incorporated as a city of oblast ...
, including an ambush that killed one and wounded three SBU officers. On 16 April, he allegedly sought to recruit Ukrainian soldiers captured at the entrance to
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significan ...
. The SBU presented Girkin's presence in Donbas as proof of Russia's involvement in the East Ukraine crisis. They released intercepted telephone conversations between "Strelkov" and his supposed handlers in Moscow. Russia denied any interference in Ukraine by its troops outside Crimea. In July 2014, Ukrainian authorities alleged that Russian Defense Minister
Sergei Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...
coordinated all of Girkin's actions, supplying him and "other terrorist leaders" with "the most destructive weapons" since May and instructing him directly, with Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
's approval.


Involvement in kidnapping and murder

Ukrainian government claims Girkin was behind the 17 April 2014 kidnapping, torture and murder of a local Ukrainian politician Volodymyr Rybak and a 19-year-old college student Yury Popravko. Rybak's abduction by a group of men in
Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activi ...
was recorded on camera. The SBU released portions of intercepted calls in which another Russian citizen, alleged
GRU The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых сил Росси́йской Федера́ци ...
officer and Girkin's subordinate Igor Bezler orders Rybak to be "neutralized", and a subsequent conversation in which "Strelkov" is heard instructing Ponomarev to dispose of Rybak's body, which is "lying here n the basement of the separatist headquarters in Slovianskand beginning to smell." Rybak's corpse with a smashed head, multiple stab wounds and ripped stomach was found later in April in a river near Sloviansk. Popravko's body was found nearby. Ukrainian Interior Minister
Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of P ...
described Girkin as "a monster and a killer". The incident helped prompt the government's "anti-terrorist" military offensive against the pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine. In an interview with "Radio-KP" on 18 January 2016, Girkin acknowledged that he used
extrajudicial punishment Extrajudicial punishment is a punishment for an alleged crime or offense which is carried out without legal process or supervision by a court or tribunal through a legal proceeding. Politically motivated Extrajudicial punishment is often a fea ...
, and at least four people were executed by firing squad while he was in Sloviansk. In May 2020 Girkin confessed in an interview with Ukrainian journalist
Dmitry Gordon Dmitry Ilyich Gordon ( uk, Дмитро Ілліч Гордон, Dmytro Illich Hordon, russian: Дмитрий Ильич Гордон; born October 21, 1967) is a Ukrainian journalist, interviewer, politician and singer. He is also the editor- ...
that he ordered the killing of Popravko and another man: "Yes, these people were shot on my orders. No one ripped open their stomach. Do I regret that they were shot? No, they were enemies." Girkin also stated that the killing of Rybak was also to some extent under his responsibility.


Supreme Commander of the Donetsk People's Republic

During the weekend of 26–27 April 2014, the political leader of the separatist-controlled Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Girkin's long-time friend, Alexander Borodai, also a Russian national from Moscow, ceded control of all separatist fighters in the entire Donetsk region to him. On 26 April, "Strelkov" made his first public appearance when he gave a video interview to '' Komsomolskaya Pravda'' where he confirmed that his militia in Sloviansk came from Crimea. He said nothing about his own background, denied receiving weapons or ammunition from Russia, and announced that his militia would not release the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...
(OSCE) observers that it had taken hostage unless pro-Russia activists were first freed by the Ukrainian government. On 28 April, the EU sanctioned "Igor Strelkov" as a GRU staff member believed to be a coordinator of armed actions and a security assistant to Crimea's
Sergey Aksyonov Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov (russian: Сергей Валерьевич Аксёнов, uk, Сергій Валерійович Аксьонов, ro, Serghei Valerievici Aksionov; born 26 November 1972) is a Russian politician serving, since ...
. On 29 April, Girkin appointed a new police chief for
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significan ...
. On 12 May, "I. Strelkov" declared himself "the Supreme Commander of the DPR" and all of its "military units, security, police, customs, border guards, prosecutors, and other paramilitary structures". According to a report issued by the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...
, "reportedly, on 26 May, by order of Strelkov, Dmytro Slavov ('commander of a company of the people's militia') and Mykola Lukyanov ('commander of a platoon of the militia of Donetsk People's Republic') were "executed" in Sloviansk, after they were "sentenced" for "looting, armed robbery, kidnapping and abandoning the battle field". The order, which was circulated widely and posted in the streets in Slovyansk, referred to a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR of 22 June 1941 as the basis for the execution." The report also mentions Girkin's efforts to recruit local women into his armed formations: "A particular call for women to join the armed groups was made on 17 May through a video released with Girkin "Strelkov", urging women of the Donetsk region to enlist in combat units." Sloviansk's separatist "people's mayor" and former boss of Girkin, Ponomarev, was himself detained on an order of Girkin on 10 June for "engaging in activities incompatible with the goals and tasks of the civil administration".


Loss of Sloviansk and aftermath

Girkin and his militants fled from Sloviansk on the night of 4–5 July 2014, during a large-scale offensive by the Ukrainian military, following the end of a 10-day ceasefire on 30 June. Sloviansk was then captured by Ukrainian forces, thus ending the separatist occupation of the city which had started on 6 April. Shortly before this, a video was posted on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
in which Girkin desperately pleaded for military aid from Russia for "
Novorossiya Novorossiya, literally "New Russia", is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later become the southern mainland of Ukraine: the region immediately north of the Black Sea and Crimea. ...
" ("New Russia", an historical name for South-East Ukraine with particular popularity amongst separatists) and said Sloviansk "will fall earlier than the rest". Other rebel leaders denied Girkin's assessment that the people's militia were on the verge of collapse. One of them, the self-proclaimed "people's governor" of Donetsk
Pavel Gubarev Pavel Yuryevich Gubarev (russian: Па́вел Ю́рьевич Гу́барев, ; or Pavlo Yuriyovych Hubariev uk, Павло Юрійович Губарєв; born 10 February 1983) is a Russian activist who proclaimed himself the "People's ...
, compared Girkin to the 19th century Russian general
Mikhail Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...
, claiming that both "Strelkov" and Kutuzov would "depart only before a decisive, victorious battle". His retreat was strongly criticized by the Russian nationalist Sergey Kurginyan. A rumor inside Russian ultranationalist circles alleged Russia's powerful "grey cardinal" figure
Vladislav Surkov Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov (russian: Владислав Юрьевич Сурков; born 21 September 1962 or 1964) is a Russian politician and businessman. He was First Deputy Chief of the Russian Presidential Administration from 1999 to 20 ...
conspired with east Ukrainian oligarch
Rinat Akhmetov Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov, ; russian: Ринат Леонидович Ахметов, ; tt-Cyrl, Ринат Леонид улы Әхмәтов, translit=Rinat Leonid uly Äkhmätov (born on 21 September 1966) is a Ukrainian billionaire and b ...
to organize a campaign against "Strelkov" as well as against the
Eurasianism Eurasianism (russian: евразийство, ''yevraziystvo'') is a political movement in Russia which states that Russian civilization does not belong in the "European" or "Asian" categories but instead to the geopolitical concept of Eurasia, ...
ideologue
Alexander Dugin Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin ( rus, Александр Гельевич Дугин; born 7 January 1962) is a Russian political philosopher, analyst, and strategist, who has been widely characterized as a fascist. Born into a military intellig ...
. Kurginyan accused Girkin of surrendering
Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...
and not keeping his oath to die in Sloviansk. Kurginyan believes that surrendering Sloviansk is a war crime, and Girkin should be responsible for that. The DPR security minister
Alexander Khodakovsky Alexander Sergeevich Khodakovsky ( rus, Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Ходако́вский, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ xədɐˈkofskʲɪj) is the commander of the pro-Russian Vostok Battalion formed in early May ...
, who defected from the SBU Alpha Group and who commanded the rebel Vostok Battalion, also protested and threatened a mutiny. On 10 July 2014, news outlet Mashable reported finding execution orders three days earlier for Slavov and Lukyanov in Girkin's abandoned Sloviansk headquarters. The orders were signed "Strelkov" with the name Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich printed underneath. Also sentenced to death was Alexei Pichko, a civilian who was caught stealing two shirts and a pair of pants from an abandoned house of his neighbour. According to an unconfirmed story, his body "had been dumped on the front lines" after he was executed. On 24 July, Ukrainian authorities exhumed several corpses from a mass grave site on the grounds of a children's hospital near the Jewish cemetery in Slovyansk, which might contain as many as 20 bodies of those executed by order of Girkin. Among the identified victims were four Ukrainian Protestants who the police and locals said had been kidnapped on 8 June, after attending a service at their church. They were falsely accused of helping the Ukrainian Army, robbed for their cars, and shot the following day.


Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

Multiple sources cited a post on the
VKontakte VK (short for its original name ''VKontakte''; russian: ВКонтакте, meaning ''InContact'') is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predomin ...
social networking service that was made by an account under Girkin's name which acknowledged shooting down an aircraft at approximately the same time that the civilian airliner
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...
(MH17) was reported to have crashed in eastern Ukraine in the same area near the Russian border on 17 July 2014. The post specifically referenced how warnings were issued for planes not to fly in their airspace and the downing of a Ukrainian military
Antonov An-26 The Antonov An-26 ( NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Tw ...
transport plane which the Ukraine Crisis Media Center suggested was a case of misidentification with the MH17. This post was deleted later in the day and the account behind it claimed that Girkin has no official account on this social service. Most of the 298 victims in the plane's crash came from the Netherlands. On 19 July the country's biggest newspaper '' De Telegraaf'' included Girkin's photo in the front page collage of pro-Russian rebel leaders under the one-word headline "Murderers" ("Moordenaars"). Russian opposition lawyer and politician Mark Feygin posted a purported order by Girkin where he instructs all his men and commanders who "have in their possession personal effects from this plane" to deliver the found items to his HQ so "the valuables (watches, earrings, pendants, and other jewelry and items from valuable metals)" would be transferred to "the Defense Fund of the DPR." Girkin was the author of an alternative version of the incident, wherein "no living people were aboard the plane as it flew on
autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
from
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, where it had been loaded with "rotting corpses"." This lie was then "not only aired on all state-controlled media outlets, but was the subject of serious discussion." At his press-conference on 28 July 2014, Girkin denied his connection to the downed plane and announced that his militants were killing "black-skinned" mercenaries. In July 2015 a writ was filed in an American court by families of 18 victims formally accusing Girkin of "orchestrating the shootdown". The writ claimed damages of US$900 million and was brought under the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991. On 19 June 2019, the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT), investigating the shooting down of MH17, officially announced a criminal case against Girkin and three other men. The court proceedings were scheduled to start on 9 March 2020 before the District Court of
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, at the The JIT said it would ask Russia to extradite the suspects who are currently on Russian soil, saying: "The criminal trial will take place even if the suspects choose not to appear in court." Interfax news agency quoted Girkin as saying: "I do not give any comments. The only thing I can say is the rebels did not shoot down the Boeing."


Dismissal as Donetsk People's Republic minister

According to ITAR-TASS news agency on Wednesday, 13 August 2014, Girkin was seriously wounded the previous day in fierce fighting in the pro-Russian rebel held territories of Eastern Ukraine, and was described to be in "grave" condition. DNS representative
Sergei Kavtaradze Sergey or Sergo Kavtaradze ( Georgian: სერგო ქავთარაძე, ''Sergo Kavtaradze''; Russian: Сергей Иванович Кавтарадзе, ''Sergey Ivanovich Kavtaradze''; 15 August 1885 – 17 October 1971) was a Sovie ...
refuted this news shortly after, saying Girkin is "alive and well". On 14 August the leadership of the DNR announced that Girkin was dismissed from his position of defense minister "on his own request" as he was assigned "some other tasks". On 16 August the Russian TV-Zvezda claimed that Girkin was "on vacation". It claimed that he was appointed as a military chief of the combined forces of Luhansk and Donetsk (he had been in command of Donetsk forces only) and after he returns he will be put to a task of creating an unified command over the forces of the Federal State of Novorossiya. According to Stanislav Belkovskiy, the main reason for the removal of Girkin from the "defense minister" position was the amount of attention caused by the downing of MH17 and the negative impact on Russia's actions in Ukraine that it caused. On 22 August a former rebel Anton Raevsky ("Nemetz") said in an interview in Rostov-on-Don that Girkin and his supporters are being cleansed from the DNR by the FSB, because of this insufficient compliance with Kremlin's policy on the republic. According to the Nemtsov Report, Girkin later acknowledged that he resigned from his official position in the DNR due to pressure from
the Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...
. In November 2014 in an interview for "Moscow Speaking" radio, Girkin said that "the existence of Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics in their current form, with the low-profile but still bloody war, is definitely convenient for USA in the first place, and only for them, because they are the ulcer that divides Russia and Ukraine". Later in November in an interview for ''Zavtra'' newspaper Girkin stated that the war in Donbas was launched by his detachment despite both Ukrainian government and local combatants having avoided an armed confrontation before. Also he recognized himself responsible for the actual situation in Donetsk and other cities of the region.


Civilian life in Russia (2014–2022)

In late April 2014, "Strelkov" was identified by Ukrainian intelligence as Colonel Igor Girkin, registered as a resident of Moscow. Journalists visiting the apartment where he allegedly lived with his mother, sister, as well as his former wife and two sons, were told by neighbors that a "fancy black car" had that same morning picked up the woman living there. The neighbors also described him as "polite" and quiet. Girkin claims that he worked as a security chief for the controversial Russian businessmen
Konstantin Malofeev Konstantin Valeryevich Malofeev (russian: link=no, Константин Валерьевич Малофеев) is a Russian businessman and chairman of non-government pro-monarchism organisation Society for the Development of Russian Historical ...
. The Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic Alexander Borodai was also a close associate of the businessman. According to the 2022
Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised as bellngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 20 ...
investigation, Girkin was using a Russian
internal passport An internal passport or a domestic passport is an identity document. Uses for internal passports have included restricting citizens of a subdivided state to employment in their own area (preventing their migration to richer cities or regions), cle ...
issued in the fictional name of Sergey Viktorovich Runov. Runov was the surname of his maternal grandfather, as well as the maiden name of his mother (as Runova). Passports from the same series have been used by several FSB operatives, including Zelimkhan Khangoshvili murderer Vadim Krasikov and members of the FSB squad involved in the poisoning of
Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolievich Navalny ( rus, links=no, Алексей Анатольевич Навальный, , ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ nɐˈvalʲnɨj; born 4 June 1976) is a Russian opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption act ...
.
Andrey Piontkovsky Andrey Andreyevich Piontkovsky (russian: Андре́й Андре́евич Пионтко́вский, born June 30, 1940, Moscow) is a Russian scientist and political writer and analyst, a member of International PEN Club. He is a former mem ...
adduces Girkin's name among the those of like-minded persons and says, "The authentic high-principled Hitlerites, true
Aryans Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ...
Dugin, Prokhanov, Prosvirin, Kholmogorov, Girkin, Prilepin are a marginalized minority in Russia." Piontkovsky adds, "Putin has stolen the ideology of the Russian Reich from the domestic Hitlerites, he has preventively burned them down, using their help to do so, hundreds of their most active supporters in the furnace of the Ukrainian
Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.
." In his interview with
Radio Liberty Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
, Piontkovsky says, maybe the meaning of the operation conducted by Putin is to reveal all these potential passionate leaders of social revolt, send them to Ukraine and burn them in the furnace of the Ukrainian Vendée. In his interview with Oleksandr Chalenko on 2 December 2014, according to the journalist, Girkin confirmed that he is an FSB colonel, but this claim was then subjected to censorship and omitted from publishing."Twice cut" interview of Strelkov: no word about FSB
BBC Russia. 2 December 2014 He also acknowledged that anarchy exists among the so-called Novorossiya militants. He stated that Igor Bezler's militants in particular acted independently, the so-called "Russian Orthodox Army" had split in half, and other forces represented a patchwork of various unrelated groups. Girkin criticised the ongoing attacks on the
Donetsk International Airport Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Донецьк", Russian: Международный аэропорт "Донецк") is a former airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that ...
as pointless and harmful. After Luhansk commander Alexander "Batman" Bednov was killed by other militants in January 2015, Girkin criticised the killing as a "murder" and "gangster ambush", and suggested that other commanders seriously consider leaving Donbas to Russia, as he did. In a January 2015 interview for Anna News, Girkin said that in his opinion "Russia is currently at state of war", since the volunteers who arrive to Donbas "are being supplied with arms and shells". He also noted that "he never separated Ukraine from Soviet Union in his mind" so he considers the conflict as a "civil war in Russia". In March 2016 Girkin's appearance as a panelist on a Moscow Economic Forum (MEF) along with Oleg Tsarev and
Pavel Gubarev Pavel Yuryevich Gubarev (russian: Па́вел Ю́рьевич Гу́барев, ; or Pavlo Yuriyovych Hubariev uk, Павло Юрійович Губарєв; born 10 February 1983) is a Russian activist who proclaimed himself the "People's ...
attracted critical reactions in Russia, with from
Ekho Moskvy Echo of Moscow (russian: links=no, Эхо Москвы, translit=Ekho Moskvy) was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local ra ...
accusing MEF organizers of "promoting terrorism". In May 2016, Girkin announced the creation of the Russian National Movement, a neo-imperialist political party. The party is in favor of "uniting the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, and other Russian lands into a single all-Russian state and transforming the entire territory of the former USSR into an unconditional zone of Russian influence." Girkin said "the Russian National Movement fully rejects President Vladimir Putin's regime and calls for an end to the current climate of fear and intimidation of Russia's citizens". The party has called for "strict quota system for migrant workers from the former Soviet republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus" and the cancelling of laws on internet control.


2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

With the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
on late February, Girkin became again a public figure, covering the war though his warblog on
Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
. Girkin has a pro-war position, but has been noted for criticisms directed against the
Russian military The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...
and the Ministry of Defence, including the defense minister
Sergei Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...
, in how the invasion has been unsuccessful, inefficient and insufficient. Unlike the liberal and pro-democracy
opposition to Vladimir Putin Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Come ...
and independent journalists who are persecuted for criticizing the war in Ukraine or Putin, ultra-nationalists and pro-war activists like Girkin are considered untouchable because they are protected by high-ranking members of the military and intelligence services.
Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised as bellngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 20 ...
journalist Christo Grozev believes Girkin is shielded from being censored by a "war party" inside the FSB. Due the initial failures of the Russian invasion, Girkin called on 29 March for a general mobilization. On 21 April Girkin raised the opinion that "without at least a partial mobilization in the Russian Federation, it will be impossible and highly dangerous to launch a deep strategic offensive against the so-called Ukraine". On 15 August, Girkin was reportedly detained in Crimea while attempting to travel to the frontline near Kherson. After
large Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms ( ...
Ukrainian conteroffensives in September 2022, he predicted a complete defeat for Russian troops in Ukraine. He said that full mobilization in Russia was the "last chance" for victory. On 12 September, he called the Russian attacks on Ukrainian power plants "very useful". He also said that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu should be executed by
firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...
and called for the use of
tactical nuclear weapons A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territo ...
in order "to drive 20 million refugees to Europe." In early October 2022 Girkin left for Ukraine in order to fight in one of the Russian volunteer units. That same month, it was reported that the Ukrainian government crowdfunded a US$150,000 reward for his capture. In December 2022, he wrote about his experience: "Simply put, the troops are fighting by inertia, not having the slightest idea of the ultimate strategic goals of the military campaign. In most parts of the RF ussian FederationArmed Forces, soldiers and officers do not understand: In the name of what, for what, and with what purposes they are fighting. It’s a mystery for them: What is the condition for victory or just a condition for ending the war."


Personal life

Girkin is known as a fan of military-historical movement and has participated in several reenactments connected with various periods of Russian and international history, especially the
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
where he would play a White movement officer. His personal idol and role model is said to be the White Guard general
Mikhail Drozdovsky Mikhail Gordeevich Drozdovsky (russian: Михаил Гордеевич Дроздовский; October 7, 1881 – January 1, 1919) was a Russian army officer and one of the military leaders of the anti-Bolshevik White movement during the R ...
, killed in a battle with the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
in 1919.


Notes


References


External links

* * *
Biography of Strelkov: About my background and nationality. 17-06-2018

Website of Igor Strelkov's movement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Girkin, Igor 1970 births Federal Security Service officers People of the Donetsk People's Republic GRU officers Living people Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Army of Republika Srpska soldiers People of the Chechen wars Military personnel from Moscow Pro-Russian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Russian nationalists Russian memoirists Individuals designated as terrorist by the government of Ukraine Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas Russian people convicted of murder Russian mass murderers Russian individuals subject to the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Russian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions People convicted of murder by the Netherlands War criminals