Mikhail Sergeyevich Tolstykh ( uk, Михайло Сергійович Толстих, russian: Михаи́л Сергéевич Толсты́х; 19 July 1980 – 8 February 2017), better known by his '' nom de guerre'' Givi (Ги́ви), was a Ukrainian separatist

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge o ...

. He was mainly known as the commander of the Donetsk People's Republic's

Somalia Battalion The Somalia Battalion (russian: Батальон «Сомали») is a separatist military unit of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic in Ukraine, which has been fighting against the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbas War and the 2022 ...

of the Separatist Forces in 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 ...

from 2014, until his death in early 2017.

Biography

Mikhail Tolstykh, Donetsk, June 9, 2015 (cropped)

In his interview to '' Komsomolskaya Pravda'', Tolstykh said he was from

Ilovaisk Ilovaisk (, ; ) is a city in Khartsyzk municipality, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city is ''de facto'' under the military occupation of Russia and administered by the Donetsk People's Republic. The city is known as a major regional railroad h ...

and served as a conscript in the

Ukrainian Army The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the land forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They w ...

from 1998 to 2000 at a military training center, and wanted to continue in the army as a voluntary soldier after 2000 but was denied due to his

speech impediment Speech disorders or speech impairments are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute. Speech skills are ...

. He then worked at a sling rope factory and as a security guard in a supermarket.Zhukova, O.
Givi: I was taught to battle by Chapayev and Ukraine
'. Komsomolskaya Pravda. 8 February 2017 In an interview he stated that his grandfather was an ethnic

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

; his nickname Givi is Georgian. Tolstykh joined the rebels in the early stages of the war and was involved in the Battle of Ilovaisk. Givi led the DPR Somalia Battalion in the

Second Battle of Donetsk Airport A part of the ongoing war in the Donbas region of Ukraine, the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport began on 28 September 2014. An earlier battle in May 2014 had left Donetsk International Airport in Ukrainian control. Despite a ceasefire agre ...

. ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' wrote a brief article about him where he gives interview to Novorossiya TV, during which an explosion took place in close vicinity. On 16 February 2015, Tolstykh was included by the European Council in their sanctions list. In 2016, he was charged in Ukraine with crimes including the creation of a terrorist organization, abduction, and abuse of prisoners of war.

Treatment of prisoners

In January 2015, several videos surfaced of Tolstykh physically abusing captured Ukrainian artillerymen from the

. Tolstykh is seen clearly identifying himself before grabbing the prisoners by the face, brandishing a dagger, and cutting off military insignia and forcing prisoners to eat them. Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of the Kyiv-based Center for Civil Liberties, called what appears in the videos "flagrant violations of the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conve ...

" and said she was preparing the groundwork for prosecution.

Death

Early in the morning of 8 February 2017, while working in his

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...

office, Tolstykh was killed by an explosion said to be caused by an

RPO-A Shmel The RPO-A Shmel ( rus, реактивный пехотный огнемёт-А Шмель (РПО-А Шмель), Rocket-propelled Infantry Flamethrower-A Bumblebee) is a man-portable disposable rocket-assisted Flamethrower, It is classified as a ...

rocket launcher fired from an unknown distance. DPR officials accused Ukrainian forces of carrying out the attack, while Ukrainian security officials claimed it to be the result of DPR infighting. In 2022 journalist Yuriy Butusov claimed that Tolstykh was killed by a counter-intelligence unit of 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) which was approved by then-president

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...

In the media

During his life, and posthumously, Tolstykh has enjoyed a high profile in media, and on social media. A video of Givi at his birthday party in 2015 by British journalist Graham Phillips, has been viewed more than 11 million times on YouTube. Tolstykh was known to be friends with Phillips.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolstykh, Mikhail 1980 births 2017 deaths Male murder victims People from Ilovaisk People of the Donetsk People's Republic People with speech impediment Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas Military personnel killed in the Russo-Ukrainian War Russian people of Georgian descent Security guards Unsolved murders in Ukraine Russian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions Ukrainian collaborators with Russia Individuals designated as terrorist by the government of Ukraine