Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin

Igor Girkin (2015)

Igor Vsevolodowitsch Girkin ( Russian Игорь Всеволодович Гиркин ; born December 17, 1970 in Moscow ) was one of the military leaders of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic during the war in Ukraine since 2014 ; Girkin is a Russian citizen and appeared in public under the pseudonym Igor Strelkow ( Игорь Стрелков ). He is called Strelok ( German shooter) by the separatists in eastern Ukraine . Girkin is under international arrest in connection with the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 .

Before the Ukraine crisis

According to his own statements, Girkin was reserve colonel of the Russian secret service FSB until March 2013 , sources of the European Union suspect that he is a member of the intelligence service GRU of the Russian armed forces . According to the Ukrainian domestic intelligence service SBU, he holds the rank of Russian colonel .

Girkin was active in the First and Second Chechnya Wars. He was also active during the Transnistrian conflict and in the Balkans, where he fought as a volunteer on the Serbian side in the Bosnian war . Girkin is charged with numerous war crimes. For example, he is said to have been involved in the Višegrad massacre , in which 3,000 Bosnian civilians were murdered. At an event of the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta in Moscow in early June 2013, according to the conference stengram, he gave a lecture on strategies of military actions outside the Russian national borders, in which he did not carry out large-scale military maneuvers but rather “special preventive operations”, such as the murder of opposing leaders, which also “outside legal methods ”.

He was then involved in the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia . In January 2015, during a debate on the Russian television broadcaster Neuromir TV, he declared on the decision of the Crimean parliament to hold an independence referendum: “It was the fighters who rounded up the MPs and forced them to vote. Yes, I was one of the commanders of these fighters. ”Girkin had arrived in Crimea before President Yanukovych had fled and, according to his own account, was involved in“ collecting ”the Crimean parliamentarians for the questionable resolutions on February 27. "I did not notice any support from the state organs," said Girkin, adding that the massive presence of Russian troops was central.

Working in the Ukraine conflict

The group of 52 men led by Girkin who penetrated from Russia into the Ukraine did not find any local leaders and initially only around 150 to 200 supporters. For this reason, Girkin was openly active, which was not intended. Rather, Girkin had planned a process like in the Crimea and without stepping out of the shadows to disappear again. Girkin said that the war in eastern Ukraine did not originate from the Russian-speaking Donbass residents themselves, but that it "pressed the trigger for the war [...]".

In April 2014, the 19-year-old student Jurij Poprawka, the 25-year-old Yuri Djakowskyj and local politicians Volodymyr Rybak was, who had tried the Ukrainian flag at the City Council Horlivka reattach kidnapped. Their bodies were later discovered in the Kasennyj Torez River and showed multiple signs of torture. In an interview in May 2020, Girkin confessed to having given the order to shoot Poprawka and Djakowskyj: "Yes, these people were shot on my order. Nobody tore their stomachs open when they were still alive. I regret that they were shot? no, they were enemies ". He also stated that he was involved in the killing of Rybak: "Of course, as a person who actively campaigned against the" militias ", Rybak was an enemy in my eyes. And his death is probably to some extent also my responsibility."

From intercepted conversations in July 2014, which the criminal investigators evaluated the downing of flight MH17 and published in November 2019, it emerged that the chain of command of the anti-government forces extended to Russia. The most important commanders and functionaries of the self-declared republics, including apparently Girkin, used special Russian transmission technology to communicate with high-ranking Moscow functionaries such as Vladislav Surkov, who wrote the NZZ

“The myth of the volunteer uprising in eastern Ukraine and Moscow's lack of influence has long been exposed. It is no secret that the top functionaries of the self-proclaimed “People's Republics” Donetsk and Luhansk regularly pick up their directives in Moscow. "

On April 26, 2014, Girkin was appointed head of the military and security sector by Denis Pushilin, the leader of the proclaimed “ Donetsk People's Republic ”. On April 29, 2014, Girkin was placed on the European Union's sanctions list under the name Igor Strelkov . According to the sanctions list, he was identified as an employee of the Central Intelligence Unit at the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU) , was involved in incidents in Slovyansk and was assistant for security matters to the Prime Minister of Crimea , Sergei Aksyonov . Girkin expected Moscow to annex Donbass like Crimea after the May 11 referendum.

Alexander Kishinez was appointed Defense Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic in mid-May, and Strelkov has since headed the separatists in Slovyansk as “ Generalissimo ” or army chief. He lamented the lack of support in the defense of “Russian soil” and urged the population to finally take up arms: “I would never have thought that there would not even be 1000 men in the entire region who would be willing to risk their lives . ”In Slovyansk he had two of the rebels executed for looting and kidnapping. According to eyewitness reports, the city was completely lawless. At the end of June he claimed that the Ukrainian Army was using chemical weapons. On August 14, 2014, he announced his resignation as military chief on the grounds that he had now taken on other tasks. The withdrawal of the troops he commanded from Slovyansk at the beginning of July 2014 is said to have brought him bitter criticism from his own camp, which could have led to his resignation.

During the occupation of Slovyansk, Girkin had (at least) three men executed. The decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on “Martial Law” of June 22, 1941 was used as the legal basis.

On August 28, 2014, Girkin attended a meeting with Alexander G. Dugin and the Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofejew on the grounds of the Valaam Monastery . After signing the Minsk Protocol, which also includes a ceasefire, on September 5, Girkin read a statement in Moscow on September 11, in which he held a fifth column operating within Russia responsible for Russian President Putin's insufficient support for New Russia ; He then answered questions from the press representatives present.

Announcement on the plane crash MH17

At the time of the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 , a civilian Boeing 777 , the shooting down of a military transport plane was published on an account of the online network vk.com assigned to him , with the addition that this was a warning for the central government in Kiev that was issued by not to fly over the separatist occupied territories. This publication was later deleted. The original version is still accessible on the Wayback Machine .

Relatives of the victims sued Girkin in a Chicago court in July 2015 for $ 900 million in damages. In a more symbolic act, the court granted each of the 19 plaintiffs $ 20 million. Girkin told the broadcaster RBK that he would probably not live long enough for it.

On June 19, 2019, at a press conference of the international investigators into the shooting down of the MH17 passenger plane , it was announced that an international arrest warrant had been issued against Girkin. In addition to Girkin, other arrest warrants related to Girkin's deputy Sergei Dubinsky and the then deputy chief of intelligence of the rebels in Donetsk, Oleg Pulatov. Another accused is Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, who was commanding a rebel unit in eastern Ukraine at the time of the shooting down.

After the active time in the war in Ukraine

After his return to Russia he founded the movement "New Russia" in the Russian Federation with the aim of "preserving the Russian world and restoring a unified Greater Russia". In March 2015, Strelkov again complained about the inaction of the Russian government. He calls for the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk to join the Russian Federation. Girkin achieved a high level of notoriety and was even credited with serious opportunities for entry into politics. Due to financial problems, Strelkov put his medal for the return of Crimea up for sale in the spring of 2019.

In 2018, Girkin accused the Russian government of being to blame for the economic decline of the Donetsk People's Republic . Vladimir Putin's agents have "robbed" the region, "bandits" are in the process of "plundering" the Donbass. The most important specialists have been brought to Russia.

worldview

Girkin (left) during a World War II reenactment

Girkin described himself as the leader of a " Russian Orthodox army in the service of God and the Russian people". For this reason, he issued a curse ban for his units. His home is the " USSR from Brest to Vladivostok ". He called the government in Kiev haters of Christians. Ukraine is not a state, but a "construct created by foreign forces", the Ukrainians are not a nation, but a "Russian people".

Girkin is said to have participated in re-enactments of historical battles in various costumes. The magazine The New Republic claims to have recognized Girkin's particular weakness for fighters of the anti-Bolshevik white movement from the analysis of the photos of such re-enactments circulating on the internet .

Web links

• ORF.at: Prominent names on the list
• n-tv.de: Three names, one goal: Sagittarius from Moscow rules in Eastern Ukraine
• Florian Kellermann: In the footsteps of the separatists , Deutschlandfunk , May 14, 2014
• Youtube, amateur recordings from the Girkin, Dugin and Malofeew meeting on August 28th.
• Still shot 1 of the Girkin and Dugin meeting
• Still shot 2 of the Girkin and Dugin meeting

Individual evidence

1. ^ According to information from the Ukrainian domestic secret service SBU .
2. ↑ Игорь Стрелков: как книжный мальчик стал командующим ополчением Донбасса, Moskovsky Komsomolets, May 28, 2014 (Russian); Retrieved July 5, 2014
3. ↑ People's Armed Forces Chief of Slavyansk: 90 percent of the people's armed forces are local residents , Voice of Russia on May 27, 2014, accessed on May 29, 2014.
4. ↑ Three names, one goal: shooters from Moscow rule in Eastern Ukraine , n-tv.de from May 18, 2014, accessed on May 21, 2014.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Separatist leader calls on women to fight. In: Spiegel Online , May 19, 2014.
6. ↑ Стрєлков, який насправді має інше ім'я, наказував викрасти інспекторів ОБСЄ. In: Ukrajinska Prawda , April 28, 2014 ( Ukrainian ).
7. ↑ Ukraine crisis: Key players in eastern unrest from July 22, 2014, viewed on August 11, 2014 on bbc.com
8. ↑ "Стрєлков, який насправді має інше ім'я, наказував викрасти інспекторів ОБСЄ" from April 28, 2014, viewed on April 29, 2014 on pravda.com.ua
9. ↑ Ukraine Crisis - The Chechen Factor in Donbass . In: Tyrolean daily newspaper . May 28, 2014
10. ↑ http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/igor-strelkovs-bosnian-diary-ukraine-separatist-leaders-1992-bloody-war-1458897
11. ↑ ^{a b} Igor Strelkow - "the shooter" In: n-tv.de . July 24, 2014
12. ↑ Christian Weisflog: The crisis in Ukraine: Russian duo in Donetsk . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . 19th May 2014
13. ^ Vote on Crimea under duress. In: Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung. January 27, 2015, p. 5.
14. ↑ How the Crimea was annexed - “We drove them to the vote” , NZZ, January 27, 2015
15. ↑ Russian rebel leader claims he started Ukraine war. In: The Times. November 24, 2014, page 24; “ However, because no local leaders came foreward and initially only 150-200 locals supported him in Slovyansk, he started a war himself. ”
16. ↑ We marched seventeen kilometers across the border. In: Swobodnaya Pressa. November 11, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 . 
17. ↑ Julian Hans: Russian secret service agent for Eastern Ukraine - "I pressed the trigger for the war". sueddeutsche.de, November 21, 2014, accessed on November 22, 2014 . 
18. ↑ Гиркин признался в убийстве трех украинцев . In: gordonua.com . May 18, 2020. Accessed May 27, 2020.
19. ↑ MH17 Witness Appeal November 2019 , on the website politie.nl/ of the Dutch police; "These witnesses stated that the key figures of the armed group were directed from within the Russian Federation."
20. ↑ "The letter человек is a person, you know?" Novaya Gazeta, November 19, 2019
21. ↑ MH17 Witness Appeal November 2019 - Means of communication , on the website politie.nl/ of the Dutch police
22. ↑ The investigators from MH17 present new evidence for Moscow's hand in eastern Ukraine , NZZ, November 15, 2019
23. ↑ Florian Hassel : Igor Strelkow, Commander in Eastern Ukraine - The man behind the reign of terror. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 12, 2014, accessed May 19, 2014 . 
24. ↑ Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 433/2014 of the Council implementing Regulation (EU) No. 269/2014 on restrictive measures in the face of acts that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine . In: eur-lex.europa.eu. April 28, 2014 ( Official Journal of the European Union L126 / 48).
25. ↑ Moscow irregulars Strelkov: "I dream of Russia within the borders of 1939" , Spiegel, March 19, 2015
26. ↑ Julia Smirnova: Power struggle among the separatists . In: The compact world . May 15, 2014
27. ↑ David Nauer: The wind has turned in eastern Ukraine . In: Tages-Anzeiger . May 24, 2014
28. ↑ Eastern Ukraine: separatist leader calls on women to fight . In: Spiegel Online . 19th May 2014
29. ↑ Ukrainian oligarch calls for resistance against separatists . In: The world . May 20, 2014
30. ↑ Christian Esch: Ukraine: Violence reaches a new level . In: Berliner Zeitung . May 27, 2014
31. ^ Eastern Ukraine: People's militias shoot comrades for marauding . In: RIA Novosti . May 27, 2014
32. ↑ Christiane Körner: Ukraine conflict: there is now war in Slavyansk . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . May 25, 2014
33. ↑ DNR chief: Ukrainian army uses chemical weapons against the people's armed forces , RIA, June 30, 2014
34. ↑ Kiev has Russian convoy checked . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . 15th August 2014
35. ↑ ^{a b} Separatist leader Strelkow resigns In: n-tv.de . August 14, 2014
36. ^ Documents show Russian separatist commander signed off on executions of three men in Sloviansk , KyivPost, July 11, 2014
37. ↑ Amateur recordings of the meeting of Dugin, Girkin and Malofejew on the island of Valaam on August 28, 2014
38. ^ Statement by Strelkov on September 11, 2014 in Moscow
39. ↑ Malaysian passenger plane crashes over Ukraine , focus.de on July 17, 2014
40. ↑ ^{a b} Julia Smirnova: Did the separatists give themselves away with the videos? In: The world. July 17, 2014, accessed July 17, 2014 . 
41. ↑ Boeing apparently shot down , tagesschau.de of July 17, 2014.
42. ↑ Original message from Igor Strelkow on the Wayback Machine ( Memento from July 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
43. ↑ Russian separatist leader sued for 900 million by crash victims , in: telegraph.co.uk, July 16, 2015.
44. ↑ http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/flug-mh-17/jahrestag-mh17-41793288.bild.html
45. ↑ In the USA, relatives of the victims of the MH17 crash received compensation from Strelkov , Novaya Gazeta, January 30, 2018
46. ↑ The families of the victims of the MH17 crash won millions of claims against Igor Strelkov , RBK, January 30, 2018
47. ↑ MH17: Four charged with shooting down plane over Ukraine BBC of June 19, 2019
48. ↑ Ekaterina Sinelschtschikowa: A breath of fresh air for politics: Russians want new faces in the government. Many Russians would like political leaders from Donbass to become more involved in Russian politics, according to a survey by the Levada Center. In general, the Russians want more fresh blood in politics. The parties respond to this with a cautious renewal of staff. (No longer available online.) In: Russia Beyond the Headlines. June 8, 2015, formerly in the original ; accessed on June 10, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
49. ↑ Igor Strelkov has decided to sell his medal for the annexation of Crimea by Russia because of "material problems" for 1 million rubles , Novaya Gazeta, March 9, 2019
50. ↑ How Putin is waging war in Eastern Ukraine , in: Der Spiegel , November 10, 2018, p. 90.
51. ^ Separatist Commander 'Strelkov' Bans Cursing , Radio Free Europe, July 20, 2014
52. ^ The worldview of the separatists in Donbass - Der Fluch des Fluchens , NZZ Online, August 5, 2014.
53. ↑ Politring Strelkow - Mironow neiromir.tv, December 16, 2014, 08: 40-9: 20 and 14: 00-15.20.