The Russia Report
Issue 162
From the editor
The arrest of Igor Girkin (Strelkov) in Moscow last Friday was a moment to savour for all those who have been hoping for years for some kind of punishment for the former “defence minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic” who led Russia’s initial invasion of Donbas in 2014 and was convicted in The Hague in absentia last November for his role in the shooting down of flight MH17 in July that year, which resulted in the deaths of all 298 people on board.
Igor Girkin in court in Moscow on an extremism charge
Many have pointed out that if Girkin, 52, had attended his own trial in the Netherlands he would now be in more comfortable surroundings than he is in a Russian jail, and certainly at less risk of suffering an unexplained death. But Vladimir Putin had no interest in arresting Girkin for MH17 or handing him over to international authorities. The former FSB officer was allowed to live freely in Russia and make videos with outspoken criticism of the conduct of the war after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, until he went too far by calling the Russian president a “lowlife” on Telegram on July 18, continuing, “The country will not endure another six years of this cowardly bum in power. And the only useful thing that he could do ‘at the end’ is to ensure the transfer of power to someone truly capable and responsible. It is a pity that it will not even occur to him.”
For this Girkin was arrested on a charge of “extremism” and ordered into pre-trial detention despite his pleas that he should go into house arrest because he has angina. Outside court another former leading figure from the early days of the “Donetsk People’s Republic,” Pavel Gubarev, was detained for holding a sign saying “Free Strelkov! Glory to Russia!” A small crowd of hardcore nationalists had assembled to chant calls for Girkin’s release, but generally the response to his arrest from the pro-war fanatics was indifferent. It’s lonely being a terrorist rejected by your former associates.
Girkin did, however, receive some support from supposed democrats Alexei Navalny and journalist Yulia Latynina, who both said he should be considered a political prisoner because although he is deserving of prison for MH17, he should not have been arrested for his opinions. Navalny himself is facing a new possible 20-year prison sentence to be announced on August 4 at his closed trial in prison on the same charge of extremism. This awkwardly-expressed view only made Navalny even less popular among Ukrainians, who can’t be expected to feel sad about a regime stalwart falling victim to the system he tried to impose on them. Navalny had already behaved dubiously when he participated in a debate with Girkin in July 2017 which appeared to legitimise the unrepentant killer.
Girkin’s future is now a prison cell, barring another dramatic change on the political scene, but meanwhile mutineer Yevgeny Prigozhin is still free in Belarus and keen to turn his attentions to Poland, if Alexander Lukashenko’s words during a meeting with Putin are to be believed. Wagner contractors are “in a bad mood”, according to the Belarusian dictator, and would like to go on an “excursion” to Warsaw and Rzeszów. This idea would certainly turn out very badly for the Russian mercenaries. But Prigozhin was also pictured yesterday at a hotel in St. Petersburg that he owns, meeting a delegate from the Central African Republic during the Russia-Africa Summit. Putin will be hoping that Prigozhin’s adventures are directed away from Moscow, and probably wishing he had dealt with the disgruntled chef the same way he did with the MH17 murderer.
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Russia bombs Odesa’s historic centre and port
Russian missiles struck the historic centre of Odesa on Sunday night, severely damaging the Transfiguration Cathedral and several other buildings, and killing one person. Yesterday a civilian guard was killed in a Russian missile strike on the Odesa port. “Missiles against peaceful cities, against residential buildings, a cathedral… There can be no excuse for Russian evil,” Volodymyr Zelensky said. “As always, this evil will lose. And there will definitely be a retaliation to Russian terrorists for Odesa. They will feel this retaliation.” On Monday drones struck buildings in Moscow, causing damage but no serious injuries.
Trevor Reed injured fighting for Ukraine
Former US Marine Trevor Reed, who was arrested in Russia in 2019 and released in a prisoner exchange in April last year, has been injured fighting for Ukraine. Reed had been sentenced to nine years in prison for allegedly injuring a police officer after being arrested while drunk. Reed is currently being treated at the US Army’s Landstuhl Medical Centre in Germany and is expected to make a full recovery. He went to Ukraine as a volunteer in November last year and was hit by shrapnel in both legs while his unit was advancing near Bakhmut.
IT company founder sentenced for treason
A court in Moscow has sentenced Group-IB founder Ilya Sachkov to 14 years in prison for treason for allegedly giving secrets to the FBI in 2011. Sachkov’s cybersecurity company is now based in Singapore. At age 29 in 2016 he featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. His trial was held in secret but it is thought that Sergei Mikhailov, the former deputy head of the FSB’s Centre for Information Security, who himself was given a 22-year prison sentence for treason in 2019, gave evidence against Sachkov.
More regime critics jailed
A court in Barnaul has sentenced Alexei Navalny’s former coordinator in the city, Vadim Ostanin, to nine years in prison for organising an extremist group. Ostanin was arrested in December 2021 and initially allowed out on bail but sent into pre-trial detention in March last year. At the time of his arrest he was a city councillor in Biysk.
Meanwhile a court in Lipetsk Oblast sentenced Alexei Vorochek to a year and 11 months in prison for allegedly having ties to Ukraine’s nationalist Right Sector group due to some correspondence on Telegram. The sentence means Vorochek will be released tomorrow because of the time he has spent in pre-trial detention. In spring last year he also served a five-day jail sentence for “discrediting the army” for allegedly writing “Occupiers, fasciZm!” on the wall of a military recruiting office. Vorochek said he was forced to sing the national anthem and threatened with rape when he was arrested.
In one more case on criticism of the war, a court in Sytyvkar has sent well-known sociologist and former dissident in the Soviet era Boris Kargalitsky into pre-trial detention on a charge of calling for terrorism for a social media post about the explosion on the Crimea bridge last year, saying that it was advantageous militarily. Kargalitsky, 64, was added to Russia’s list of “foreign agents” in May last year.
Four killed by hot water in Moscow shopping centre
Four people died and several others received burns after a hot water pipe burst at the Vremena Goda shopping centre in Moscow on Saturday. The shopping centre’s chief engineer Yevgeny Botkin, 39, was arrested and sent into house arrest to await trial on a charge of causing death due to violating industrial safety regulations, the penalty for which is up to seven years in prison.
Tourist helicopter crashes in Altai Krai
A Mi-8 helicopter carrying tourists has crashed in the village of Tyungur in Altai Krai, killing six people on board and injuring seven. The helicopter was about to land and was hovering just above the ground when its rotors hit a high-voltage power line. The helicopter was operated by Altai Avia.