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Igor Girkin

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Igor Girkin

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Also known as Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin, Igor Ivanovich Strelkov, Sergey Viktorovich Runov, Sergey Runov, Igor Strelkov

Russian citizen from Moscow who played a significant role in the War in Donbass

Key facts

President
Pavel Gubarev
Prime minister
Alexander Borodai , Alexander Zakharchenko
Preceded by
Office established
Succeeded by
Vladimir Kononov
Born
Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin , ( 1970-12-17 ) 17 December 1970 (age 55) , Moscow , Soviet Union
Party
Angry Patriots Club (2023)
Nickname
Igor Ivanovich Strelkov
Allegiance
Russia , Transnistria , Republika Srpska , Donetsk Republic
Branch service
Russian Ground Forces , Federal Security Service , Donbas People's Militia
Rank
Colonel
Battles wars
Transnistria War Bosnian War Chechen–Russian conflict First Chechen War Second Chechen War Russo-Ukrainian War Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation 2014 Simferopol incident War in Donbas (2014–2022) Siege of Sloviansk Battle of Kramatorsk

via Wikipedia infobox

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin (Russian: И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, IPA: [ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn]; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov (Russian: И́горь Ива́нович Стрелко́в, IPA: [ˈiɡərʲ ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ strʲɪlˈkof]), is a Russian army veteran and former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who played a key role in the Russian annexation of Crimea, and then in the Donbas War as an organizer of militant groups in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). In 2024 he was convicted on charges of inciting extremism. Earlier he received a life sentence in absentia in the Netherlands for his role in downing the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

Girkin admitted responsibility for sparking the Donbas War in eastern Ukraine when, in April 2014, he led a group of armed Russian militants who seized Sloviansk. His role in the siege gained him influence and attention, and he was appointed to the position of Minister of Defense in the Donetsk People's Republic, a puppet state of Russia. Girkin was charged with terrorism by Ukrainian authorities. He has also been sanctioned by the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Canada and Switzerland for his leading role in the war in eastern Ukraine.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Igor Girkin” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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