The fate of the defenders of Donbass: what happened to the heroes of the "Russian spring". How the main leaders of the DPR-LPR militia were killed Pavel Gubarev - the "people's governor" of the Donetsk region

In the DPR and LPR on November 11, elections were held for the heads of the republics, as well as deputies of the People's Councils. The main attention of the public, the media and international observers was riveted to Donetsk. It was there that on August 30, as a result of a terrorist attack, Alexander Zakharchenko was killed, whose death became the reason for holding early elections. According to most forecasts, the key favorites of the race were the acting heads of the DPR and LPR Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik. However, at the time of publication, data on the results of the elections were not provided. A special correspondent for Izvestia visited the capital of the Donetsk Republic to see how its inhabitants determined their future for the next five years.

One of five

As Olga Pozdnyakova, head of the Republican CEC, said, 408 polling stations opened their doors in the DPR on voting day. 143 of them are in Donetsk itself, 65 in neighboring Makiivka, 45 in front-line Horlivka, and four more in Debaltseve. In total, according to preliminary data, about 2 million people came to the polls on Sunday.

Five candidates fought for the post of head of the DPR: Denis Pushilin, Elena Shishkina, Roman Khramenkov, Vladimir Medvedev and Roman Evstifeev. Earlier, Pavel Gubarev, the leader of the Novorossiya movement, was not allowed to participate in the elections, the reason was the forgery of signatures. The first minister of defense of the republic, the communist Igor Khakimzyanov, was also not admitted - he did not have time to pass subscription lists on time.

Of the current candidates, the most famous and public was 37-year-old Denis Pushilin, who until the death of Alexander Zakharchenko held the post of chairman of the People's Council. About Elena Shishkina, it is known that she has 22 years of experience as a lawyer and is a judge of the Ukrainian People's Tribunal for the Investigation of War Crimes of the new Kyiv authorities. Roman Khramenkov worked as the mayor of Yenakiyevo and Gorlovka in 2015-2016. Vladimir Medvedev worked for several years as the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the DPR, and Roman Evstifeev runs the Museum of Military and Labor Glory of Afghanistan Veterans in one of the districts of Donetsk.

"Good" and "Bad"

On the election day, more than 40 observers from Russia, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Turkey and Chile arrived in the republic.

These are public figures, journalists, political scientists, teachers who, at our invitation or of their own free will, decided to come here and see everything with their own eyes,” Olga Pozdnyakova said. - Among them are members of the Federation Council Sergei Tsekov and Olga Kovitidi, Belgian MP Jan Penris, ex-Minister of Defense of Greece Kostas Isychos, French Minister of Transport in the government of Nicolas Sarkozy Thierry Mariani and others.

As Thierry Mariani explained to Izvestia, he arrived in Donetsk for the first time.

I was the organizer of the visit of French parliamentarians to Crimea in 2016. What did we expect to see there? Occupied peninsula full of Russian military equipment. And we saw an ordinary resort and vacationers. The picture that is shown to us in the media is often very different from the real state of affairs. And that's why I'm here, - said the French politician. - Moreover, in France they talk a lot about the war in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen. But not a word is said about the Donbass, as if it does not exist.

But the observer from Italy, political scientist and analyst Eliseo Bertolazi did not come to Donetsk for the first time.

My specialization is the Slavic world, - he explained to Izvestia. - Even before the war, I repeatedly visited Ukraine. After the start of the war, he traveled to Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, and was at the Donetsk airport. I think Kyiv has led itself into a dead end, since it does not act pragmatically, but from the point of view of ideology. It does not take into account the interests of all the inhabitants of the country, appointing some as "good" and others as "bad." History knows how such regimes end. As for the prospects for the development of the conflict in the south-east of Ukraine, I am sure that it should end soon. Donbass is a rich territory with huge economic potential and great human energy. Everyone, including Ukraine, is interested in this region becoming peaceful and developing.

"To not cry"

Voting took place from 8:00 to 20:00. At the entrance to the sites - music, orchestras, lotteries, fairs. In order to tick the ballots, you must present a document - a passport of the DPR or Ukraine (with a registration mark) or a military ID.

I vote for peace, so that our children do not cry and we do not cry, - Tatyana Vasilyevna, a 75-year-old resident of Donetsk, shared with Izvestia. - And I vote for reunification with Russia, once again, this is the main thing, we cannot pull it out alone. Our pension is beggarly - 3200 rubles. It is possible, of course, to receive a pension in Ukraine - 2,500 hryvnias, to travel every month, but I do not have such an opportunity - my health does not allow, and there are no funds.

The mother of two children, Yulia, said that she came to the polling station so that her vote would not be taken away and she would not be assigned to another candidate.

It is a pity that Alexander Zakharchenko left us,” the woman said. - Now there is no such leader. And probably won't be. Who would be so trusted. Who would think so of people. In 2014, when we elected him, there were huge queues for the ballot boxes. Now, of course, it's not like that at all...

I will not vote, - said another Donetsk resident, Margarita. - I don't see for whom. The leader of the race was imposed on us. Moreover, I can’t say anything specific about him yet. If he wins, let's look at the cases and the results.

Economy and freedom

The current elections in the DPR are fundamentally different from the similar process in 2014, journalist and political scientist Andrei Babitsky noted.

Today, completely different tasks are on the agenda, - the expert explained to Izvestia. - Four years ago, Donetsk was in a state of fierce confrontation with Ukrainian troops. And the leader was required to be appropriate, capable of solving military tasks and leading people. Today, the civil sphere, primarily the economy, is in the first place. After all, the republics are actually begging. Small and medium business for last years destroyed, entrepreneurs in their mass left. Now, finally, work has begun to correct this situation.

In his opinion, the second sore point is full-fledged freedom of the media.

If we want to develop, we need to open the floodgates and allow journalists to perform their direct functions, point out the problems to the authorities. I also have great hopes for the improvement of the legislature. Over the past four years, many strange acts have been adopted here that need to be improved. I would like the People's Council to more effectively correct the actions of the executive branch, - the political scientist noted.

The need for economic reforms in the DPR was also noted in an interview with Izvestia by a political scientist, director of the Institute of Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflictology Denis Denisov.

During the last election race, a lot was promised, - he stressed. - One of the main slogans is the rise of the economy, the improvement of the business sector. If at least 50% of these plans can be fulfilled, there is a chance for the transformation of Donbass. If there is a result in two to four months, it means that the residents of the DPR have made the right choice.

The turnout in the elections in the DPR, according to the republican CEC, was 80.1%. As international observers stated, there were no visible violations during the elections. In the LPR, 77% of voters took part in the voting.

Last update: 08/16/2014

The commander of the Lugansk militia became the new formal leader of the LPR Igor Plotnitsky(in the structure of the LPR, he served as Minister of Defense).

new Vladimir Kononov. As the new Prime Minister of the Donetsk Republic explained Alexander Zakharchenko, on this moment Strelkov is on vacation. According to him, former minister Defense did a lot to form the army of the DPR. Now he will have a similar task in creating the army of Novorossia (the united union of the DNR and LNR).

Earlier, information spread in the media that Strelkov was wounded and left for treatment in the Russian Federation. Later, Alexander Borodai denied this information.

What other changes have taken place in the leadership of the DNR and LNR?

On August 16, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPR became Alexander Karaman, a native of Transnistria, who previously held the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs.

Previously this post was Ekaterina Gubareva, wife of the former "People's Governor" Pavel Gubarev. The reasons for her resignation were not announced.

On July 18, he announced his resignation Denis Pushilin- former co-chairman of the interim government of Donetsk people's republic.

AiF.ru tells who previously led the self-defense forces of the south-east of Ukraine, as well as about the current authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics.

Vladimir Kononov - Minister of Defense of the DPR

Vladimir Petrovich Kononov was born in 1974 in the city of Gorsky, Luhansk region, Ukrainian SSR

He has a higher military education.

In 1995 he graduated from the Slavic Aviation College of Civil Aviation.

In 1999 he graduated from the Slavic State Pedagogical Institute.

Passed a special military training senior command staff. It has military rank lieutenant colonel.

Actively participated in the creation armed formations DNR.

He commanded a militia unit in battles in various settlements of the DPR, including in Slavyansk. He organized resistance to the regular troops of Ukraine in strategically important areas, skillfully using the mortar and artillery crews attached to him, military equipment.

Igor Plotnitsky - head of the LPR

Igor Plotnitsky. Photo: RIA Novosti / Valery Melnikov

From 1982 to 1991 he served in the Armed Forces of the USSR. In 1987 he graduated from the Penza Higher Artillery Engineering School. Chief Marshal of Artillery N. N. Voronov. He completed his service with the rank of major.

Since 1992, he has worked in various companies as a manager and deputy director for commercial issues.

In 1996, he organized and headed the private enterprise "TF Scarab" in Lugansk for the wholesale and retail trade in fuel.

In 2004, he began working at the Regional Inspectorate for the Protection of Consumer Rights. He held the position of chief specialist, deputy head of the department, head of the department for quality control and the sale of non-food groups of goods and fuels and lubricants, head of the market supervision department.

In 2008 he graduated from the magistracy of the East Ukrainian University. V. Dahl, received higher education in the specialty "Public Service" (qualification of a master of civil service).

After the proclamation of the Luhansk People's Republic, Plotnitsky became the first commander of the Zarya battalion. On May 21, 2014, the Republican Assembly of the LPR elected him as Minister of Defense of the Republic.

On August 14, 2014, the head of the LPR, Valery Bolotov, announced his resignation and the appointment of Igor Plotnitsky to this post.

Alexander Zakharchenko - head of the DPR

Alexander Zakharchenko. Photo: RIA Novosti / Mikhail Voskresensky

Alexander Zakharchenko was born in 1976 in Donetsk.

He graduated from the Donetsk College of Industrial Automation, after which he began working at the mine as a mining electromechanic.

He studied at the Donetsk Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, has an incomplete higher education.

In May 2014, he was appointed military commandant of Donetsk, and after that - Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the DPR.

Until July 7, 2014, he commanded the Oplot unit of the DPR army. He has the military rank of major (from 07/23/2014).

Sergei Zdrilyuk - Deputy Commander of the People's Militia of Donbass

Deputy Commander of the People's Militia of Donbass Sergei Zdrilyuk. Photo: RIA Novosti / Natalia Selivestrova

According to media reports, Sergei Zdrilyuk graduated military school in Simferopol. After school he served in the army. Lived in Crimea for over 20 years.

Married, two children. Eldest daughter graduating university this year, younger son 10 years.

Pavel Gubarev - "people's governor" of the Donetsk region

"People's Governor" of Donetsk region Pavel Gubarev. Photo: RIA Novosti / Mikhail Voskresensky

Born March 10, 1983. Studied at high school No. 4 of the city of Severodonetsk, Voroshilovgrad (Lugansk) region of the Ukrainian SSR. Graduated from the Faculty of History of Donetsk University. Worked in the advertising business.

Founder of Morozko, a company organizing children's parties, and Patison, an outdoor advertising company. Married, has three children.

Gubarev was a member of the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, from which he was elected a deputy of the Kuibyshevsky district of Donetsk.

In 2006, he was the head of the European Choice public organization.

In 2006–2007, he was a deputy of the Kuibyshev District Council, head of the Natalia Vitrenko Bloc "People's Opposition" faction.

In 2006, he participated in protests in Feodosia against NATO.

In 2007, he resigned his deputy mandate.

In 2010, he was a confidant of a candidate for deputy from the Strong Ukraine party.

In July 2014, he was appointed head of the mobilization department of the DPR Ministry of Defense

Valery Bolotov - "people's governor" of the Luhansk region

"People's Governor" of the Lugansk region Valery Bolotov. Photo: RIA Novosti / Vitaly Belousov

In 1988 he was drafted into the army, served in the Vitebsk Air Force airborne division. Senior sergeant of the reserve.

Received higher education in the specialties "economist" and "technologist".

Served as chairman of the Union of Veterans Airborne Troops Luhansk region.

On April 21, 2014, at a meeting of the "people's gathering" in the seized building of the SBU in Luhansk, Valery Bolotov was proclaimed the "people's governor" of the Lugansk region.

April 28 Congress of representatives of territorial, political parties and public organizations Luhansk region proclaimed the creation sovereign state"Luhansk People's Republic".

Married, two children.

Igor Strelkov - head of the self-defense of Slavyansk

The head of the self-defense of Slavyansk, Igor Strelkov (screenshot from the official KP.ru channel). Photo: RIA Novosti

In 1998 he graduated from the Makeevka City Lyceum.

From 1999 to 2000 he served in Ukraine.

Graduated from the Donbass National Academy of Construction and Architecture (Department of Enterprise Economics).

On April 5, 2014, he was declared the deputy of the "people's governor" of the Donetsk region, Pavel Gubarev, and then led a rally of residents of Donetsk.

On April 7, the Donetsk People's Republic was proclaimed, Pushilin became one of the leaders of the interim government of the DPR.

Gennady Tsypkalov was even younger, he was 43, when in the fall of 2016, as reported from Lugansk, he committed suicide in a pre-trial detention center. He was accused of plotting a coup. And in this case there were speculations about the murder. Tsypkalov was Bolotov's deputy and "prime minister".

Mutual accusations of Kyiv and Moscow

As in the case of other high-profile killings of separatist leaders in the Donbass, this time Moscow and Kyiv blamed each other for the death of Alexander Zakharchenko. "There is reason to believe that the Kiev regime is behind his assassination," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday evening.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine, they are considering two versions of the murder of the leader of the "DPR": criminal showdowns among militants and liquidation by Russian special services. The death of Zakharchenko was no exception. And in his case, speculation is that he fell out of favor and was eliminated by Moscow because he knew too much that he died as a result of a struggle between separatists for spheres of influence in politics or business, or that he was killed as a result of an operation by Ukrainian special services against a hostile Kiev regime.

See also:

• Stitched with bullets

  A van riddled with shrapnel and a dilapidated house are mute witnesses of stubborn fighting in the Donetsk region. The body of the abandoned car has already rusted, and there is no end in sight to the conflict.



Almost forgotten conflict in Donbass and its victims

abandoned houses

Dozens of houses around the Donetsk airport became uninhabitable after shelling. Their owners were forced to leave their homes, fleeing.



Almost forgotten conflict in Donbass and its victims

emergency repair

Part of the roof of this house was destroyed during the fighting. The men are making temporary emergency repairs so that the occupants are at least protected from the rain. But there is no reliable protection against shelling and attacks.



Almost forgotten conflict in Donbass and its victims

Stay or run?

Only ruins remained where the man's house had been. However, he is not sure that it makes sense to rebuild the house. This photo was taken at the end of October, and then it was still not as cold in Donbass as it is now.

The idea of ​​a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine may have been developed and inspired outside the country, but its implementation is entrusted to field commanders on the ground. In the motley company of leaders of the "people's militia" there are both local natives and Varangians who came from Russia.

Among them is a former official of the Luhansk Regional State Administration, a bricklayer and a business owner.

"GORDON" took a closer look at the main terrorists in the east of Ukraine and made a list of the most active of them by name.

Self-proclaimed leader of the “Luhansk People’s Republic”, commander of the Zarya gang

According to the official biography of Plotnitsky, published by Russian and separatist media, the future leader of the “LPR” was born in 1964 in Luhansk. However, inquisitive journalists found Plotnitsky's roots in Bukovina. Residents of the village of Kelmentsy, Chernivtsi region, confirm that the family of the future separatist lived here, and Plotnitsky graduated from school there. In 1982, Plotnitsky was taken to serve in the army in Penza. After the end of military service, he remained in the armed forces, and in 1987 he graduated from the Penza Higher Artillery Engineering School. He retired from the army in 1991 with the rank of major.

In the early 1990s, he moved to Lugansk, where he worked in commercial structures. Later organized own business trade in fuels and lubricants. From 2004 to 2012 he worked for public service in the regional Inspectorate for consumer protection.

With the beginning of separatist unrest in the east of Ukraine, he takes the side of the so-called “LPR”. In April, he organizes the “Zarya” battalion, and on May 21, 2014 he was appointed to the post of “Minister of Defense”. After the first head of the "LPR" Valery Bolotov left his post, Plotnitsky replaced him in this position. Later, when Plotnitsky took part in the so-called “elections” for the head of the “LPR”, he said that he “was appointed” to this post, although he did not specify who exactly appointed him.
A journalistic investigation by Ukrayinska Pravda points to a direct connection between Plotnitsky, as well as the “government of the LPR” controlled by him, with former governor Luhansk region and influential ex-regional Alexander Efremov.

At the moment, Igor Plotnitsky and the gangs under his control are in conflict with the gangs of “Cossacks” that have seized the south of the Lugansk region. The actual jurisdiction of the “head of the LPR” extends over an area slightly larger than the area of ​​Lugansk itself.

Nikolai Kozitsyn

Commander of the Great Don Army

The future "Cossack chieftain" was born in 1956 in Dzerzhinsk, Donetsk region. In 1978 he graduated from the School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Kharkov, after which he worked as a warden in a corrective labor colony. In 1985, ensign Kozitsyn was fired from internal organs for numerous official crimes, among which were drunkenness and hazing with prisoners.

Since 1990, he began to take part in the formation of the structures of the Don Cossacks, which was created in the wake of the growth of patriotic sentiments in Russia in the late 80s. In 1992, together with a group of volunteers, he fought on the side of the Russians in Transnistria. In 1993 he took part in the Georgian war on the side of Abkhazia. In the same year, he became the ataman of the Great Don Army.

In 1994, on behalf of the Don Cossacks, he signed a cooperation agreement with the leadership of the self-proclaimed Chechen Republic, Dzhokhar Dudayev, which caused a big scandal, but after the start of the First Chechen War, Kozitsyn's connections with Dudayev helped free many Russian soldiers from captivity. However, the Kozitsyn “Cossacks” did not take an active part in that war.

In the late 90s, he took part in the Yugoslav conflict on the side of the Serbs, where he had direct contacts with former president Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic.

Before the start of the Ukrainian conflict, Kozitsyn lived permanently in his residence in Novocherkassk Rostov region. There he acquired titles and regalia, which he often invented for himself. If you believe the words of the “ataman”, then he is a doctor of economic sciences, a writer, a knight of the Order of Malta and an academician. However, it is possible that some of the 28 state awards of Kozitsyn, as well as the prize to them. Zhukov are quite real, since Kozitsyn and his “army” long time enjoy the favor of the Russian authorities.

After the outbreak of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, Kozitsyn and his "Cossacks" take an active part in clashes on the side of the separatists. Units of the “Cossack National Guard” controlled by the “ataman” occupied Anthracite (which is the informal capital of Kozitsyn’s possessions), as well as Rovenky, Krasny Luch and a number of other cities in the south of the Luhansk region. Also in the sphere of influence of Kozitsyn is the “ataman” from Stakhanov, Pavel Dremov.

Nikolai Kozitsyn openly does not recognize the existence of the “LPR” and considers the lands under his control “the territory of the Russian Empire.”

Alexey Mozgovoy

Commander of the gang "Ghost"

Born in 1975 in the north of the Lugansk region in the village of Nizhnyaya Duvanka, Svatovsky district.

He served in the Ukrainian army under a contract, worked for some time in the military enlistment office of Svatovo. He retired with the rank of sergeant.

Since the late 1990s, Mozgovoy has been politically active at the local level - he worked as an agitator in elections and a member of the commission at the polling station. ABOUT political views Mozgovoy can be judged by the fact that he was a member of the Young Guard organization, headed by the well-known separatist Arsen Klinchaev.

In the spring of 2014, Mozgovoy was an active participant in the Luhansk Anti-Maidan. In April, he organizes the "People's Militia of the Lugansk Region" and already on April 10 he almost officially visited Moscow as one of the "protest leaders", where he met with the head of the LDPR parliamentary factions Vladimir Zhirinovsky and "Fair Russia" Sergei Mirnov. However, Mozgovoy did not become a real leader in the “LNR”. He was unable to share power with the then head of the separatists, Valery Bolotov, and on April 21, together with his people, went to Lisichansk, where he gained a foothold, and on May 6 announced an official reconciliation with Bolotov.

Mozgovoy, together with Pavel Dremov, who then commanded the Severodonetsk garrison of militants, led the defense against the summer offensive of the Ukrainian army along the Rubizhnoye-Severodonetsk-Lysichansk line.

After the city had to be left, Mozgovoy with his faithful part, by that time already called the “Ghost”, retreated to Alchevsk, where he created his own administration, distancing himself from the “authorities” of Plotnitsky and the “Cossacks” of Kozitsyn.

Brain - creative person. He is not only a field commander, he is also a poet, as well as a performer of folk songs, which he sings both in Russian and in Ukrainian. IN Peaceful time he was even a soloist of the Svatov male ensemble.

Mozgovoy owns the words that have become popular on the Internet that a woman should sit at home and cross-stitch, and not go to bars, followed by a warning about punishment for those who disobey.

Pavel Dremov (Dad)

Commander of the “First Cossack Regiment. Platov”

Little is known about Dremov's life before the war. He was born in Stakhanov in 1976 and was a bricklayer. In an interview, Dremov stated that he served in the Ukrainian army, “which sent him to fight in Transnistria under bullets,” which is unlikely even not because the Ukrainian army did not fight in the Transnistrian war, but because in 1992 Dremov was 16 years old .

For the first time, Dremov surfaced as the leader of the terrorists in the summer of 2014 in Severodonetsk, where, with the assistance of Nikolai Kozitsyn, he organized detachments of “Cossacks”. In one of the interviews of that period Russian media Dremov is represented by the “legendary Batya”. The call sign Batya is really assigned to Dremov, but it was not possible to find out exactly what the legendary former Stakhanovite bricklayer is.

After the offensive of the Ukrainian army, Dremov retreated from Severodonetsk to Stakhanov, of which he became the sole ruler, remaining in a formal alliance with Mykola Kozitsyn, who controls the south of the region.

Dremov has become widely known for his videos, in which he does not hesitate to criticize other separatists, and in particular the leadership of the "LPR" Plotnitsky, with whom he is in a state of acute conflict, as evidenced by the constant skirmishes between different gangs.

According to Dremov, he has a “flash drive” containing compromising information on the entire leadership of the “LNR”. In addition to a secret flash drive, Dremov also allegedly has the personal number of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

In addition, Dremov is known as an active anti-Semite. In particular, he calls Igor Plotnitsky a "Jew", and the Minsk truce - "a trick of the Jewish oligarchs."

Alexey Milchakov (Fritz, Serbian)

The commander of the gang "Rusich"

Milchakov was born in 1991 in St. Petersburg. Fanatel for the St. Petersburg "Zenith", later became interested in neo-Nazism. Became known in the urban right-wing subcultural get-together nicknamed Fritz. Owned a hunting and traumatic weapon. In 2009, he was brought to administrative responsibility for shooting in the wrong place.

Milchakov became widely known in 2011 when he posted on his VKontakte page photos of the murder of a puppy, which he later ate. Despite the wide public outcry, they did not open a criminal case on charges of animal life against the young Nazi, and Alexei himself disappeared from St. Petersburg for some time.

Later, Milchakov found himself in Pskov in the service of the 76th Airborne Division. After serving, he almost immediately went to the Lugansk region, already allegedly as a volunteer, where in the summer of 2014 he formed the Rusich group from his ideological comrades-in-arms in the far-right camp and took the call sign Serb. During the war, Milchakov again showed his savage tendencies when he published photographs against the backdrop of dead Ukrainian soldiers.

As part of his unit, he fought in the grouping of the murdered Alexander Bednov “Batman”. He took part in combat clashes with "Aidar", where, together with the militants of "Rusich", he was noted for his particular cruelty.

After the liquidation of Alexander Bednov, the group of Igor Plotnitsky declared war on the “leadership of the LPR”.

Alexey Pavlov (Leshy)

The commander of the gang "Leshy"

Born in 1975 in Primorsk, Zaporozhye region. Graduated from vocational school hometown. From 1993 to 1995 he served in the army in the 529th mechanized regiment in the Dnepropetrovsk region. After the army, he settled in Stakhanov, where he began to take part in Cossack organizations.

Since 2007, Pavlov has been a Cossack "ataman" in the village of Kadievskaya near Stakhanov. The future leader of the separatists registered his organization on behalf of the "Union of Cossack formations", the roots of which stretch to Russia, and the head is Valery Starokon, a friend of the "ataman" Nikolai Kozitsyn.

In the spring of 2014, he takes an active part in the separatist demonstrations in Luhansk. After the capture of the city by militants, he forms the Smersh LPR, in which he detains and tortures activists of the Lugansk Euromaidan.

At the same time, a unit is formed, named after the call sign Alexei Pavlov. The base of the Leshy battalion is the building of the SBU in Lugansk, and later the Lugansk Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For a short period in the summer of 2014, Pavlov was actually the sole owner of Lugansk after Valery Bolotov left power.

Recently, Pavlov and his unit have been in the shadows due to a conflict with the Plotnitsky group.

Alexander Zakharchenko

Commander of the Oplot gang, self-proclaimed “Head of the DPR”

Born in 1976 in Donetsk. Graduated from the College of Industrial Automation. He worked as an electrician in a mine. After working at the mine, Zakharchenko begins a business career. The companies “Delta-Fort” LLC and “TD Continent” LLC were registered in his name in Donetsk, one of which listed members of the Party of Regions as co-owners.

In addition to business, Zakharchenko is engaged in social activities- heads the Donetsk branch of the Kharkiv organization Oplot, which during the Euromaidan period was remembered as a supplier of well-equipped titushki.

On April 16, 2014, as part of a group of armed militants, he seized the building of the Donetsk Regional State Administration. In May, he becomes the “military commandant” of Donetsk. As part of the Oplot, he takes part in battles with the Ukrainian army. On July 22, he was slightly wounded in the arm near Kozhevnia in the south of the Donetsk region.

On August 7, after leaving Donetsk, Moscow PR manager Alexander Borodai takes his place in the status of “Prime Minister of the DPR”. Later, in the “elections” organized by the separatists, he received the status of “head of the DPR”.

Alexander Khodakovsky

Former commander of the Vostok gang, head of the “DPR Security Council”

Khodakovsky is a former commander of the special unit of the SBU “Alpha” in the Donetsk region, therefore information about the biography former employee there are practically no special services.

As part of his unit, Khodakovsky was in Kyiv in February 2014, where he took part in the suppression of protests. As he admitted later, it was the events on the Maidan that influenced his decision to take the side of the separatists.

In the spring of 2014, Khodakovsky gathered under his wing former Ukrainian security forces from Berkut and Alfa, who were joined by mercenaries from the Caucasus - Kadyrovites and Ossetians. The new formation was named "East".

“Vostok” received its baptism of fire in a clash with the “Donbass” battalion in the battle near Karlovka on May 23. And already on May 26, Vostok, as part of other terrorist forces, suffered heavy losses in an attempt to capture Donetsk airport.

In the struggle for power in Donetsk, Khodakovsky clashed with Alexander Borodai, who had arrived from Moscow, and his ally Igor Girkin (Strelkov), who had dug in in Slavyansk. After Girkin and his militants were forced to retreat to Donetsk under pressure from the Ukrainian army, Khodakovsky decided that it was not safe for him to be in the same city with the armed detachment of Igorivanych, and retreated to Makiivka on July 9.

Together with Khodakovsky, half of his “battalion” left, while the rest swore allegiance to the then “Minister of Defense of the DPR”. In Makeevka, far from the front line, Khodakovsky occupied the Makeevugol building, posted armed guards and waited for Girkin and Borodai to leave somewhere on their own, which happened a month later.

With the Donetsk native Zakharchenko, the commander of the “Vostok” found a common language much easier, and on November 13, by decree of the “head of the DPR”, he was appointed to the post of “head of the DPR security council” created under him. German journalist Andre Eihofer, who interviewed Khodakovsky, said that now from the window of the office of the former field commander there is a view of the central Lenin Square in Donetsk.

Arseny Pavlov (Motorola)

Commander of the gang "Sparta"

Born in 1983 in the Komi Republic. Orphaned at the age of 15, later raised by his grandmother. He served in the army for three years as a signalman, where he received his nickname. Participated in the second Chechen war. After the service, he returned to Komi, got married, had a child, worked either as a car mechanic or as a granite worker, and generally led a life typical of millions of his compatriots.

The fate of Motorola took a sharp turn after he, impressed by the news on Russian TV, came to the Donbass to defend the “Russian world”. Pavlov joined Girkin's group in Slavyansk and began to command a detachment of militants guarding the checkpoint at Semyonovka.

The talkative and moderately photogenic Motorola attracted Russian journalists, who, in in large numbers visited Slavyansk during the period of its occupation. Motorola is becoming perhaps the main media star of the “militia” after Girkin himself, in whom the image of a simple volunteer from the Russian hinterland is carefully formed, who left everything and went to the Donbass to save civilians from punishers.

The second wife of Motorola (the first remained in Komi), a tall, silent brunette in sharp contrast to him, was found in the ranks of the “militia” in Slavyansk. However, the wedding was already played in Donetsk on July 11 after the retreat. This marriage became one of the central events in the life of the “republic”. Separatist leaders Pavel Gubarev and Igor Girkin came to congratulate the newlyweds, and reports from the wedding were replicated by many media outlets.

After the wedding, Motorola and his newly-made wife went to the Crimea - to relax and heal the wounds received near Slavyansk. The honeymoon did not last long and already in early August he returned to the Donbass, where he created his own bandit formation “Sparta”.

A division of Motorola takes part in the organization of the Ilovaisk cauldron for the Ukrainian military. Then "Sparta" is relocated to Donetsk, where for several months, together with the terrorist detachment Givi, has been making unsuccessful attempts to storm the Donetsk airport. Several times the "militia" reported about the establishment of control over the airport, but each time it turned out to be untrue. However, several reports of the death of Motorola also did not correspond to reality.

Mikhail Tolstykh (Givi)

The commander of the gang "Somalia"

Born in Ilovaisk in 1980. In 1998-2000, the military service in the Ukrainian army. In the training center "Desna" he received the specialty of a tanker. After the army he worked as a climber.

He received the call sign in the army not for his Georgian origin, but for his outward resemblance to Caucasians.

According to his own statement, he always sympathized more with Russia than with Ukraine, therefore, after the start of unrest in eastern Ukraine, he took the side of the separatists and went to fight in Slavyansk in the Girkin group.

As a commander of militants, he first showed himself near Ilovaisk. There, a detachment under the command of Givi was directly involved in blocking Ukrainian troops trying to get out of the encirclement.

Since the beginning of autumn 2014, together with Motorola, he has been leading militant attacks on the Donetsk airport. As an attack tactic, terrorists most often choose frontal attacks, which leads to heavy losses among the attackers. The number of deaths in the groups of Givi and Motorola during the period of senseless attacks on the airport is incalculable.

Deceased "Batman"
Alexander Bednov (Batman)

Batman Squad Leader

Bednov was born in 1969 in Lugansk in the family of a military man. In 1988, he left to serve in the army and was enrolled in the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to Bednov himself, as part of the Soviet army, he served in "hot spots" in the Caucasus. After being discharged from the army, he returned to his native Lugansk and got a job in the police. In 2005, he retired from service with the rank of captain. Worked as a security guard for a nightclub.

The beginning of the “Russian spring” in Lugansk in the spring of 2014, Bednov met as an anti-Maidan activist. First, he joins the "People's Militia" of Alexei Mozgovoy, but then he forms his own unit, which will be named after the call sign of its commander.

In the structure of the self-proclaimed “LPR”, Bednov-Batman quickly becomes a field commander known to the people. On separatist information resources, his presentation regularly begins with the epithet “legendary”. For a short time in August 2014, Bednov held the post of “Minister of Defense of the LPR”.

Bednov's first open conflict with the "LPR" government occurred when he was about to take part in the "elections" organized by the separatists. According to the scenario, the current “head of the LPR” Igor Plotnitsky was supposed to win, and the participation of an authoritative field commander in such an “election race” was not included in the plans - Bednov’s people were fired upon at the time of submitting documents to the “electoral committee”.

Despite the conflict with Plotnitsky's group, Bednov continued to be based in Lugansk. He was an active opponent of the peace agreements in Minsk, and also refused to take part in the exchange of prisoners, despite the fact that Bednov had a prison in his personal subordination, in which, among others, the Ukrainian military were kept. According to unconfirmed information, at the end of December 2014, he offered Pavel Dremov a joint rebellion against Plotnitsky.

Killed on January 1, 2015 in the Lutugino area as a result of an ambush. According to representatives of the "LPR", Bednov died in a shootout with the "people's militia" after refusing to disarm. The fact that Bednov's car was ambushed and burned with flamethrowers does not speak in favor of this version. The fact that only a charred body was provided as evidence of Bednov's death gave rise to versions that Bednov was not killed, but captured by Russian special services.

After the death of Bednov, his unit was disbanded, and his closest associates were captured. The “Batman” militants in the “LPR” are charged with mockery of prisoners and torture, as well as looting.

1. Alexander Bednov, commander of the Batman group. Killed on January 1, 2015 in the Lutugino area.

A column of Bednov's cars, grenade launchers and flamethrowers. Together with the commander, five militants from his detachment were killed. Responsibility for the liquidation of Bednov was assumed by the leadership of the "LNR". "Authorities" accused Bednov of kidnapping and robbery. Two days before his death, a "criminal case" was opened against him. According to the "Ministry of Internal Affairs of the LPR", he refused to disarm and offered armed resistance.

2. Yevgeny Ishchenko (Kid), "People's Mayor" of Pervomaisk. Killed on January 23, 2015 in Pervomaisk.

Evgeny Ischenko. Photo: dnr-sovet.su

Ishchenko, along with three Russians involved in the supply of aid to the militants,.

The leader of the "LPR" Igor Plotnitsky blamed the murder of Malysh on the Ukrainian DRG. However, Ishchenko was one of the opponents of Plotnitsky himself - he repeatedly criticized the leadership of the "LNR". Also, Malysh was one of the field commanders, the so-called Cossacks, with whom the members of the "LNR" regularly had conflicts over control over the Lugansk region.

3. Roman Voznik (Gypsy), commander of the Mirage grouping. Killed on March 26, 2015 in Donetsk.

8. Arseniy Pavlov (Motorola), commander of the Sparta grouping. Killed on October 16, 2016 in Donetsk.

10. Mikhail Tolstykh (Givi), leader of the Somalia group. Killed in Makiivka on February 8, 2017.

Mikhail Tolstykh is a citizen of Ukraine, born in 1980 in Ilovaisk, Donetsk region. According to Tolstoy, he served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, after the army he worked as a loader at a rope factory. In 2014, he led the group "Somalia". Participated in the battles for the Donetsk airport and Ilovaisk. Videos were published on the Internet, which recorded Givi's abuse of captured Ukrainian soldiers.

In January 2017, Tolstykh participated in the battles in the Avdiivka area, where.

11. Vladimir Makovich, the first "Speaker of the DPR Parliament". He died on March 12, 2017 in Donetsk. was mortally wounded after an explosion at the Separ restaurant in the center of Donetsk. On suspicion of organizing the assassination, militants and persons associated with them. "Zakharchenko in May 2014 became the "military commandant of Donetsk", in August of the same year he replaced Alexander Boroday as "chairman of the council of ministers of the DPR". After the "elections" on November 2, 2014 Zakharchenko became the "head of the DNR".