Many observers noted that there are practically no those who seized the region in 2014 at the helm of the LDNR groups. If you look at the proportions, then only a few of the instigators of the “Russian spring” are really alive and not on the run. Radio Donbass.Realii summed up the fate of those who started the war: which of them are no longer alive, who is hiding, and who is still active - but on the other side of the Russian-Ukrainian border?
Before the "Russian spring" Valery Bolotov was the chairman of the Union of Veterans of the Airborne Forces of the Lugansk region, and also, according to the ex-head of the SBU department in the Luhansk region Alexander Petrulevich, "looking" for diggers - and obeyed Alexander Efremov.
On April 5, 2014, Bolotov called on the Lugansk "anti-Maidan" to open confrontation with the Ukrainian authorities, after which he became the first head of the "LPR" group. But not for long. In May 2014, an assassination attempt was made on him, and already in August he resigned - the consequences of the injury do not allow him to “work for the benefit of the Lugansk people.”
Bolotov died in Moscow in 2017 in his apartment. According to Russian media - a heart attack.
Driver until 2011, engineer until 2014 - such positions are recorded in the work book Gennady Tsypkalov. And after participating in the seizure of the building of the Lugansk SBU, he became Bolotov’s deputy, later “the head of the Council of Ministers of the LPR”, and already during the reign of Plotnitsky, his adviser on the military-industrial complex.
In September 2016, the main Lugansk separatist Igor Plotnitsky announced Tsypkalov as the organizer of the "coup" attempt. A week later, the former "Prime Minister of the LPR" was found hanged. The official version is suicide. That's just in words Alexey Karyakin, who calls himself "the head of the LPR parliament", Tsypkalov was tortured to death - "broken ribs, numerous hematomas."
Alexey Karyakin- one of the leaders of the Stakhanov group "Army of the South-East". When the organizers of the "Russian Spring" were handed out posts, Karyakin became the so-called speaker of the "People's Council" of the "LPR" group. But on March 25, 2016, at an extraordinary meeting, the LNR deputies voted for his resignation. In September of the same year, he was put on the wanted list by the so-called “Prosecutor General of the LPR” for attempting a coup. He left for Russia, from where he constantly spoke in the press with negative comments about Plotnitsky.
The poet, soloist of the Svatov male ensemble headed the Lisichansk military registration and enlistment office before the start of the war, and also led the department of the Young Guard organization. In April 2014, he created the "People's Militia of the Lugansk Region" and even traveled to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Sergei Mironov. Not agreeing on power with Valery Bolotov, left for Lisichansk, where he opposed the offensive of the Ukrainian army as the commander of the "Ghost" battalion. During internal squabbles between Plotnitsky and the Cossacks, he moved to Alchevsk and did not obey the leadership of the "LPR" group.
On May 23, 2015, Mozgovoy's car was stopped on the highway with an explosive device and shot with automatic weapons.
With the rank of captain, he retired from the Ukrainian police, then worked as a nightclub security guard. During the "Russian spring" Alexander Bednov joined the ranks of Mozgovoy's "People's Militia", but soon organized his own "Batman" unit. In August 2014, he held the post of the so-called “Minister of Defense of the LPR” and even wanted to take part in the election of the head of the group, because of which he had a conflict with Plotnitsky. At the end of December 2014, a criminal case was opened against Bednov for kidnappings and robberies. During the detention by the "police" of the "LPR" group on January 1, 2015, he refused to disarm - "provided armed resistance" - and his car was shot from automatic weapons and grenade launchers.
In the 90s he lived with the ideas of an autonomous "Cossack Republic", was friends with the President of Ichkeria Dzhokhar Dudayev and even signed a peace treaty on the non-participation of the Don "Cossacks" in the Chechen war. After that, he was displaced by the Kremlin, lay low, and 20 years later suddenly ended up in the Donbass.
On May 3, 2014, the armed leader of the Union of Cossacks of the Don Cossack Region and his subordinates crossed the border of Ukraine on trucks and took control of Anthracite. Despite the support of the “Russian spring”, Kozitsyn never sympathized with the L/DPR groups, considering the cities they captured to be “territory of the Russian Empire.”
After the crash of the Boeing 777, the SBU published the interception of a telephone conversation between Kozitsyn and a militant, in which the Don Cossack noted that it was they who shot down the plane - "there is nothing to fly, now the war is on."
Before the war in Donbass, he worked at a soap factory. During the storming of the SBU building in the Donetsk region, he was proclaimed the "mayor" of Slavyansk. On June 10, 2014, Ponomarev was detained on the orders of a Russian colonel Igor Girkin(Strelkov), who at that time held the position of "Minister of Defense" of the "DPR" group. On July 5, he was released, after which he fled from Slavyansk and now works in Moscow at a construction site.
A former miner (worked in Vorkuta) fought against the Ukrainian army as part of the 1st Platov Cossack Regiment with the call sign "Baby". As early as December 2014 Igor Ischenko appointed mayor of the captured Pervomaisk. "Kid" has repeatedly criticized the leaders of the "LPR" group. On January 23, 2015, "Kid" was shot by unknown people on the Pervomaisk-Lysichansk highway.
Russian citizen Arsen Pavlov(“Motorola”) came to Donbass to defend the “Russian world”, as he said, under the impression of the news. He joined the group of Igor Girkin in Slavyansk and became the commander of a detachment of militants who guarded the checkpoint at Semenovka. Later, he became the “media face of the militia”, with the help of which the idea was formed that ordinary volunteers from Russia were fighting in the Donbass, who simply came to help the “brothers” in the fight against the Ukrainian “punishers”.
The Russian edition Lenta.ru wrote that this image was even planned to be used during the parliamentary elections in Russia: referring to its source, Lenta reported that the Motherland party had negotiated with Arseniy Pavlov about enrolling him in the lists of candidates for deputies for parliamentary elections. True, then this information was denied by the press service of the party. The captured Ukrainian soldiers testified that it was the Motorola that shot the wounded Igor Branovitsky.
In October 2016, Arseniy Pavlov was blown up in the elevator of his house in Donetsk.
As said Mikhail Tolstykh He dreamed of being a military man. He served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 1998-2000, but he was not accepted into the Ukrainian army under a contract. He worked as a loader at a rope factory, a security guard in a supermarket. In 2014, he joined the pro-Russian militants and led the Somalia group. He became famous during the battles for the Donetsk airport and Ilovaisk. There is a lot of evidence that "Givi" mocked the prisoners.
Former Berkut. Since March 2014, he supported the "Russian Spring" and led the Mirage battalion (call sign "Gypsy"). After the referendum, he became the so-called "Deputy of the Parliament of Novorossiya".
On March 26, 2015, the car in which he was traveling with his wife, son and bodyguards was shot from a passing car.
Creator of the organization "Youth Movement of Patriots", which actually stood at the origins of the "Russian spring" in Donetsk. After the formation of the so-called "People's Council", Vladimir Makovich became its speaker. It was he who read out the “Declaration of State Independence of the DPR”.
The Stakhanovite mason first announced himself in the summer of 2014, when he organized detachments of "Cossacks" with the assistance of Nikolai Kozitsyn. "Dad", as Dremov was called, eventually became the sole ruler of the city of Stakhanov. He repeatedly spoke with a negative assessment of the actions of Igor Plotnitsky, and also threatened with compromising information on the entire “LPR” group.
December 12, 2015 was blown up at the entrance to Pervomaisk. I went to my own wedding in Stakhanov.
Russian citizen, Muscovite Alexander Boroday worked as a military journalist, spoke about the events of the first Chechen war. CEO of the Sociomaster consulting agency, also co-owner of the restaurant business in Moscow. Participant of the Crimean events in the spring of 2014. On May 16 of this year, he was approved as chairman of the so-called "Council of Ministers of the DPR", and in August he resigned. Now he lives in Moscow, from where he periodically comments on events in the Donbass. And if Borodai left the affairs of the “DNR” group, then he became especially interested in Syria.
Former commander of the special unit of the SBU "Alpha" in the Donetsk region. In the words of Alexander Khodakovsky, took part in the suppression of protests on the Maidan. In the spring of 2014, he created a new Vostok brigade from former members of the Berkut and Alpha special forces, as well as mercenaries from the Caucasus. I even managed to stay for two months as the so-called "Minister of State Security" of the "DPR" group.
criticized on social media Alexandra Zakharchenko, but since April 2017 he curtailed his information activities and left for Russia - "because of the threat to life and health." From there, he periodically writes on social networks, criticizing the current leaders of the DPR group.
attendant Sergey Kosogor declared himself a major general in the occupied Krasny Luch (now Khrustalny). He put local officials in the basement and forbade the townspeople to celebrate the New Year. But he regularly read his poems on local television. On February 28, Sergei Kosogor was arrested on the facts of illegal detention of a person, robbery, robbery. Now he is in a pre-trial detention center in occupied Luhansk.
He headed an advertising agency, as well as a firm engaged in organizing holidays. In 2014, during pro-Russian rallies in Donetsk on Lenin Square, he declared himself a "people's" governor. However, he did not stay in office for long. In March 2014, he was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine. In May, he and two other separatists were exchanged for captured SBU officers. On October 12, 2014, an attempt was made on Pavel Gubarev - the car was fired upon, flew into a ditch and crashed into a pole. Now, remotely and officially through other people, he controls the Semerochka supermarket chain in Donetsk. Periodically appears at city events.
Igor GirkinIn April 2014, a former consumer rights advocate from the Luhansk region headed the Zorya battalion. Then he was appointed the so-called "Minister of Defense of the LPR", later became chairman of the "Council of Ministers" and won pseudo-elections, after which he headed the group.
In November 2017, a "coup" took place in Lugansk, led by a former SBU officer Leonid Pasechnik and security officer Igor Kornet. Plotnitsky announced his retirement for health reasons. Later he was seen arriving in Moscow. This is the latest information about him. Since then, only unsubstantiated rumors have appeared: some that he bought a mansion in the Moscow region, others that Plotnitsky is allegedly sitting behind bars in the Kresty pre-trial detention center. He himself never appeared in public.
Alexander Zakharchenko is the leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, born in 2014 in the southeast of Ukraine, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the DPR, a statesman and military figure.
The future head of the republic in the east of Ukraine was born in June 1976 in Donetsk in a Russian-Ukrainian family. The head of the family was born in Ukraine and worked in a coal mine for 35 years. Alexander's mother is Russian. According to the minister responsible for the social policy of Ukraine, Zakharchenko's parents live in the city of Artemovsk, which is controlled by the Ukrainian authorities. They receive a pension from Ukraine.
In his youth, Alexander Zakharchenko studied at a secondary school in Donetsk. After receiving the matriculation certificate, he became a student at the local technical school of industrial automation and received a degree in mining electromechanics. Zakharchenko studied diligently - he received a diploma with honors.
The career biography of the politician began at a coal mine in Donetsk, where a young electrician received the 6th qualification category. Zakharchenko's attempt to get a higher education did not materialize: Alexander entered a law school in Donetsk, but for some unknown reason left his studies.
At the beginning of the 2000s, the former electrician went into business. The official version - Alexander Zakharchenko's business was associated with coal mining. In 2006, the future leader of the DNR took over the firm, which was part of the sprawling business of a Ukrainian financial magnate.
The register of legal entities contains information that Alexander Zakharchenko stood at the origins of the Delta-Fort company as one of the two co-founders. The field of interests of the company is extensive: limited liability company "Delta-fort" publishes books, carries out wholesale trade in food products, tobacco products and alcoholic beverages. The LLC exists today, but Zakharchenko left the co-founders.
In 2010, a branch of the Oplot organization was opened in Donetsk, previously created in Kharkov by a pensioner from the Ministry of Internal Affairs Evgeny Zhilin. Oplot's field of activity is to provide assistance to disabled soldiers, families of law enforcement officers who gave their lives in the service.
In December 2013, the Donetsk branch of the organization was headed by Alexander Zakharchenko. Oplotovtsy are also known for their socio-political position: they oppose the glorification of the nationalist formations of the OUN-UPA operating on the territory of Ukraine during the Second World War, against the displacement of the Russian language, and for the preservation of monuments of the Soviet period.
The anti-Maidan position taken by Zakharchenko led him to the ranks of the militia, which opposed the coup d'état in Ukraine. Alexander Vladimirovich declares that the goal of him and his associates was to return to Donbass the right to self-determination and the opportunity to build the future.
After the southeast uprising in mid-April 2014, Alexander Zakharchenko took up arms and led a group of like-minded people who occupied the city administration of Donetsk. In May of the same year, after a referendum, Alexander Vladimirovich became the commandant of the city.
Alexander Zakharchenko fought in the southeast of the country. In May, in the battles for the Donetsk airport, a fragment hit the leg, and in July 2014, during an attack on the village of Kozhevnya, a bullet pierced the hand of a militia. Soon, the defender of Donbass received major stars, Zakharchenko was appointed deputy minister of the republican Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In early August 2014, Alexander Borodai, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic, announced his resignation. The vacated chair went to Alexander Zakharchenko. Preference for his candidacy was given by 5 dozen people's deputies against six abstentions and one vote against. The new chairman swore allegiance to the people of Donetsk.
At the end of the summer, an attempt was made on the life of Alexander Zakharchenko for the second time. The driver and the politician's car were injured.
In October 2014, Zakharchenko was the first to register as a candidate for the post of head of the republic. In November, elections were held, the result of which was a landslide victory for Alexander Vladimirovich: 75% of voters voted for his candidacy. The heads of the countries of the European Union, America and Ukraine did not recognize the elections in the republic as legitimate, and the Russian Foreign Ministry declared respect for the will of the citizens of the eastern region.
The inauguration, during which Alexander Zakharchenko took the oath, took place at the Academic Drama Theater of Donetsk. And in February of the following year, the head of the DPR and the head of the neighboring Luhansk republic signed a document agreed upon by the Normandy Four in Minsk. The leaders of the Quartet countries agreed on a bilateral ceasefire effective February 15, 2015.
The set of measures agreed in Minsk is not being implemented, which the parties blame each other for. Five days later, the head of the republic was wounded in the leg in the battles for Debaltseve.
Zakharchenko was included in the list of citizens who are under the sanctions of America and the European Union. The Ukrainian security service put the Donetsk resident on the wanted list under an article that provides for punishment for terrorism.
Donetsk People's Republic (DNR)
Alexander Zakharchenko
The Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko was born in 1976 in the city of Donetsk (Ukraine).
He graduated with honors from the Donetsk College of Industrial Automation, studied at the Donetsk Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. He worked at the mine as a mining electrician, was engaged in business, headed the Oplot public organization.
Zakharchenko led a group of armed activists who seized the Donetsk city administration building on April 16, 2004. In May 2014, he was appointed to the post of military commandant of Donetsk, later - to the post of Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the DPR.
Alexander Boroday
General Advisor to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the DPR Alexander Yuryevich Borodai was born on July 25, 1972 in Moscow in the family of the philosopher Yuri Borodai.
In 1994 he graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy of the Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov and later - graduate school.
Since 1993, he worked at the Russian Reform Fund, then as a war correspondent, an independent PR consultant. As a consultant, he collaborated with entrepreneur Konstantin Malofeev, and was a representative of the Marshall Capital investment fund.
In the spring of 2014, Borodai participated in the events related to the annexation of Crimea to Russia.
On May 16, 2014, Alexander Borodai was approved for the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the DPR. On August 7, 2014, he resigned as prime minister. On August 8, he was approved as General Advisor to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the DPR in the rank of First Deputy Prime Minister.
Viktor Kononov
Defense Minister of the DPR Viktor Petrovich Kononov was born in 1974 in the city of Gorsky, Luhansk region. He graduated from the Slavic Aviation College of Civil Aviation, then the Pedagogical Institute. Since 1999 he has been a judo coach in Slavyansk.
Since April 2014, the militiaman Kononov (call sign "Tsar") - a participant in the hostilities in the south-east of Ukraine, was in the ranks of the fighters defending Slavyansk. He commanded a reconnaissance and sabotage group, a company that defended the village of Vostochny. After leaving the encircled Slavyansk, Kononov commanded a consolidated brigade that held the defenses of Shakhtyorsk and controlled the region.
On August 14, 2014, Viktor Kononov was appointed Acting Minister of Defense of the DPR. On August 15, the DPR Supreme Council approved Kononov as Minister of Defense.
Pavel Gubarev
Pavel Yuryevich Gubarev, leader of the political movement "Novorossiya", the public organization "People's Militia of Donbass", head of the mobilization department of the Ministry of Defense of the DPR, was born on March 10, 1983 in the city of Severodonetsk, Voroshilovgrad (now Lugansk) region (Ukraine).
In 2014, Gubarev became the leader of the People's Militia of Donbass organization. On March 1, 2014, he was elected "People's Governor". On March 6 he was arrested by the SBU of Ukraine, on May 7 he was released. He became one of the organizers of the referendum on the independence of the DPR and the founder of the Novorossiya party.
Denis Pushilin
One of the leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin was born on May 9, 1981 in the city of Makeevka, Donetsk region of Ukraine. In 1999-2000 he served in the National Guard of Ukraine. In 2002-2010, he worked at the Licorice Zhittya (Sweet Life) trading company. In 2011-2013, Pushilin was a member of the MMM movement, the reincarnation of Sergei Mavrodi's project, then a member of the party of the same name. He was one of the leaders of "MMM" in Ukraine. In the spring of 2014, he became an active figure in the protest movement in southeastern Ukraine and in April was appointed deputy of the "people's governor" of Donbass, Pavel Gubarev. After the proclamation of the Donetsk People's Republic, Pushilin was appointed chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the DPR on May 15. On July 18, he resigned from the post of chairman of the Supreme Council of the DPR.
Since August - co-chairman of the People's Front of Novorossia, head of the socio-economic headquarters of the Front.
Andrey Purgin
First Deputy Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic Andrey Evgenyevich Purgin was born on January 26, 1972 in the city of Donetsk. After graduating from the Faculty of Computer Information Technologies of the Donbass State Technical University, he began to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Purgin is an opponent of the "orange revolution" and one of the founders of the socio-political organization "Donetsk Republic", which began functioning in December 2005, was officially banned by the authorities in 2007 and went underground. In March 2014, Andrei Purgin participated in pro-Russian rallies in Donetsk, supported the "people's governor" of Donbass Pavel Gubarev, and financially helped the militia. After the proclamation of the Donetsk People's Republic, Purgin was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of the DPR on May 16.
Igor Kostenok
Minister of Education and Science of the DPR Igor Vladimirovich Kostenok since 1994 - Associate Professor of the Department of General and Administrative Management of the Donetsk State University of Management. Since 1996 - Member of the Board of the public organization "European Choice". Since 2007 - Deputy Director of the State Budgetary Organization "Eastern Regional Center for Innovative Development".
Acting President of CJSC "Technological Park" Uglemash ". Specialist in the development of plans for the strategic development of local government, as well as in the training of specialists from local governments.
Alexander Mozhaev
Militiaman Alexander Mozhaev (call sign "Babai") was born in 1977 in the city of Belorechensk, Krasnodar Territory. After graduating from high school in 1995-1997, he served in the Air Defense Forces in St. Petersburg.
Demobilized with the rank of senior sergeant, he worked as a head of loading operations at a warehouse, joined the Belorechensk Cossack "Wolf Hundred", where he rose to the rank of sergeant major.
On March 7, 2014, together with several former fighters of the "Wolf Hundred" in Crimea, he took part in the siege of the Ukrainian military base located near Bakhchisarai. After the annexation of Crimea to Russia, he volunteered for Slavyansk.
Igor Bezler
One of the leaders of the protest movement in the south-east of Ukraine, the commander of the "People's Militia of Donbass" detachment in Gorlovka, Igor Nikolaevich Bezler (call sign "Bes") was born on December 30, 1965 in Simferopol. In 1994-1997 he studied at the Moscow Military Academy. Dzerzhinsky. According to unverified media reports, Bezler participated in the hostilities in Afghanistan and Chechnya, but in an interview he did not confirm or deny this information. According to some reports, he served in the 36th Guards Vienna Red Banner Missile Division in the city of Krasnoyarsk. After demobilization, he came to Ukraine, where he worked at the communal enterprise of funeral services "Prostor" in the city of Gorlovka, since 2012 - in the security service of the "Gorlovskiy Mashinostroitel" plant. He headed the Gorlovsky public organization of paratroopers. In 2013, Bezler left for the Crimea, where he took a direct part in the events related to the separation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea from Ukraine. After the annexation of Crimea to Russia, Bezler returned to Gorlovka, where he led the capture of the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the self-defense of Gorlovka. Awarded the Order of the Red Star.
Lugansk People's Republic (LPR)
Lugansk People's Republic (LPR)
Igor Plotnitsky
Igor Venediktovich Plotnitsky, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the LPR, was born on June 26, 1964 in the city of Lugansk (Ukraine). In 1985 he graduated from the Penza Higher Artillery Engineering School named after Chief Marshal of Artillery N.N. Voronova, In 2008 - a master's degree from the East Ukrainian University named after V. Dahl, specializing in "Public Service". After serving in the Armed Forces in 1991, he retired with the rank of major in the reserve. He was engaged in business, worked in the Regional Inspectorate for the Protection of Consumer Rights.
In April 2014, he led the People's Liberation Battalion Zarya. May 21, 2014 was appointed Minister of Defense of the LNR. Since August 20, 2014, he has been Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the LPR.
Alexey Karyakin
Aleksey Vyacheslavovich Karyakin, Speaker of the LPR Parliament, was born in 1980 in Stakhanov, Lugansk region (Ukraine). He graduated from the Stakhanov technical school with a degree in maintenance and repair of vehicles.
Alexey Karyakin is a private entrepreneur, owns a business, specializing in pneumatic weapons.
He is actively interested in airborne troops, has repeatedly taken part in historical reconstructions that took place in the region. In 2014, he became known as one of the leaders of the Lugansk militia.
On April 5, the SBU was detained as part of a "sabotage group" and released on April 6 at the request of the people after the seizure of the SBU building in Luhansk.
On May 18, he was elected chairman of the Supreme Council (SC) of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic.
In June, the SBU put Aleksey Karyakin on the wanted list. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Karyakin is suspected of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 111 - high treason - of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Alexey Mozgovoy
Commander of the reconnaissance and sabotage group Aleksey Borisovich Mozgovoy was born on April 3, 1975 in the village of Nizhnyaya Duvanka, Svatovsky district, Luhansk region. He was a soloist of the Svatov male ensemble, represented the Lugansk region at the festival of folk talents. After serving in the army under a contract, he worked in the Svatov military registration and enlistment office.
He led the local branch of the Young Guard organization in Lugansk. In 2014, Mozgovoy was active during the armed conflicts in the south-east of Ukraine, became one of the commanders of the militia in the Lugansk region, participated in the creation of the Luhansk People's Republic, and led partisan actions against the Kyiv authorities in the region.
Novorossiya
Oleg Tsarev
The leader of the "South-East" movement, chairman of the parliament of the Union of Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (Novorossiya) Oleg Anatolyevich Tsarev was born on June 2, 1970 in Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine).
In 1992 he graduated from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, qualification - engineer-physicist. He worked as a pre-production engineer, was engaged in business.
People's Deputy of Ukraine IV-VII convocations.
In the Verkhovna Rada of the 7th convocation, he was deputy head of the Party of Regions faction. He was a member of the Political Council of the Party of Regions (on April 7, 2014 he was expelled from the party).
He was a candidate for the presidency of Ukraine in the early elections on May 25, 2014, but withdrew his candidacy.
Leader of the South East movement.
Co-chairman of the public movement "People's Front" of New Russia.
On June 26, 2014, he was elected Chairman of the Parliament of the Union of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (Novorossiya).
Konstantin Dolgov
Konstantin Dolgov, co-chairman of the Popular Front of Novorossiya, was born in 1979 in Donetsk. He spent most of his life in Kharkov. Having tried various professions, in 2001 he became a journalist, and by 2014 - one of the well-known and influential journalists in the region, political consultant, head of the Athena PR agency, editor-in-chief of the Glagol online publication. Repeatedly participated in regional, all-Ukrainian and international conferences and round tables, took an active anti-fascist position. In the spring of 2014, he became one of the leaders of the protest movement in Kharkiv. On April 20, he was arrested by the Ukrainian authorities on charges of "destroying property" (a PrivatBank ATM). After making a bail, he was released and left Kharkov, leaving for the Crimea. Later he moved to Donetsk, where he joined the militia. In May 2014, after the establishment of a new political movement in the South-East - the "People's Front" of Novorossiya - became its co-chairman.
The death on February 8 of the commander of the Somalia militia battalion, Mikhail Tolstykh, known as Givi, continues a series of murders of leaders of armed groups that have been operating in the Donbass for the past three years. "NI" remembered the rest.
It should be clarified that one can reliably speak only about the facts of the liquidation of the commanders of the DPR-LPR. None of these murders was investigated to the end, or the results of the investigation raise serious doubts about objectivity. Therefore, many mutually exclusive versions are wound around each incident. On the one hand, Ukrainian radicals and special services are not averse to taking on the elimination and punishment of the "occupiers", on the other hand, experts who know the situation and the balance of power within the self-proclaimed "republics" do not rule out a showdown between their functionaries and commanders.
By itself, a systematic series of murders speaks in favor of both versions equally. 
"Givi" - Tolstoy
So, February 8 In 2017, as a result of an explosion (as if fired from a Bumblebee grenade launcher) in his office in Makeyevka, Givi-Tolstykh died. Nation-news, citing the DPR Ministry of Defense, reported the name of the alleged killer of Givi. According to the leadership of the DPR, this is the adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Zoryan Shkiryak, who took part in the presidential elections. True, he immediately responded and said: “What else do they [in the DPR] have to say? What are they each other, excuse me, wet in the toilet? It’s understandable that they need someone to blame.”
Earlier, as the 112 Ukraine TV channel reported, Shkiryak said that in the Donbass there is a “targeted liquidation of the leaders of the terrorist gangs of the LNR and DNR.” He also said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the SBU are offering the leaders of the unrecognized republics Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky to surrender before they are liquidated.
Thus, there is a clear contradiction in Shkiryak's explanations...
Arseniy Pavlov (callsign Motorola)
October 6, 2016. in Donetsk, as a result of the detonation of an explosive device in the elevator of a residential building, one of the leaders of the Donbass militia, Arseniy Pavlov (call sign Motorola), was killed. How the Ukrainian special services organized a sophisticated terrorist attack in a well-guarded multi-storey building where Motorola lived is unknown. 
Alexander Bednov (callsign "Batman")
January 1, 2015 1999, near the city of Lutugino, a convoy of the LPR Ministry of Defense Rapid Response Group "Batman" was attacked by unknown persons. On the turn towards Lutugino, the group was shot from machine guns, grenade launchers and flamethrowers. The body of the group commander - Alexander Bednov, known under the call sign "Batman", was found in an armored minibus. Five fighters of the escort group also died.
Officer of the Cossack National Guard "Great Don Army"
January 23, 2015 in Pervomaisk (Lugansk region), a car was shot in which was the commandant of this city - an officer of the Cossack National Guard of the "Great Don Army" Yevgeny Ishchenko. According to LPR media reports, Ishchenko was accompanied by three Russians who were delivering humanitarian aid to the Donbass. They all died. According to a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the LPR, the commandant's car came under fire from a Ukrainian sabotage group. 
Member of the Parliament of Novorossiya Roman Voznik (call sign "Gypsy")
March 26, 2015 in Donetsk, at the intersection of Chelyuskintsev and Vatutin streets, unknown people fired at the car of the commander of the DPR battalion "Mirage" and a deputy of the parliament of Novorossiya Roman Voznik (call sign Gypsy). From the received wounds Voznik and his guard died. Representatives of the DPR militia accused the Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group of the murder.
Alexey Mozgovoy (callsign "Ghost")
May 23, 2015 the car of the commander of the "Ghost" brigade (LNR) Alexei Mozgovoy, en route from Alchevsk to Lugansk, was blown up by a mine and then was machine-gunned at the exit from the village of Mikhailovka (Lugansk region). As a result, Mozgovoy himself, his press secretary Anna Aseeva, two security guards, a driver and two local residents, whose car was next to the field commander's car at the time of the explosion, were killed. The Ukrainian partisan detachment "Shadows" claimed responsibility for the murder.
Eduard Gilazov (call sign "Ryazan").
August 20, 2015 On July 27, 2015, a message appeared on the Internet about the murder of the commander of the Ryazan sabotage and reconnaissance group of the DPR armed forces, Eduard Gilazov (call sign Ryazan). The circumstances of the death were not specified.
Pavel Dremov (callsign "Batya")
December 12, 2015 on the highway Stakhanov - Pervomaisk (Lugansk region), the car of the commander of a separate sixth motorized rifle Cossack regiment of the people's militia of the LPR ataman Pavel Dremov (call sign Batya) was blown up. According to the Prosecutor General's Office of the LPR, an explosive device was installed directly in the ataman's car. As a result, Dremov himself died at the scene, his driver was seriously injured and later died in the hospital.
Evgeny Kononov (call sign "Cat")
On the night of January 8-9, 2016 in Gorlovka (Donetsk region), an unknown sniper shot and killed the deputy commander of the 100th brigade of the republican guard of the DPR, Colonel Yevgeny Kononov (call sign Kot). According to DPR media reports, the investigating authorities checked the version about the delivery of the sniper to Gorlovka in the car of the OSCE representatives, but it was not confirmed.
Alexander Bushuev (call sign Zarya).
July 3, 2016 in Makeevka (Donetsk region) at a railway crossing, a land mine blew up a car with the commander of the 7th brigade of the DPR army, Alexander Bushuev (call sign Zarya). According to General of the DPR Army Igor Bezler, another person who was in the car with the deceased was injured as a result of the explosion.
Head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic Valery Bolotov
Standing apart in a series of murders of DPR-LPR figures is the death of the first head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic, Valery Bolotov, who allegedly died of a heart attack in a dacha outside Moscow. January 27, 2017 of the year. It was reported that the widow of the deceased spoke of the poisoning of her husband.
There are no exact data on the number of deaths as a result of the armed conflict in Ukraine. According to the UN, as of September 30, 2016, 31,805 people became victims of the conflict: 9,574 dead (including civilians, Ukrainian security forces, rebels and 298 passengers of flight MH17), 22,231 injured, 1.5 million fled to other countries. However, the belligerents give different numbers. Yes, and the war continues, every day increasing the Mortyrology.
Alas...
It's the war's fault...
Head of the Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Zakharchenko. Over the past three years, the most prominent commanders of the LPR and DPR militias have died or been killed. Read more in the RBC review
Mikhail Tolstykh (Givi). Battalion Commander "Somalia"
Known for: participated in the battles for Slavyansk, Ilovaisk, Donetsk airport.
Death: died in a terrorist attack on February 8, 2017. According to Novosti Donetskoy Respublika, Tolstykh died in an explosion in his office in Makiivka. One of the former leaders of the DPR, Igor Strelkov, on his VKontakte page informed that, according to his information, the room where Tolstykh was located was shot from a Shmel grenade launcher. Nation-news, citing the DPR Ministry of Defense, reported the name of the alleged killer of Givi. According to the leadership of the DPR, this is Zoryan Shkiryak, who took part in the presidential elections. He accusations of his involvement.
Alexey Mozgovoy. Battalion Commander "Ghost"
Photo: Valery Melnikov / RIA Novosti
Known for: participated in the battles for Slavyansk and Debaltseve.
Death: the car in which Mozgovoy was traveling, his press secretary Anna, two guards and a driver, was blown up by a landmine on the evening of May 23, 2015 on the Perevalsk-Lugansk road in the Alchevsk region and was shot from machine guns. Everyone in the car died.
Known for: headed the "Army of the South-East", which later became the People's Militia of the LPR.
Death: died in Moscow on January 27, 2017 as a result of acute heart failure. The media reported that, according to his wife, Bolotov could have been poisoned.
Arsen Pavlov (Motorola). Commander of the anti-tank special unit "Sparta" of the Donetsk People's Republic
Known for: took part in the defense of Slavyansk, in the battles for Ilovaisk and Debaltseve, the storming of the Donetsk airport.
Pavel Dremov (Dad). Commander of the Stakhanov Cossack Self-Defense
Photo: People's Militia of the LPR / YouTube
Known for: in the summer of 2014, he gathered detachments of "Cossacks" in Stakhanov and Severodonetsk. He published video messages in which he criticized the head of the LPR, Igor Plotnitsky, and accused him of corruption and theft of humanitarian aid.
Death: the car in which Dremov was traveling to his own wedding was blown up on the Stakhanov-Pervomaisk highway on December 12, 2015. The militiaman died on the spot, his driver later died in the hospital.
Alexander Bednov (Batman). Batman Battalion Commander
Known for: former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, took part in the seizure of the SBU building in Luhansk in April 2014. The Bednov group acted as a police force in Lugansk after the proclamation of the Lugansk People's Republic. The fighters of the battalion were accused of torturing the local population.
Death: In December 2014, the Prosecutor General's Office of the LPR opened a criminal case against members of the Batman Battalion. On January 1, 2015, battalion commander Alexander Bednov, while trying to detain him after he “refused to comply with the lawful demands of the officers
special forces to disarm and put up fierce armed resistance.
Oleg Anashchenko. Head of the Department of the People's Militia of the LPR
Known for: participated in the battles for Debaltseve, presented himself in the media as "the head of the air defense forces of the LPR."
Death: On February 4, 2017, Anashchenko's car was blown up in Lugansk. Head of People's Militia Department killed
LNR and another person. On suspicion of his murder, a major in the Ukrainian army.
Gennady Tsypkalov. Former Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the self-proclaimed LPR
Known for: First Deputy "People's Governor" of the LPR Valery Bolotov. In September 2016, he was detained by the authorities of the LPR in the case of an attempted coup.
Death: A few days after his arrest, Tsypkalov was found hanged in the cell where he was kept. The head of the department of the Prosecutor General's Office of the LPR, Sergei Rakhno, said that Tsypkalov committed suicide, and suggested that the reason for this was that Tsypkalov "realized the depth of his criminal actions."
Vladimir Tsvyakh. Former Battalion Commander "Hooligan"
Photo: page Tatiana Maltseva "VKontakte"
Death: circumstances of death not reported
Oleg Mamiev. Battalion Commander "Pyatnashka"
Known for: Came to Donbass from Ossetia in 2014, fought in the Vostok unit, was awarded the Order of the Republic of the DPR.
Alexander Zakharchenko. Head of the DNR
Known for: since November 2014, he headed the Donetsk People's Republic, served as chairman of the Council of Ministers of the DPR.
Death: On August 31, 2018, as a result of an explosion in the Separatist restaurant in the center of Donetsk, where Zakharchenko was
