European of the week
Igor Strelkov, the bitterness of the Russian nationalist in the face of the war in Ukraine
Audio 03:32
Aged 51, Igor Strelkov took part in many conflicts born after the break-up of the USSR.
© AP/Pavel Golovkin
By: Anastasia Becchio
4 mins
The former military leader of the Donbass separatists has become a harsh critic of the military operation in Ukraine.
Igor Strelkov is today one of the most violent detractors of Russian military strategy.
Renowned for his ultra-nationalist positions, he actively comments on the course of the war on social networks and spares neither Vladimir Putin nor his Minister of Defense.
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"
The special military operation is a total failure
," says Igor Strelkov, arms crossed, facing the camera, against the backdrop of the flag of Novorossia, this territory, which encompasses southern and eastern Ukraine, that nostalgic of the Russian Empire dream of conquering.
Since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, the reserve colonel of the FSB, fine mustache, graying hair cut short, has been very present on social networks to say all the bad things he thinks of the war that the Russia leads to its neighbour: “
In Ukraine, they simply make fun of us.
Not you and me, but they laugh at all these people who think so well, who have such wonderful strategic concepts and such wonderful tactical solutions
, ”he quips.
Since being sidelined in August 2014, when he had to leave his short-lived stronghold of Sloviansk in the Donbass, the bitter former "Defence Minister" of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic", chomping at the bit and does not hesitate to criticize the course of the war in Ukraine.
"
He represents part of the Russian political spectrum, namely the far-right nationalists, who are ultimately not expected to criticize Vladimir Putin's position
", notes Florent Parmentier, teacher at Sciences Po. and associate researcher at the HEC Center for Geopolitics.
"
But since the fall of Mariupol, we have heard from him both a criticism of the deplorable mastery of the art of war and of the errors made by the Russian army at the start of this conflict.
He is also extremely critical, he who received military training and who participated in the 2014 conflict, by the interference of Vladimir Putin in military decision-making
.
Criticisms that remain acceptable for the Russian power
Keen on pageants, monarchist, ultranationalist, dubbed “terrorist” by the Ukrainian authorities and media, Igor Girkin, alias Strelkov, a name derived from the word shooter, describes himself as an opponent.
However, his criticisms, although virulent, remain acceptable to the Russian authorities.
"
He really criticizes the actions of the Russian army and he says quite clearly that he does not think well of the current president, but he also says that we must not depose him because otherwise there will be a revolution
,” notes Natalia Yudina, a specialist in Russian nationalism, at the Sova Racism Analysis Center in Moscow.
"
What seems to me the most important and that, since the beginning of the military operation, he has always said that he supported it.
He only allows himself to criticize the power for its lack of strategy and for its unpreparedness, but overall, it remains in the general line of the party
, ”underlines the expert.
Aged 51, Igor Strelkov took part in numerous conflicts born after the break-up of the USSR: Transnistria in 1992, Bosnia, the two wars in Chechnya, before experiencing his hour of glory in the Donbass, as chief separatist fighters, financed by the Orthodox nationalist oligarch Konstantin Malofeev.
He even prides himself on being at the origin of the outbreak of the Donbass war in April 2014. But his setbacks in the military field and the destruction of flight MH17 by a missile fired from separatist territory end up pushing him towards the exit in August 2014. Since then, he no longer interests the Russian authorities and has disappeared from national television channels.
"
It seems to me that they are not ready to hand him over to the court in The Hague, but at the same time, they have no intention of using his services for their military operation.
It is no longer of any use to them, in fact
," says Natalia Ioudina, who points out that the man has repeatedly announced that he was ready to go to the field of military operations, "
but for the moment, he continues to travel by metro, he stays at home and spends his time commenting on the special operation
”
.
At the head of his “Novorossia” movement, Igor Strelkov deals with humanitarian aid and the supply of ammunition and uniforms to the soldiers of the Ukrainian separatist republics.
Currently on trial in a court in the Netherlands, with three other suspects, all absent, for the murder of the passengers of flight MH17 shot down in July 2014 over eastern Ukraine, Igor Strelkov rejects the charges.
Dutch prosecutors, who have requested life imprisonment, believe the four men played a pivotal role in bringing a BUK anti-aircraft battery from Russia, likely intended to hit a Ukrainian warplane.
Judgment could be handed down in November.
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