Russia: Influential nationalist blogger Igor "Strelkov" Girkin arrested for extremism

The former defense minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic was arrested on Friday (July 21st) in Moscow. The home of Igor Girkin, known under the pseudonym "Strelkov", was also searched. The repeated criticism of the Russian military command of this ultranationalist blogger has obviously tired the authorities: he would probably be prosecuted for extremism, according to his lawyer.

Influential nationalist blogger Igor "Strelkov" Gyrkin, during a press conference of a nationalist group known as the "Club of Angry Patriots" in Moscow on May 12, 2023. © Maxim Shemetov / Reuters

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He was arrested by the police" in the morning, said his lawyer Alexander Molokhov, adding that he was "probably" accused of extremism.

Last April, Igor Girkin had already been investigated for having discredited the Russian army. Since the beginning of the Russian offensive, this former FSB colonel has been very fiercely critical of the conduct of operations in Ukraine, not missing an opportunity to highlight the incompetence of the Russian General Staff or Minister of Defense, or their tactical errors. This on his Telegram account, followed by more than 875,000 followers.

He also announced earlier this year that he was entering politics, becoming increasingly critical of Russian rule. One of his latest messages, published on Tuesday, appeared to lash, without naming him, Russian President Vladimir Putin. Igor Girkin said that a "shabby" had been in power for 23 years in Russia and that the country would not support "six more years of this coward in power".

These criticisms were once tolerated, but it is clear that they are no longer tolerated today: the man nicknamed "Strelkov" ("the shooter", in Russian) would be accused of extremism following a complaint filed against him by a former member of the Wagner militia whose details have not been disclosed.

On Telegram, political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya said that Igor Girkin had "long ago" crossed "all possible red lines" in his criticism of the Kremlin and the Russian army.

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Attempt to suppress the latest criticism, even nationalist

But this arrest raises a number of questions in Russia, including those of the possible links and their nature between this ultranationalist and the Wagner militia. The authorities whistled the end of the game for "Strelkov".

Since the abortive rebellion of the group's leader Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin, another virulent critic of the Russian General Staff, experts regularly evoke possible purges within the army and the repression of the last critical voices. This includes military or nationalist bloggers, who have become the few in Russia who can attack the authorities.

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His arrest is of course in the interest of the Russian Ministry of Defense. This is one of the consequences of the Prigozhin mutiny: the army has obtained more opportunities to repress its opponents in the public space," said Tatiana Stanovaya.

Sentenced to life in MH17 case

Igor Girkin is also among the men who have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Dutch courts for shooting down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 with a missile in Ukrainian skies in 2014. All 298 passengers and crew died.

He rose to prominence by briefly becoming a military leader of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014. He had governed with an iron fist the separatist stronghold of Sloviansk, but announced his resignation in August 2014 under mysterious conditions, before returning to Russia where he had lost all influence.

" READ ALSO Russia: Vladimir Putin maintains the vagueness on the reorganization and the future of the militia Wagner

(With agencies)

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