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Igor Strelkov once said that if he was allowed to go fighting on the Ukrainian frontlines, then (the Kremlin) made the decision to fight until Russia wins the war. If he is jailed, i.e. that the “surrender party” definitely won in Russia.
On July 21, former DPR Defense Minister, Russian military and political activist, Igor Girkin (Strelkov) was arrested. He is charged with public calls to extremist activities through Internet.
The court arrested the former head of the DPR Defense Ministry until September 18 after a case was launched against him under Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (public calls for extremism using the Internet). Strelkov faces a sentence of up to five years in prison.
The prosecutor noted that Strelkov served in the operational unit of the special services and has the skills of conspiracy, insisting on his arrest. In his turn, Strelkov claimed that he had no intentions to leave the country or escape from the investigation.
“I have been living permanently in Moscow for 9 years, I have never been hiding from the FSB and other services… The investigator’s statement that I can hide abroad is ridiculous. Because I am wanted in many countries and sentenced to life by The Hague Court,” Strelkov reportedly claimed.
Strelkov reportedly said that he has angor pectoris of the second degree and asked for house arrest. In addition, he has three children, including one minor child, whom he supports financially. He added that he still has a grandmother who has a chronic illness. However, he was sent to a detention center until September 18.
Strelkov’s lawyer explained that the ex-minister of the DPR recognized the publication of two posts in his telegram channel.
On May 25, he expressed his opinion on the possible surrender of Crimea, calling it state treason. The second post, which led to the launch of the criminal case, told about the non-payments to the Russian military.
“It’s a disgrace if they don’t pay money to the assault regiment. And I agree with that,” Strelkov’s lawyer, commented on the issue.
Strelkov’s posts were reportedly checked by an “expert”. According to the lawyer, this is an unacceptable proof, since there are at least no necessary signatures and it is unclear who this expert is. In the case file there is a survey of a resident of the Crimea, which says that he read Strelkov’s post and felt indignation.
The case was initiated on July 18. According to preliminary data, it was launched at the request of a former employee of the Wagner PMC. Igor Strelkov had a conflict with Wagner’s Group. In particular, after the mutiny on June 24, Strelkov consistently sought condemnation of the actions of the PMC and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Strelkov was one of the leaders of the militia in the Donbass in 2014. From May 15 to August 14 of the same year, he served as the Minister of Defense of the DPR. After his retirement, Strelkov did not take part in military operations but attempted to come back to the front lines several times.
Strelkov recently created a so-called Club of Angry Patriots, and was considered one of the leaders of Russian patriotic opposition. His arrest may mark the beginning of a larger campaign against Russian patriotic opinion leaders. Moreover, Moscow’s campaign against Strelkov may also signal the change in the Russian policy and any new “goodwill gestures” by the Kremlin and the Russian military can be expected.
