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Igor Bezler

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Igor Bezler
Igor Bezler speech on camera.jpg
Nickname(s)"Bes" (Imp)
Born (1965-12-30) 30 December 1965 (age 57)
Simferopol, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance Soviet Union (until 1991)
 Ukraine (1991–2014)[1]
 Donetsk People's Republic (2014–present)
Service/branch Donbas People's Militia
RankMajor General
Battles/warsSoviet–Afghan War
Russo-Ukrainian War
AwardsSU Order of the Red Star ribbon.svg Order of the Red Star

Orden of Courage.png Order of Courage

Order of Glory Ribbon Bar.svg Cross of St. George of the DPR

Igor Nikolayevich Bezler (Russian: Игорь Николаевич Безлер; Ukrainian: Ігор Миколайович Бєзлєр, romanizedIhor Mykolayovych Byezlyer; born 1965, Simferopol,[2] Crimean Oblast, Ukrainian SSR), known by the pseudonym "Bes" (Russian: Бес, English: Imp)[3] is one of the pro-Russian rebel leaders whose group controlled the local police department in Horlivka.

He was a prominent commander in the early phases of the Russo-Ukrainian War: the 2014 Russian military intervention in Crimea and the 2014 War in Donbas. In 2014 he went into hiding and as of 2016 issued statements denouncing the Russian-backed separatist groups.

In November 2020 Bellingcat claimed that Bezler, with a fake Russian passport issued to the name of Igor Nikoalevich Beregovoy (Игорь Николаевич Береговой), lives in Russian annexed Crimea since October 2014.[4][5]

Discover more about Igor Bezler related topics

Russian language

Russian language

Russian is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living East Slavic languages, and is also a part of the larger Balto-Slavic languages. Besides Russia itself, Russian is an official language in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and is used widely as a lingua franca throughout Ukraine, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and to some extent in the Baltic states. It was the de facto language of the former Soviet Union, and continues to be used in public life with varying proficiency in all of the post-Soviet states.

Ukrainian language

Ukrainian language

Ukrainian is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the native language of the Ukrainians.

Romanization of Ukrainian

Romanization of Ukrainian

The romanization of Ukrainian, or Latinization of Ukrainian, is the representation of the Ukrainian language in Latin letters. Ukrainian is natively written in its own Ukrainian alphabet, which is based on the Cyrillic script. Romanization may be employed to represent Ukrainian text or pronunciation for non-Ukrainian readers, on computer systems that cannot reproduce Cyrillic characters, or for typists who are not familiar with the Ukrainian keyboard layout. Methods of romanization include transliteration and transcription.

Simferopol

Simferopol

Simferopol is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is under the de facto control of Russia, which annexed Crimea in 2014 and regards Simferopol as the capital of the Republic of Crimea. Simferopol is an important political, economic and transport hub of the peninsula, and serves as the administrative centre of both Simferopol Municipality and the surrounding Simferopol District.

Crimean Oblast

Crimean Oblast

The Crimean Oblast was an oblast (province) of the former Russian SFSR (1945–1954) and Ukrainian SSR (1954–1991) within the Soviet Union. Its capital was the city of Simferopol. The administrative unit was succeeded by Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Horlivka

Horlivka

Horlivka, also known as Gorlovka, is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Its population is 239,828.

Russo-Ukrainian War

Russo-Ukrainian War

The Russo-Ukrainian War is an international conflict between Russia and Russian-backed separatists, against Ukraine, which began in February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian military in the Donbas war. The first eight years of conflict also included naval incidents, cyberwarfare, and heightened political tensions. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

War in Donbas (2014–2022)

War in Donbas (2014–2022)

The war in Donbas, or Donbas war, was an armed conflict in the Donbas region of Ukraine, part of the broader Russo-Ukrainian War.

Bellingcat

Bellingcat

Bellingcat is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 2014. Bellingcat publishes the findings of both professional and citizen journalist investigations into war zones, human rights abuses, and the criminal underworld. The site's contributors also publish guides to their techniques, as well as case studies.

Russian passport

Russian passport

The Russian passport is a booklet issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to Russian citizens for international travel. This external Russian passport is distinct from the internal Russian passport, which is a mandatory identity document for travel and identification purposes within Russia. Russian citizens must use their Russian passports when leaving or entering Russia, unless traveling to/from a country where the Russian internal ID is recognised as a valid travel document.

Crimea

Crimea

Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. To the east, the Crimean Bridge, constructed in 2018, spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the peninsula with Krasnodar Krai in Russia. The Arabat Spit, located to the northeast, is a narrow strip of land that separates the Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to the west lies Romania and to the south is Turkey. The largest city is Sevastopol. The region has a population of 2.4 million, and has been under Russian occupation since 2014.

Biography

Bezler's father, Nikolai Bezler (or Mykola Byezlyer in Ukrainian), was an ethnic German (original spelling of his surname in German – Besler), his mother was an ethnic Ukrainian, but she considers herself Russian.[6]

He served in the Soviet Army in Afghanistan (1983–84) and fought against the separatist forces in Chechnya. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star. In 1994-97 Bezler studied at the Dzerzhinsky Military Academy.[7][8] (It is possible that this reference is to the FSB Academy.)

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claims that until 2002 he served in detachments of the Russian General Staff GRU retiring as a lieutenant colonel.[9] In 2002 Bezler moved to Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian officials, in February 2014 he was contacted by agents of the GRU. Complying with their instructions, Bezler supposedly moved to Crimea where he participated in number of violent events connected with taking over of military installations and government facilities. In April 2014, as a member of a diversion group, Bezler helped take over the SBU headquarters in Donetsk Oblast and the Interior Ministry district department in Horlivka.[10]

On April 14, 2014, a YouTube video showed a man claiming to be a lieutenant colonel of the Russian army addressing police officers[11] at the pro-Russian-held Horlivka police station[12] and naming a new police chief.[11]

The man was subsequently identified as Bezler. Ukraine accused him and Igor Strelkov of orchestrating the killing of Horlivka deputy Volodymyr Ivanovych Rybak.[13][14] Bezler denies his involvement.[15]

Discover more about Biography related topics

Ukrainian language

Ukrainian language

Ukrainian is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the native language of the Ukrainians.

Soviet Army

Soviet Army

The Soviet Army or Soviet Ground Forces was the main land warfare uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992.

Chechnya

Chechnya

Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, close to the Caspian Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with the country of Georgia to its south; with the Russian republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia-Alania to its east, north, and west; and with Stavropol Krai to its northwest.

Order of the Red Star

Order of the Red Star

The Order of the Red Star was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 5 May 1930. That statute was amended by decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 7 May 1936, of 19 June 1943, of 26 February 1946, of 15 October 1947, of 16 December 1947 and by decree No 1803-X of 28 March 1980.

FSB Academy

FSB Academy

The FSB Academy, in full the Academy of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, is an education and research institution federally chartered to prepare Russian intelligence personnel for the Federal Security Service in particular and for the Russian Intelligence Community in general.

Security Service of Ukraine

Security Service of Ukraine

The Security Service of Ukraine or SBU is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian government, in the areas of counter-intelligence activity and combating organized crime and terrorism. The Constitution of Ukraine defines the SBU as a military formation, and its staff are considered military personnel with ranks. It is subordinated directly under the authority of the president of Ukraine. The SBU also operates its own special forces unit, the Alpha Group.

GRU

GRU

The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formerly the Main Intelligence Directorate, and still commonly known by its previous abbreviation GRU, is the foreign military intelligence agency of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The GRU controls the military intelligence service and maintains its own special forces units.

Crimea

Crimea

Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. To the east, the Crimean Bridge, constructed in 2018, spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the peninsula with Krasnodar Krai in Russia. The Arabat Spit, located to the northeast, is a narrow strip of land that separates the Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to the west lies Romania and to the south is Turkey. The largest city is Sevastopol. The region has a population of 2.4 million, and has been under Russian occupation since 2014.

Donetsk Oblast

Donetsk Oblast

Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (Донеччина), is an oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its administrative centre is Donetsk, though due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, the regional administration was moved to Kramatorsk. Historically, the region has been an important part of the Donbas region. From its creation in 1938 until November 1961, it bore the name Stalino Oblast as Donetsk was then named "Stalino", in honour of Joseph Stalin. As part of the de-Stalinization process, it was renamed after the Siversky Donets river, the main artery of Eastern Ukraine. Its population is estimated as 4,100,280

Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine)

Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine)

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the interior affairs of Ukraine. The ministry carries out state policy for the protection of rights and liberties of citizens, investigates unlawful acts against the interest of society and state, fights crime, provides civil order, ensures civil security and traffic safety, and guarantees the security and protection of important individuals. It is a centralised agency headed by the Minister of Internal Affairs. The ministry works closely with the office of the General Prosecutor of Ukraine. It oversees the National Police of Ukraine, National Guard of Ukraine (gendarmerie), the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and the State Migration Service.

Horlivka

Horlivka

Horlivka, also known as Gorlovka, is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Its population is 239,828.

Igor Girkin

Igor Girkin

Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin, also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov, is a Russian army veteran and former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who played a key role in the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and later the war in Donbas as an organizer of militant groups in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

MH17 involvement

According to transcripts of conversations Ukraine's intelligence services claims it intercepted at the time of the crash of MH17, Bezler was aware of an aircraft crashing.[16] Bezler has said that the talk had really taken place but that he had talked about a Ukrainian attack aircraft shot down by the militia a day before the Malaysian airliner crash.[17]

Shaun Walker, a reporter for The Guardian, claims that Bezler "is regarded as something of a loose cannon, even by other rebels, who speak about him in hushed tones." When Walker interviewed Bezler with the hope of asking him about the MH17 crash, Bezler reportedly bragged that he summarily executes some of the combatants he captures: "Those who are fighting with the Ukrainian army, we keep as prisoners. Those who are fighting with volunteer battalions, we question them and then shoot them on the spot. Why should we show any pity to them?... You should see what they have done to my people. They chop off their heads and shit in the helmets! They are fascists! So why should we stand on ceremony with them? Questioning, an execution, that’s it. I will hang those fuckers from lampposts!".[18]

According to Walker, when Bezler saw the journalists recording this conversation, he ordered, "Burn their notebooks! Seize their electronics! Search everything for compromising material and then destroy it! If you find anything, execute them as spies!... Don’t think for one minute I will hesitate to have you shot."[19]

Post MH17

In November 2014 Bezler disappeared from public sight in Donbas and speculations about his death was circulated by some Ukrainian media (including a version that he was assassinated by Russian special services). Luhansk People's Republic representatives admitted "he left Donbas" but rejected the claims about his death.[20] A video appeared on YouTube by the end of November 2014 in which Bezler appeared, explaining he's alive and in Ukraine's Poltava Oblast.[21]

In November 2019 Bellingcat research claimed that on 27 October 2014 Bezler moved with a fake Russian passport to Russian annexed Crimea and has lived there since.[4]

On December 19, 2014, Bezler was placed on the Specially Designated Nationals List by the U.S Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).[22] This placement prohibits U.S. persons from undertaking any business with him without first obtaining a license from OFAC.

In early March 2016 Bezler claimed in a post on social network VK that he "always was and still am a supporter of a single sovereign federal Ukraine, but without Nazis and obsessive nationalism" and had never been a supporter of the recreation of Novorossiya.[23] He stated that the Donetsk People's Republic had become a "Banana republic" with a kleptocratic leadership.[23]

Discover more about Post MH17 related topics

Luhansk People's Republic

Luhansk People's Republic

The Luhansk People's Republic or Lugansk People's Republic is an unrecognised republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was created by militarily-armed Russian-backed separatists in 2014, and it initially operated as a breakaway state until it was annexed by Russia in 2022.

Donbas

Donbas

The Donbas or Donbass is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Poltava Oblast

Poltava Oblast

Poltava Oblast is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Poltava. Most of its territory is part of the historic Cossack Hetmanate. Population: 1,352,283.

Bellingcat

Bellingcat

Bellingcat is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 2014. Bellingcat publishes the findings of both professional and citizen journalist investigations into war zones, human rights abuses, and the criminal underworld. The site's contributors also publish guides to their techniques, as well as case studies.

Russian passport

Russian passport

The Russian passport is a booklet issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to Russian citizens for international travel. This external Russian passport is distinct from the internal Russian passport, which is a mandatory identity document for travel and identification purposes within Russia. Russian citizens must use their Russian passports when leaving or entering Russia, unless traveling to/from a country where the Russian internal ID is recognised as a valid travel document.

Crimea

Crimea

Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. To the east, the Crimean Bridge, constructed in 2018, spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the peninsula with Krasnodar Krai in Russia. The Arabat Spit, located to the northeast, is a narrow strip of land that separates the Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to the west lies Romania and to the south is Turkey. The largest city is Sevastopol. The region has a population of 2.4 million, and has been under Russian occupation since 2014.

Social networking service

Social networking service

A social networking service or SNS is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections.

Sovereignty

Sovereignty

Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body, or institution that has the ultimate authority over other people in order to establish a law or change existing laws. In political theory, sovereignty is a substantive term designating supreme legitimate authority over some polity. In international law, sovereignty is the exercise of power by a state. De jure sovereignty refers to the legal right to do so; de facto sovereignty refers to the factual ability to do so. This can become an issue of special concern upon the failure of the usual expectation that de jure and de facto sovereignty exist at the place and time of concern, and reside within the same organization.

Federation

Federation

A federation is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision, neither by the component states nor the federal political body. Alternatively, a federation is a form of government in which sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs.

Novorossiya

Novorossiya

Novorossiya, literally "New Russia", is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later become the southern mainland of Ukraine: the region immediately north of the Black Sea and Crimea. The province fell largely within a slightly wider area known in Ukrainian as the Stepovyna "Steppe Land", or Nyz "Lower Land". The name Novorossiya entered official usage in 1764, after the Russian Empire conquered the Crimean Khanate, and annexed its territories, when Novorossiya Governorate was founded. Official usage of the name ceased after 1917, when the entire area was incorporated in the Ukrainian People's Republic.

Donetsk People's Republic

Donetsk People's Republic

The Donetsk People's Republic is an unrecognised republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, with its capital in Donetsk. The DPR was created by militarily-armed Russian-backed separatists in 2014, and it initially operated as a breakaway state until it was annexed by Russia in 2022.

Banana republic

Banana republic

In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically and economically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and Costa Rica under economic exploitation by U.S. corporations, such as the United Fruit Company. Typically, a banana republic has a society of extremely stratified social classes, usually a large impoverished working class and a ruling class plutocracy, composed of the business, political, and military elites. The ruling class controls the primary sector of the economy by way of the exploitation of labor; thus, the term banana republic is a pejorative descriptor for a servile oligarchy that abets and supports, for kickbacks, the exploitation of large-scale plantation agriculture, especially banana cultivation.

Source: "Igor Bezler", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 20th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Bezler.

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References
  1. ^ УВАГА! РОЗШУКУЄТЬСЯ БЄЗЛЄР ІГОР МИКОЛАЙОВИЧ (in Ukrainian). Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Retrieved 2014-08-17.
  2. ^ SBU searches for the Russian Lt Colonel who was taking over militia in Horlivka. TSN. April 18, 2014
  3. ^ "An audience with Ukraine rebel chief Igor Bezler, the Demon of Donetsk". TheGuardian.com. 29 July 2014.
  4. ^ a b (in Ukrainian) Bellingcat established the name and location of a Russian fighter wanted by the GPU for murder, Ukrayinska Pravda (8 November 2019)
  5. ^ "How Russia Issues Fake Passports to Its Operatives in Ukraine". bellingcat. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  6. ^ "Visiting Bes: reporting from rebellious Horlivka". Forbes. July 4, 2014.
  7. ^ Real Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Goncharenko blog at Ukrainska Pravda. April 16, 2014
  8. ^ Who is he, the Horlivka Lieutenant Colonel Igor Bezler? Vostochnyi Dozor. April 17, 2014
  9. ^ SBU wants Russian spy Igor Bezler Gordonua.com. April 18, 2014
  10. ^ Horlivka Lieutenant Colonel of the Russian Federation appeared to be real, but in reserves. Dumskaya. April 16, 2014
  11. ^ a b "'Russian lieutenant colonel' meets Ukrainian police officers". BBC. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  12. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Pro-Russian attack in Ukraine's Horlivka". BBC. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  13. ^ SBU blames Russian military intelligence officers for killing Horlivka deputy. Kyiv Post. April 23, 2014
  14. ^ SBU: Russian intelligence officer involved in murder of Horlivka City Council deputy. Ukrinform. April 23, 2014
  15. ^ Igor (Bes) Bezler: we'll start attack when the enemy will get weary Ria Novosti. July 16, 2014
  16. ^ MH17 Crash: Full Transcript Of Alleged Phone Intercepts Between Russian Intelligence Officers. July 17, 2014
  17. ^ Kiev’s evidence of militia’s responsibility for airliner crash faked - expert. July 207, 2014
  18. ^ "An audience with Ukraine rebel chief Igor Bezler, the Demon of Donetsk". the Guardian. 2014-07-29. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  19. ^ "An audience with Ukraine rebel chief Igor Bezler, the Demon of Donetsk". the Guardian. 2014-07-29. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  20. ^ "Russian Tanks Enter Eastern Ukraine as Rebel Leader Linked to MH17 Disaster Is Reported Dead". Newsweek. 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  21. ^ Video on YouTube
  22. ^ "Issuance of a new Ukraine-related Executive Order and General License; Ukraine-related Designations". Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  23. ^ a b (in Ukrainian) Hello "alcoholic-Zakharchenko chicken legs": Bezler said that he was always for a United Ukraine, Obozrevatel, (March 5, 2016)
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