Thanks to Kazzura’s fantastic work, we have the translation of Igor Strelkov’s latest press conference.
The Saker
Saker Message:
Thanks to Kazzura’s fantastic work, we have the translation of Igor Strelkov’s latest press conference.
The Saker
@Cassandra.04 November, 2014 01:44
You wrote:
“Okay, since you personally request it, and the time is right, I am going to tell you who is Strelkov and what’s going on as I understand it.”
I am Tovarich Anonymous. Privjet (hello), I think you understand this greeting.
Your situation is difficult. I am a little younger than you are, but not much. During the last two years, I have lost my strength, not because my cancer diagnosis, it kills me very slowly, I will probably die for other reasons and I have refused treatment, but because I lost my teeth and couldn’t eat. A man loses his strength and a woman her looks as we get older. In my youth, I took pride in my strength as women take pride in their looks. That was a mistake. I lost my muscles when I couldn’t eat, but I raised three children and paid all my bills. That is all I have when I come to the Heavenly gate, despite all my mistakes, and I don’t know if it is enough. I have given all my property to my children, except my old car from the 90s, and that made me free. Being poor is biblical, as I understand it. We were born naked and poor and we go naked and poor. All the best to you.
Who was that masked man?
Whenever I see Strelkov, theme songs and movies pop into my mind. The Lone Ranger. Marathon Man. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Apocalypse Now.
And, of course, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier . . . Spy!
Igor Strelkov is not a soldier. He is a spy. As near as it gets to proven fact in the murky world of espionage.
Igor G. has acknowledged that he was an FSB agent for 18 years, retiring March 2013 with the rank of Colonel. Other intelligence services corroborate it. His friends corroborate it. Ukraine says GRU, which is logical, because the FSB’s jurisdiction is sort of like the FBI’s, domestic, while the GRU operates outside the country. But the FSB also operates in CIS countries and Ukraine may just want to define itself as “foreign” to Russia.
Strelkov has done his thing in Transnistria, Bosnia, Serbia, Chechin I, Chechin II, and maybe more countries where nobody spotted him. Some of this would be pre-FSB if the 18 years is right. If he truly resigned in March, 2013, he was not assigned to Crimea, where he was employed as head of security for Askyonov before Askyonov assumed power, and he was also freelancing in Novorossya.
Alexander Borodai, a Tsarist and writer for a leading Tsarist paper, met up with Strelkov in the mid-90s. He was a political advisor to Askyonov in Crimea. Borodai was into Novorossya before Strelkov, invited him in with what troops he could bring with him (mostly Ukrainians in exile), and handed Strelkov control of the “armed groups.” He may well have thought the anarchic situation required a shooter. Strelkov was famous as a strict disciplinarian, and not with a ruler across the knuckles.
Borodai was reported in two Russian newspapers to have been appointed to a high-ranking office in the FSB. Borodai says that was a hoax. For his birthday. It is not widely repeated and it seems odd. I would expect all high-ranking security positions to be filled by promotion not bringing in an outsider.
On balance, I think he was freelancing also. The Ukrainians have phone intercepts of people close to Putin ordering Strelkov to turn loose the OSCE team that he had kidnapped. They say this proves he was still in the FSB and was ordered to Novorossya. I think of Rambo. I see no reason why his old boss (FSB reports directly to Putin) wouldn’t go ballistic and fire orders at him, or why he would defy them. It proves nothing about whether he was ordered in. The way it ended makes me think he was not, and also the constellation of people around him in the beginning, which provides a credible alternative explanation of how these co-religionists wound up in the same crusade.
They have another connection, through the Russian financier Konstantin Malofeev, who is sanctioned for funding the resistance.
More. Out of space.
Cassandra
The Russian Ultra-right
Russian monarchists first registered a political party in 2012, but I doubt that Strelkov had anything to do with that branch. For most of his life, Russian monarchism called itself a “movement.” (I think of it as a cult.) It is found across Europe, and I call the Russian version “Tsarist.” It has many different groups which celebrate two different European princes as the heir to the Russian throne. There are newspapers, conferences, paramilitaries, and Strelkov’s lifelong hobby, historical re-enactments. I have a picture here which I wish I could display for you of Strelkov in full regalia channeling his spirit guide, White Russian General Mikhail Drozdovsky, after whom Strelkov’s particular Tsarist organization is named. Although classified ultra-nationalist and far right, Tsarists are distinguishable from Nazis, but are close enough to go to one another’s conferences.
Remember those French volunteers who arrived to join the Resistance, with much talking of the Marseillaise and the storming of the Bastille? Neo-Nazis.
On the other hand, this was part of the Wikipedia article on Pavel Gubarev:
“In earlier years Gubarev was a member of the neo-Nazi Russian National Unity paramilitary group.[12][13][14][15] Gubarev has publicly given thanks to this group for providing him with military training.”
That was edited by Cassandra to add “In the same interview he said he was not a radical nationalist and described himself as “centre-left.”(Always check the origins of a cite.) Fair’s fair. Let us hope this is true, and somewhere between feverish 16 and 30, people may grow up.
==========================
I had this completely finished, left it to check a reference, and my laptop blew the save. Lost everything. There’s more but I’m very tired, and also nervous. I’d like to get this safely posted.
If anyone has read Strelkov’s book on his adventures in Bosnia, please jump in. I’d especially like to know if there are any anecdotes of military experience beyond roaming with small bands carrying a rifle and maybe a grenade. I’ve found none. The only concrete references I can find as to what he was actually doing when he was in the military mention only security functions, surveillance, indoctrination and interrogations.
I think if you are still with me, you will see why it’s so hard for unity to be accomplished.
Cassandra !
Thanks for all the info !! Look forward to hearing more…
It appears the next witch hunt is underway. . .
Look out of your window at dawn, do you see the sun’s light breaking through gentle mists onto the fiery colours of the autumn tees, and do night and day seem to shatter each other, joining into higher colours and light?
It is but a premonition only, a glimpse of a future time, when Russia will awake and rise, bearer of higher, greater truths, beauty and goodness.
Know this, think the light, and speak, see and hear no evil.
So Cassandra is the new expert, here to slander and defame Strelkov with phony unsourced accusations ?
More will come but I’m going to post a summary of my conclusions about the early part of the revolution now.
Bed-fellows make strange politics (No fag jibes intended.)
I think the uprising was widespread and spontaneous, provoked and impelled forward by the appearance of Swastikas on the Maidan; the sense that while a coup against Yanukovich offended few, the expansion to destruction of the Party of Regions was a coup against the Donbass; the earliest actions of the coup-installed government hinting at genocidal intentions towards Rus-Ukrainians; and the inspiring example of Crimea.
Kazzura has posted a scrapbook of pix and interviews with members of Sparta. Many answer “Why did you join?” by referring to Odessa or some other atrocity.
I think Barodai and Strelkov parachuted in with the support of the Tsarist movement and financial support from the Russian oligarch and Tsarist Konstantin Malofeev. Their sole aim was furthering the dream of a restored Russian empire under a restored Tsar (perhaps by flipping a coin between the contenders).
Putin had nothing to do with it, and tried to roll it back but had little influence.
I don’t have an opinion on exactly how the uprising in the Donbass was meant to contribute to forwarding the dream. Perhaps it was a move against Putin. Perhaps the Tsarists think it’s good to make a grab at any territory anywhere that has a Russian population.
The August coup against Strelkov, on the other hand, I think was Putin’s. I suspect that the Russian advisors he sent in, at a time when the Resistance was losing badly, were meant to roll the whole operation up. But they found that just below the top leadership there were a lot of good people qualified to lead, a genuine popular uprising, a respectable fighting force chafing to be given a chance, solid popular support among the civilian population, a credible shot at military victory — and the advisors went over to the revolution.
Putin nervously agreed, after seeking assurances that nobody was going to go rogue and start World War III.
Cassandra
“Some commanders like him [Zakharchenko], so we don’t know what he was like on the battle field except through hearsay, gleaned from interviews in the past. Perhaps Zakharchenko will make a better diplomat, who knows, people have different talents, [Demargot]
Ah, d’Escargot, you have been listening to Strelkov, who has begun talking of Zakharchenko thusly:
Q. “What kind of soldier was Zakharchenko?”
A. Well, I can honestly say I never actually saw him run away and hide, but he kept coming home barefoot and I had to issue him new boots.”
What Strelkov says now, one thing. What Strelkov did then, another.
When Barodai handed all armed forces over to Strelkov, there were few career military men among them. Khodakovsky was the best, having defected from command of the Ukrainian special forces Alpha, but he wanted no part of Strelkov from the start.
Plotinsky and Kononov were trained and experienced military men, maybe Bes and a couple of others, and probably quite a few, like Zakharchenko, had done two years compulsory service after high school.
After a few weeks of fighting, Zakharchenko had been decorated and promoted to Major, which is “top brass,” line officers, the ones who go to the meetings: briefings, evaluations, strategy sessions.
In the Russian and USSR army ranking systems, there are 11 ranks between private and major.
By Strelkov’s own rating, Zakharchenko was one of the top five fighters he had.
Cassandra
Terry 08:23
Good, Terry, somebody gets it.
I’d just point out that both Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky are military men; Zakh is probably not fully healed yet from wound at Slavyansk. They are military men taking a civilian role, but not civilians.
Snide Anonymous (as distinguishable from Tovarich Anonymous)
Somebody asked me to tell what I thought was going on, and I responded. I have been spending 12 hours a day on researching this revolution, and I’m certainly not going to waste three or four days backtracking to give you urls. I tell you where stuff comes from and I have not found a single source that is reputable, reliable and complete, especially since I consider my main source, Strelkov, to be a consummate professional liar. I doubt that there will ever be such a source in the future on Strelkov. Covering their tracks is what spies do.
My analysis of Strelkov’s military incompetence, which took much research and hard thinking, was just corroborated by Strelkov himself in a video posted on this very blog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hg95XF5RJE.
Strelkov admits he was utterly over his head in the Donbass and had no idea what to do.
‘Resign and let wiser heads take over’ apparently didn’t come to mind. Or even cut himself out a role which fitted his talents, such as recruiting.
I swear on my honour, and I have some, I had made my judgement on Strelkov’s military ability and posted it before I looked up that video posted by Demargot but not described.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hg95XF5RJE
But what the hell, if I’m going to have the name, why not have the game?
Here’s something I decided to not post about Strelkov, because I had serious, if mainly intuitive, doubts about the source. Slavyansk.org published a tale of a journey through Novorussia by a “journalist from the Urals” who described himself as “free-lancing for” a news outlet.
Immediately my ears prick. You are “on assignment for” or you’re “freelancing.” Not both. I check out the news outlet and find a website inviting its readers to email stories. They have no journalists.
Second sticking point, this kid is like Forrest Gump; whenever something happens he is there at the centre of things. He crosses the border following tank tracks. On the other side, a bunch of Cossacks fall in with him and begin confessing to atrocities they have committed.
Third point, he seems not to see things he couldn’t have missed on his itinerary such as residential areas shelled by banned weapons.
He says he was taken in to Strelkov’s HQ for questioning and was hanging out in the cellar waiting to be released when some captured teenagers from a volunteer battalion were brought in. They were taken up to the 2nd floor and the screaming began. Hours of screaming. A rebel in the cellar told him their teeth were being pulled out. Strelkov made him sign a non-disclosure agreement and sent him on his way.
I dropped “Marathon Man” into my intro list of movies Strelkov reminded me of as a private joke with anyone who had read this at Slavyansk.
Another reason I didn’t want to post it was because I thought some on this thread would cheer.
We have chivalry, rules of war and codes of honour in war for a very good reason. There are thousands of crazed Vietnam vets living like stray dogs in the alleys of American cities. It’s not because of what was done to them, it’s because of what they did. If you don’t cling to some standards of decency in war, you can never go home.
Another thing I dropped was Strelkov resigning from the FSB when he was passed over for promotion because he failed the psychological assessment. Again, it’s mainly intuitive. I find this credible, but it’s too much what someone would smugly think was a perfect example of a brilliant piece of disinformation.
“What I did on my summer vacation in Russia” by Igor Girkin.
http://fortruss.blogspot.ca/2014/11/the-political-corpse-of-strelkov-was.html