Russia Detains Russian Military Commander on Charges of Inciting Extremism

Igor Girkin, a former Russian commander in Ukraine and prominent war blogger, was detained by Russian authorities on Friday, reportedly on charges of promoting extremism.

This is the first time Moscow has taken action against a fervent supporter of the war in Ukraine, despite Girkin's outspoken criticism of Russian leaders and their frequently botched military strategy.

Russia Takes Rare Move, Detains Military Commander

In Russia, it is illegal to criticize the military and the conflict, and the government has cracked down harshly on those expressing antiwar sentiments, including pupils.

However, Russian law enforcement has disregarded the severe, frequently vehement criticism of pro-war conservatives who have criticized battlefield decisions, decried repeated military setbacks, and demanded harsher attacks against Ukraine.

Girkin, known by his nom de guerre Igor Strelkov, is a former FSB officer. He participated in Russia's invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014.

According to the Washington Post, Girkin later served as a commander in Russian-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, where he helped foment a separatist war and was accused of extrajudicial murders.

In November, a court in the Netherlands convicted Girkin and two co-defendants of murder in the 2014 attack that destroyed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew members on board. In this instance, Russia had protected Girkin from extradition.

Now, however, Girkin is accused of online "public appeals for extremist activities," according to Russian state news agencies. On Friday evening, he appeared in a Moscow court for a pretrial hearing where investigators requested a two-month detention.

Miroslava Reginskaya, Girkin's wife, first reported the news of her husband's arrest on his nearly one million-subscriber Telegram blog, stating that officers entered their residence on Friday morning and "carried him away to an unknown location."

In a statement published on Girkin's blog, his supporters attributed his detention to his criticism of how Russia conducts its conflict in Ukraine and to his demands for accountability following the brief mutiny staged by Wagner mercenary commander Yevgeniy Prigozhin in late June.

Who is Russian Military Commander Igor Girkin

Girkin, a prominent nationalist blogger, has become increasingly critical of the leadership and administration of the Ukraine conflict by the Russian Army. He has advocated for a greater mobilization of the Russian economy and society to support the war effort and the purge of those who oppose the invasion, the NY Times reported.

In recent days, he escalated his criticism by launching personal attacks against Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he characterized as "a nobody who managed to 'cast sand in the eyes' of a substantial portion of the population."

Girkin, a veteran of the Russian Army and former intelligence officer, assisted Russia in its illicit annexation of Crimea in 2014 and then commanded pro-Russian separatist militias in eastern Ukraine. His merciless discipline earned him the reputation of being a decisive commander.

In May 2014, he was appointed minister of defense for the Donetsk People's Republic, a separatist entity that claimed the Donetsk region of Ukraine. A few months later, when Flight 17 of Malaysia Airlines was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 aboard, he was fired.

In November of last year, a court in the Netherlands convicted Girkin and two others of murder for their roles in the downing of the plane; Girkin has denied responsibility.

Since 2014, Girkin's messianic beliefs have been widely considered to be excessively extreme. With Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine the previous year, he reclaimed his prominence and became one of the most prominent war commentators.

Girkin's criticism of the Russian military leadership has intensified in tandem with that of the leader of the Wagner mercenary organization, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin. He ridiculed Defense Minister Sergei K. Shoigu as a "plywood marshal," but he criticized Prigozhin's attempt to challenge Putin's authority by launching a mutiny at the end of June.

This month, Russian authorities conducted a search at the St. Petersburg patriotic cultural center where Girkin claimed he was scheduled to speak. It was an unprecedented move against ardent proponents of the war in Ukraine, and it signaled an increasing Russian effort to repress influential ultranationalists in the aftermath of the Wagner insurrection.