Russia Arrests Militant Right-Wing Critic Igor Girkin in Widening Crackdown

Russian investigators arrested a prominent right-wing critic of President Vladimir Putin Friday, amid a broader crackdown against avowed Russian patriots who have attacked Putin for failing to pursue his war in Ukraine with enough vigor. 

Igor Girkin, a fiercely nationalist figure and former leader of Russian-backed militants in eastern Ukraine, was detained at his apartment in Moscow and charged with extremism, according to his wife, who took to the former officer’s popular Telegram channel to announce his detention. State-run TASS news agency confirmed his arrest. 

Putin has for years quashed leftist and Westward-leaning opponents to safeguard his 23-year rule, but following the mutiny led by paramilitary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin late last month, he has also moved to tamp down on right-wing critics who have been emboldened by his invasion of Ukraine. 

Among them Girkin, who wrote and operated in eastern Ukraine under the nom de guerre Strelkov, stood out for his withering criticism against Putin, but his latest commentary appeared to cross a line. 

In a posting on his Telegram channel recently he called Putin a “non-entity” who managed to “throw dust in the eyes” of the Russian population. 

In apparent reference to Russian presidential elections next year, when Putin is expected to seek another six-year term, Girkin wrote that “the country will not survive another 6 years in power of this cowardly mediocrity.”

Girkin’s arrest immediately galvanized nationalist circles who had praised his angry missives against Putin’s fumbling invasion of Ukraine.

A compatriot of Girkin tried to hold a protest outside the court where he was detained. Pavel Gubarev, who with Girkin founded the nationalist Club of Angry Patriots, or KRP, said that Girkin “rightly criticized the actions of the Ministry of Defense from the very first days.” The court ordered Girkin held until his next hearing on Sept. 18.

Nationalist activist Georgy Fyodorov called Girkin’s arrest a harbinger for a broader crackdown.

“This is very bad news and means that repressions have begun not only against members of the KRP, but also against the entire active patriotic community, which, apparently, has become dangerous for the supreme power,” he wrote. “We must unite and support Strelkov, because this is only the beginning.”

Since Prigozhin’s mutiny and abortive march on Moscow June 24, Russian authorities have begun purges through the military among officers who may have had sympathies for the paramilitary leader and his private military company. 

While Girkin’s criticisms of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov echoed Prigozhin’s, his detention is the latest of a string of current and retired officers who had no connection to the mutiny, suggesting the Kremlin is taking broader steps against those suspected of divided loyalties. 

A senior Russian commander in southern Ukraine was ousted earlier this month after criticizing the military leadership’s management of the war. In a leaked audio tape, the Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov said he was removed for telling the truth to military leaders, including Gerasimov, who is in direct control of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Earlier this week Russian authorities also brought charges against retired Col.

Girkin became a symbol for Russian ultranationalists and irredentists after Putin’s seizure of Crimea in 2014, when Girkin led a group of Russian-backed militia in the takeover of the Ukrainian city of Slovyansk. He quickly distinguished himself for ruthless methods and summary executions. 

He rose to become the putative minister of defense for the Russian-backed separatist statelet in Donetsk, a position he occupied when rebels shot down a civilian Malaysia Airlines flight, killing all 298 passengers and crew onboard. Girkin and two other militants were found guilty of mass murder by a Dutch court last year. He has denied responsibility. 

After decamping to Russia, Girkin has consistently accused the Kremlin of failing to pursue its war in Ukraine with enough vigor, including its invasion last year, which he supported. 

Write to Alan Cullison at [email protected] and Thomas Grove at [email protected]