Igor Girkin, the Kremlin’s dirty man, fallen from grace, is in prison

Hired by the FSB, the Russian secret services, Igor Girkin notably participated in the two Chechen wars as well as the capture of Crimea in 2014. These criticisms of the government and its desire to run in the presidential election probably have contributed to his downfall.

“Olrik” is in prison for four years, a Moscow court ruled on Thursday, January 25. “Olrik” is the nickname given by the reporter from FigaroAdrien Jeaulmes, in reference to “wicked” recurring the adventures of Blake and Mortimer. But it suits him well! Real name Igor Girkine alias “Strelkov” is involved in all the Russian adventures of the last 30 years. In 1992, he shot in Transnistria, a secessionist territory in Moldova. In 1993 we found him in Bosnia with the Serbs who besieged Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital. Tall, thin, with a small mustache in a circumflex accent, he visually corresponds well to the “bad guy” imagined by Edgar P. Jacobs in his comics.

He is also, like his paper avatar, passionate about disguises. Loves to dress up for battle reenactments. But it’s not just gambling, this man really has blood on his hands, and not just a little. Hired by the FSB, the Russian secret services, Igor Girkin took part in the two Chechen wars. The capture of Crimea in 2014: it’s him! He also elected a former thug as head of the Ukrainian Province to organize its secession. It was he, too, who triggered the armed clashes in the Ukrainian Donbass a few months later. He took, by force, the city of Sloviansk where multiple crimes were committed. He will become “minister of defense” of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic”, before being recalled to Moscow after the firing of a missile on Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 – nearly 300 victims. Igor Girkin was also sentenced, in absentia, to life imprisonment by a court in The Hague for this.

Critics of the war in Ukraine

On the ground, he was apparently the Kremlin’s man of dirty work, at least those where Russia did not want to appear too openly.” So why these four years in prison? Although “put away” since 2015, Igor Girkin nevertheless continued to write – his Telegram channel is followed by half a million Russians – and in a very critical manner on the progress of the war, on the failings of the Kremlin.

In recent months, he has been considering running for president of Russia. This is probably what hastened his fall from grace. He is now in a penal colony for four years… barring an incredible escape. This was the great specialty of his paper counterpart: Olrik, in the Blake and Mortimer comic strip!