Igor Girkin, a well-known Russian nationalist, who had openly criticized President Vladimir Putin and the military leadership for their handling of the war in Ukraine, was detained on Friday and charged with inciting extremism.
His arrest by the FSB state security service, his former employer, indicates that authorities may have grown weary of his outspoken criticism of what they refer to as Russia’s “special military operation,” as well as other nationalist figures who have been granted an unusual level of leeway in deriding the war effort.
Last month, another vocal critic, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary force, led an unsuccessful mutiny. While he remains free, he has significantly reduced his verbal attacks.
According to state news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti, the FSB prosecutors have charged Girkin with a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The Meshchansky district court in Moscow has ordered Girkin, 52, to be placed in investigative custody until September 18, as reported by RBC news site.
Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, is a former FSB officer and battlefield commander who played a key role in Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. He later organized pro-Russian militias that seized control of parts of eastern Ukraine, marking the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Furthermore, in 2022, a Dutch court sentenced him in absentia to life imprisonment for his alleged involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, resulting in the tragic loss of 298 passengers and crew.
