On Friday, January 27, one of the leaders of the Donbass militia, the first head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) Valery Bolotov, who headed the LPR from May to August 2014, passed away. According to preliminary information from the speaker of the parliament of Novorossiya Oleg Tsarev, he has a heart attack at home, in the suburbs. She remembered what role Bolotov played in the formation of the Donbass republics and how he was remembered.

Who it

Valeriy Bolotov is a career soldier who headed the Union of Veterans of the Airborne Forces of the Luhansk Region before the start of the civil war in Ukraine. It is known that he received combat experience during the events in Nagorno-Karabakh in the late 1980s, performing tasks as part of the Vitebsk airborne division. Already at the end of his military career, he received two higher educations - economic and engineering-technical, headed a meat-packing plant, was engaged in small business.

Bolotov became known literally in the first days of the confrontation in Donbass. On April 5, 2014, when the situation in Luhansk and Donetsk regions was completely uncertain, he publicly announced the detention (by the SBU) of a group of opponents of the new government in Kiev and called on the people of the southeast of the country to start an open confrontation. It is especially important that this statement, which became one of the key moments of the "Russian spring" in Lugansk, was made by the paratrooper on his own behalf, without hiding.

The appeal was heard. The very next day, the townspeople took the building of the Luhansk SBU Directorate under their control, Bolotov was in the forefront. Further events developed rapidly. The protesters strengthened their control over key points in Luhansk, and Kiev tried partly by force, partly through negotiations to prevent this. On April 21, at the People's gathering of residents of the Luhansk region, Bolotov was elected interim people's governor, after which, in fact, the formation of the army and government bodies of the future Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) began. After the self-proclamation of the LPR and the popular referendum in which people voted for independence from Kiev, Bolotov was officially elected head of the republic at the first session of the LPR republican assembly. True, he held this position for a little less than three months: in August 2014, he resigned, explaining that he could not work at full strength after being wounded, and left the territory of the republic.

Leader in a Million

The fact is that immediately after the referendum, on May 13, 2014, an attempt was made on Bolotov's life. According to his associates, the car of the leader of the protest movement was fired upon on the road, and he was wounded in the upper torso. At the same time, information appeared that some citizens of Ukraine had established a reward of 1 million dollars for the "head" of Bolotov. “But we are not afraid of anything, Kiev will not achieve anything this way. The militias consider the planned assassination attempt to be a response to the referendum, ”one of Bolotov's entourage told reporters.

Photo: Vitaly Belousov / RIA Novosti

The story of the assassination attempt was unexpectedly developed in the best traditions of a Hollywood action movie. The wounded Bolotov was taken for a medical examination to Russia, which caused an outburst of indignation in the Ukrainian General Prosecutor's Office. The rebels then controlled Lugansk and individual cities of the region, the whole territory of the republic as such was not, and the border with Russia was controlled by Ukrainian border guards. It was not easy to get out with the wounded, but it turned out to be much more difficult to return, especially since Kiev mobilized and made bravura provocative statements.

A few days after leaving, in the early morning, Ukrainian border guards detained Bolotov and several of his associates as they were returning. The border guards allegedly informed all the law enforcement agencies in Kiev about this, representatives of the ATO (Kiev calls the anti-terrorist operation the forceful suppression of the conflict in the Donbass) and waited for reinforcements for about two hours. However, no help came. During this time, the LPR military arrived at the scene and, in the course of a fierce battle, recaptured their governor. “At the Ukrainian border, they showed me a copy of the arrest warrant and invited me to pass. After a while, our soldiers arrived and beat me off by force ... Shooting began, a bulletproof vest saved me. I escaped with a bruise of internal organs, ”the first head of the LPR later shared the details. When the helicopters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) arrived at the scene, Bolotov and his team were already gone. Despite its relatively small scale, this special operation, of course, seriously influenced the further course of events. Representatives of the self-proclaimed republic received a boost of energy, government troops became depressed, and large-scale showdowns began in Kiev in order to figure out why everything turned out so badly. For example, the head of Ukraine claimed that in this story "there was a betrayal."

After these injuries, Bolotov had no visible health problems. At public events, he behaved as absolutely healthy person... However, it was precisely the consequences of the May assassination attempt that the head of the LPR later explained his resignation.

Resignation

Bolotov's voluntary departure from the post of head of the Lugansk People's Republic became known on August 14, 2014. Leader of the LPR spoke with a special video message. “The situation is difficult ... The Kiev junta threw a huge number of troops and equipment on our cities. Punishers are purposefully destroying infrastructure. It's no secret that we are on the brink of a humanitarian disaster. In these circumstances, the leadership of the republic must work to the limit of its capabilities, but the consequences of injury do not give me such dedication to work, - he explained and assured that the struggle will end in success, "our cause is just, victory will be ours." The politician himself named the name of his successor, proposing to Igor Plotnitsky, who until then held the post of defense minister, to head the republic.

Of course, Bolotov was telling the truth: the situation was absolutely critical. Kiev attacked, not particularly understanding the means and methods of warfare. So, one of the most difficult days during the leadership of Bolotov was June 2, when the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched an air strike on the very center of the city, on the building of the Luhansk Regional State Administration. As a result, 8 civilians were killed, several dozen were injured, including heavy ones, shrapnel. Bolotov said that during this raid, the Armed Forces used cluster bombs prohibited by the international convention, and the goal was to attempt on his life and his immediate circle. “We know for sure that Poroshenko gave the order to destroy me and other leaders ... I was in the building during the raid. Most likely, it was a blow to the leaders, so I now fear for the lives of the people around me, ”he explained. Among the key events that occurred during his leadership were the downed Il-76 aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the capture. But it was hard not only in the line of fire. Lugansk was also in a complete blockade: there was practically no water, electricity, mobile communications and food in the city. Bolotov was undoubtedly under pressure. It is likely that the resignation was not entirely voluntary.

The fact that not everything went smoothly with the transfer of power to the LPR can only be judged by the sharp pricks of the first head of the republic towards the current leader. In December last year, Bolotov gave a long interview in which it was impartial

Back in April 2014, the investigative department of the SBU in the Luhansk region declared Bolotov a suspect under the article on encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of the country. A court permission was promptly obtained for his arrest and forcible delivery to the court to consider the application for the application of a preventive measure in the form of detention. However, after the incident at the border, it became clear that the chance to deliver it to Kiev was missed, and, apparently, forever. Formally, the case was preserved, but since everyone understood that it was impossible to get Bolotov, his figure in the Ukrainian agenda went into the background.

However, the picture changed on the day of his death. Ukrainian media, politicians and activists of all stripes began to put forward various versions of what happened in their corporate style. Traditional assumptions are already being thrown in that Moscow is "cleaning out" those who have fulfilled their task. The motive of Plotnitsky's revenge on Bolotov, of course, is also considered by Ukrainian "experts" as worthy of attention. In general, the number one topic in the information field of Ukraine has been determined for the next few days.

Meanwhile, Valery Bolotov's friends recall that the militia leader's heart was naughty back in the days when he headed the republic. And on January 27, 2017, it stopped completely.

Events in Ukraine are bringing new political leaders of a multi-local scale to the arena. If before that very few people knew who Valery Bolotov was in Lugansk, today this person is on everyone's lips.

For the first time, the southeastern partisans were spotted in mid-March. Armed masked men reported that in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, popular squads were formed that did not recognize the Kiev authorities. According to the guerrillas, in each southeastern city there was a detachment to which they obey, and the total number of rebels even exceeds the number Ukrainian army... At first, many did not believe such statements and even considered it a joke. After all, almost everyone can record their own treatment in camouflage and with an MMG machine gun. However, after this statement, new appeals appeared, clarifying the number of partisans, the availability of weapons, as well as describing the personnel of the rebels, where the former military and police officers are. Many tried to consider a fake in these messages, but after a while everything became clear. On April 1, militias reappeared with an ultimatum to the Kiev authorities demanding that they abandon the presidential elections and hold a referendum on expanding the rights of the southeast. The deadline was set for the implementation of the ultimatum - April 5th. If the Kiev authorities ignore this appeal, the militias have threatened to mobilize their cadres and take action. In Kiev, they probably regarded this appeal as an April Fool's joke. On April 5, on the eve of the expiration of the ultimatum, the Security Service of Ukraine arrested several activists in Luhansk. In addition, the seizure of firearms was announced.

Valery Bolotov: photo

Immediately thereafter, another last presentation on behalf of one person appeared on the network. He announced that the police had refused to cooperate with the militia and were helping the SBU detain the activists. This man announced that a protest action would take place on April 6, after which he took off his mask. Then an open confrontation began. This person turned out to be Bolotov Valery Dmitrievich, a resident of the Luhansk region. Today, his photo is familiar to everyone who follows the events unfolding in the south-east of Ukraine, where the Kiev authorities are conducting anti-terrorist operations.

Valery Bolotov. Lugansk: biography

Bolotov was born in the city of Stakhanov in 1970. In 1988 he entered the army and served in the Vitebsk airborne division. As a paratrooper, he participated in several armed conflicts, including in Nagorno-Karabakh and Yerevan. He was demobilized from the army with the rank of senior sergeant, after which he trained as a process engineer and economist. Further, the biography of Valery Bolotov says that he later headed the union of veterans of the airborne troops of Lugansk. Before this appeal, few people in the region knew about him. However, already in early April, they learned about Bolotov even in Kiev. He took an active part in the seizure of the Luhansk SBU department. Together with his associates, he still holds this building, although now in the status of people's governor. On April 21, 2014, Bolotov was declared the governor of a “people's gathering”. Already on April 28, under his leadership, a congress of representatives of territorial communities and public organizations area. As a result of the congress, the sovereign Lugansk People's Republic was proclaimed. At the same time, the upcoming referendum on May 11 was announced.

Previously, no one famous sergeant reserve as a result of his activities not only led the Lugansk Republic, but also became famous in the West and who is Valery Bolotov in Lugansk they know very well there. The European Union and Canada included it in the list of sanctions. Naturally, Kiev could not look calmly at this activity. Already on May 13, an attempt was made on the leader of the Luhansk republic, as a result of which Bolotov was wounded in the shoulder. Despite the great blood loss, doctors saved him. The militias themselves say that the shots were fired from an ambush. It was most likely done by a sniper. Nevertheless, Bolotov was successfully brought to Russia, which caused a scandal in Kiev. According to the state border service, they had no complaints against Bolotov. After a short treatment in Russia, the leader of the Lugansk Republic returned to Lugansk, and again there was a scandal. First, there was a firefight while crossing the border. According to the border guards, about a hundred militias took part in the battle, who opened fire at the checkpoint, as a result of which Bolotov managed to get into the country again.

Today Valery Bolotov does not give up and is waging his war, saying that he will try to justify the confidence of the residents of the Luhansk region who elected him. But the outcome of this confrontation is still difficult to predict.

Updated
On the air of Espresso.TV, a refugee from the Luhansk region made a statement that Bolotov was a driver and a security guard for the son of the current head of the Party of Regions, Alexander Efremov.

At a press conference of the LPR, Valery Bolotov said that the peace plan of President Poroshenko was unrealizable.

07/04/2014 Bolotov dismissed the LPR government. Marat Bashirov, a member of the Expert Council of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation, has been appointed Prime Minister.

Until his 47th birthday. One of the heroes of the Russian Spring left very early in Novorossiya. The memory of such people, capable of transcending the inertial, remains in history.

I read on the Russian Vesna website - http://rusvesna.su/news/1485539494 URGENT: Death of Valery Bolotov - new details (January 27, 2017):

"The body of the former head of the LPR Valery Bolotov, who died in the afternoon of January 27 in his home near Moscow, was discovered by his wife Elena.

Half an hour before the death, the couple communicated via SMS. It became known that the politician felt bad even on the eve of his death.

"MK" talked to Bolotov's friend, Ukrainian politician Oleg Tsarev.

We were friends with Valery as families, - Oleg Anatolyevich told MK. - Both military actions and a referendum took place together. At some point, I helped Valery move to Crimea and there our families lived together, our children are practically the same age: my son is eight, and Valery's son is seven years old.

Valery, although you can't say it from the outside, was very emotional person, took everything to heart and worried, which, apparently, affected his health. He felt bad last night. And today, around 14.30, he still communicated with his wife by text messages.

At about 3 pm she arrived home and found him dead. Now friends are going to his home to help the family as much as possible. "

The last post on his VK page:

Attention was drawn to the obituary in Andrey Nikitin's blog from the Sputnik and Pogrom website:

"Valery Bolotov died.
Who has forgotten - the first head of Luhansk People's Republic... A man from that very beautiful and charming 2014.

The cause of death is a heart attack. Sounds believable to someone of his age and lifestyle. Anything can happen, but the version with poisoning with unknown poisons within the framework of an insidious cleanup of everything related to the Donbass uprising in this situation looks too much too much.

Bolotov will forever go down in history as "a man who takes off his mask." At the beginning of the Donbass uprising, when Kharkov had not yet been suppressed and Odessa had not even been suppressed, the network was full of self-made videos with masked men who presented themselves as "partisans" or something like that.

The degree of the commercials' authenticity aroused natural doubts: I will easily take this off at home, just like any male person in general. Balaclava, optional weapon, poor quality, an ominous cart about how many of us and very soon the Junta will arrive at the very beginning.

All these statements contrasted slightly with the general carelessness of the participants and activists of those March and April events, which only added doubts. Sometimes it seemed that as a result of aimless rallies and walking with flags and posters, everything would end before it really began.
Then he appeared.

https://youtu.be/y9dkS-qVz3c

He straightened his hair, unbuttoned his tunic so that the vest was visible. "I, Bolotov Valery Dmitrievich, head the public association of the Union of Veterans of the Airborne Forces of the Luhansk Region." The date is clearly visible on the calendar: April 5th. On the sixth, a broad nationwide demonstration is planned, and Bolotov is taking a bold step. Perhaps fateful.
Monotonous, slightly sleepy speech. Even in an interview where Bolotov will say that “we are getting more and more every hour” - not a single emotion. In front of the crowd - too. Only one calm and firm determination of the person who made the choice. The complete absence of "playing on the camera" and generally any "media positioning". Bolotov had some sort of special non-charisma. Not anti, but not. Unlike Strelkov or Mozgovoy, and even Borodai, he gave the impression of an emphatically ordinary person. There are tens, if not hundreds of thousands of South Russian warriors throughout the region and throughout Russia.

Everyone remembers the conflict between Bolotov and Mozgov - thank God, it did not turn into an acute phase. Mozgovoy called for tough action and assured that no one would just give up power. Bolotov was a supporter of the theory that it is necessary to minimize active actions that can lead to casualties, indicating resistance and waiting for Polite People, as in the Crimea.

Both are gone now. Mozgovoy was right. This, however, did not prevent the Luhansk militias from acting much more actively than the Donetsk ones at first. If in the DPR until the very exit of Strelkov from Slavyansk, almost two parallel administrations worked, and in the capital there were Ukrainian offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, subordinate to Kiev, and almost parts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, then the Luhansk people rather quickly put under control, disarmed and defeated all the formations that had sworn the provisional revolutionary government of Ukraine.

There were rumors about Bolotov that he drank a lot, that he was holding back humanitarian aid and equipment. The degree of their veracity does not matter now. History remembers the pioneers and forgets the dullness, no matter how long it shines in the information space. Bolotov resigned from his post on August 14, 2014, on the same day as Igor Strelkov. Probably, this hot summer day can be considered the beginning of the end of the Russian Spring and the broad general civil movement. But over these four months, perhaps more important things happened in Donbass than over the next three years.

The heroes of 2014 seem to disappear in a mysterious way. If not the Ukrainian DRG - so their own. If not yours, then you will be fined for the basement. If you have not fined, death overtakes in civilian life. As if that glorious nationwide upsurge is something cunning and big dreaming to erase from our memory, replacing it with the current surrogate in the form of endless "Minsk trials" and swearing at the "junta". That sound for the third year, but the junta is still there, and the authorities do nothing to prevent it from happening. It can be very diplomatic, multi-step, sober, but very boring. Boring is always thrown out of editing. "Under Bolotov" it was not boring, and it will remain.

Bolotov's photograph, which has become legendary, also becomes news from another, past, present life - spiritually uplifting and dangerous. Still with the same slightly absent expression on his face, the first head of the LPR sits surrounded by colorful men from his personal protection in the office of the Luhansk Regional Administration. Everything is as if on selection, one is more beautiful than the other, God forbid to meet in unpleasant circumstances. One of the brightest documents of the short and beautiful era of the Russian Spring.

In obituaries for military leaders, it is customary to write clichés of the format "left undefeated", "feat is immortal", "will forever remain in our hearts." Bolotov was a man from whom they somehow did not expect feats and heroism, and he himself did not at all try to climb into anyone's hearts. That is why his sudden death looks more tragic. The man lived his own life, trouble happened - he took responsibility. Without smug walking in front of the cameras with the face of a rock star.
Times have changed - he left Donbass, gave up his place, did his job.
And now he's gone altogether.
And only God is his judge now.
Thanks for all!"

There are thousands of comments on the Russian Spring website. I will give two typical ones:

putin-iuda:
It seems that discrediting Novorossia and its driving force, the people's militia, is becoming the main task of the Russian oligarchy. The worse Novorossia looks like, beggar, ruined, with a bandit power, the sooner it will be forgotten in Russia, the further Ukrainians and other peoples will shy away from such a Russian world. And the more cynical and meaner the role of Russia in this war will look like. Here is the goal - to take away faith in Russia and through this bury the people's dream of the revival of the Russian world. (From the diary of Alexei Mozgovoy)

Artem Tyurkin:
Yes, everything has already come true. Putin and his oligarchs have betrayed the Russian people, but we are powerless here. The time will come when these traitors will answer for their deeds.
The saddest thing is that the Russian people do not see Putin as a traitor to the Russian people. This is a catastrophe.

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Biography, life story of Valery Dmitrievich Bolotov

Bolotov Valery Dmitrievich - statesman, military and public figure of the South-Eastern regions of Ukraine. Since April 2014, he has been the leader of the unrecognized state entity "Luhansk People's Republic".

Childhood, adolescence

Valery Bolotov gave birth on February 13, 1970 in Stakhanov (Luhansk region, Ukraine). He received his secondary education at the local school number 18.

At the end of the 80s of the last century, Valery Dmitrievich was drafted into the army. The young man served in the Vitebsk airborne division. During his service, he took an active part in armed conflicts on the territory of Yerevan and Nagorno-Karabakh (in 1989 and 1990, respectively). At the end of his service he was promoted to senior sergeant in the reserve of the airborne troops.

After Valery Bolotov returned to "civilian life", he came to grips with his education. Valery Dmitrievich managed to master two specialties at once - "engineer-technologist" and "economist".

Activity

In March 2014, several videos circulated across the Internet, in which an unknown masked man urged everyone to take up arms and defend their homes from the nationalist militants of the Euromaidan. The man and his two assistants did not give their names. Instead, they named themselves the Army of the South East. For a long time, none of the journalists could find out what kind of person he was and what his interests actually were in relation to the prevailing difficult situation on the territory of Ukraine.

On April 5, 2014, a new video with the participation of the Army of the South-East was leaked to the network. This time the man took off his mask and said that his name was Bolotov Valery Dmitrievich. Bolotov said that the Ukrainian Security Service, which opposed the Kiev authorities, had been detained. However, he still urged his compatriots to confront injustice and continue to defend their lands. April 6 of the same year in the center of Lugansk was captured local government Security Service of Ukraine. Activists took to the streets, armed with the flag of the airborne troops Russian Federation... Valery Bolotov was one of the activists of the seizure.

CONTINUED BELOW

On April 21, 2014, residents of the city of Luhansk elected Valery Bolotov as people's governor of the Luhansk region. Having assumed this position, Valery Dmitrievich first of all said that in the shortest possible time he was going to re-subordinate the judicial system and law enforcement agencies of the Luhansk region to the people's council.

Valery Dmitrievich Bolotov is actually considered the commander of the Army of the South-East.

Valery Bolotov's actions did not go unnoticed. The General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine awarded him the status of a terrorist.

Sanctions against Bolotov

On April 29, 2014, the European Union included Bolotov in the list of persons against whom sanctions were imposed, that is, Valery Dmitrievich was banned from moving around the world and freezing assets in the European Union. On May 13 of the same year, similar sanctions against Bolotov were imposed by the Canadian authorities.

Attempted murder

On May 13, 2014, at about eleven o'clock in the morning, Ukrainian time, an attempt was made on Valery Dmitrievich. Bolotov was shot in the chest. The bullet hit the lungs. After the incident, the politician was taken to a private clinic, where experienced doctors did everything to save his life and health. Many are inclined to believe that the attack was carried out by representatives of the Kiev junta.

Personal life

At one time, Valery Bolotov got married. Children appeared in the marriage. Due to the safety of members of the Bolotov family, their names and ages were not disclosed. Only approximate dates of birth of children are known - 2001-2002 and 2007-2008. The rest of the details of their privacy Valery Dmitrievich from the very beginning of his social activities preferred to keep it in strict confidence.