We all know he's lying, but Putin now cannot afford to tell the truth-
and 'Igor the Terrible' knows way, way too much
and 'Igor the Terrible' knows way, way too much
There are further rumors out of Ukraine that Girkin organized the snipers who shot Maidan protesters in Kiev earlier this year. Experts in Kiev say he now works directly for the GRU (Russian military intelligence).
But while Moscow continues to smear the democratically-elected Kiev government as 'Nazis', their boy Strelkov's the one who's actually a scary hyper-nationalist: brilliant/disciplined, he's also a ruthless kook enamored with Russian/Slavic political and military history, as well as that ever-elusive Russian 'greatness' people like him and Vladimir Putin are always daydreaming about.
Over the last six months of terrorizing Ukraine, Strelkov has become a rising hero in Russian ultranationalist circles, glorified in modern propaganda poster art online as an example to all.
In his spare time, Iggy enjoys collecting war memorabilia and participating in military re-enactments, where the 'war geek' and others dress up in period outfits for staged 'battles' from WWI, Catherine the Great, etc- it's said he 'lives in the 19th century' geo-politically, once worked to restore the Russian monarchy, and particularly likes to suit-up in medieval knight's armor (below).
Other interests include killing people to fulfill his obsessions with order and discipline, as well as to instill fear in any who may dare oppose him. An example would be the looter his men caught in then-rebel-held Slaviansk: Strelkov had a local Ukrainian drunk who had stole two measly t-shirts promptly executed based on some obscure 1941 Stalin-era martial law.
Alas, Igor's ice-cold bloodthirstiness was on display for all the world to see last week, as he gloated 'don't fly in our skies' and 'wow, look at the smoke' while MH17 came crashing to Earth. This is the (Muscovite) who has long personified the Kremlin's direct involvement in the Ukrainian civil war- some have said he exemplifies the entire nationalist-expansionist Putin era.
But now he symbolizes Moscow's hand in the MH17 slaughter: the ambitious colonel's boasts on twitter and smartphone video are probably the biggest mistake he ever made... besides the order to shoot down the plane in the first place, which may end up costing him his life.
And as far as the GRU/FSB are concerned, sooner rather than later, loooong before the Dutch and UN come poking around. The launcher, crew (who were probably already snuffed by the GRU), and much crash-site evidence are now safely in Russian hands... nothing left to worry about except...
From-hero-to-zero: Although the a Russian crew almost certainly was manning the BUK battery that took down MH17, Strelkov was the top military guy and most circumstantial evidence points to him giving the order, i.e. his own incriminating, arrogant, and stupid gloating online. For Girkin, the historical war hero fairy-tale is over, he'll just he known from here on out as an incompetent terrorist who killed 300+ innocent people.
He and his co-thugs screwed-up BIG TIME when they shot-down MH17 (putting the Putin regime on thin ice in the process) are going to be real lucky if -only- sent to a secret prison in Siberia... more likely, they'll all soon be treated to a long dirt nap.
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| Not much to smile about anymore |