The permanent monitoring of youtube-channels, news resources and group of pro-Russian terrorists in social media allows earlier or late make the interesting conclusions from seen and read. Phenomenon of appearing of media “talking heads” such as Motorola, Givi, Abkhaz in “DPR”, Monah, Dmitry Luty in “LPR” says only about one thing: if this personages didn’t appear, there were invent another except them.
The Official Persons
Only names that grown up on the wave of “Russian spring” existed in mediaspace of “Novorossiya” in the in the midst of hostilities in the summer 2014. “The People’s leaders” became formed in April: Aleksander Kharitonov, who didn’t have enough time to himself as a “governor”; Valeriy Bolotov, who became the first person of the “young republic”; and of course the present leader of “LPR” Ihor Plotnitsky from batallion “ZZrya”.
Long time the part of Luhansk region, controlled by insurgents didn’t know more brightful figures. A little bit later the mediaspace showed “Leshiy”, “Batman” and Mozgovoy, who went in a shadow at the beginning of Russian spring. So, they appeared in the news not so often. “Regional cossacks” Ischenko, Dremov, Kosogor and come from Russia Kozitsyn (who went back there again) appeared much later.
The same situation was in “LPR”. The leader like Pasha Gubarev was immediately identified as “governor of Donetsk lands”. Military leadership was taken by Strelkov-Girkin. It’s impossible not to mention the “Peple’s Mayor” of Slavyansk Vyacheslav Ponomarev, famous Babai, Pushilin, Purgin, Zakharchenko. All of them became public persons later.
But the story will be not about “first persons” of the pseudo-states and even not about about such “warlords”, who flickered in mass-media from the beginning, from the first moments of “Russian spring” with further presenting of different structures of the “republics”. It will be a story about media personages, who appeared on territory of “Novorossiya” from the environ of usual local “militias” and “volunteers” come from Russia. Those who must appear in the broadcast to mask the presence of Russian army on Donbass.
The Stars of “LPR”
Motorolla (Arseniy Pavlov)
The names nor of Givi neither of Motorolla didn’t appeared in mediaspace during the long confrontation in Slavyansk and some “romp” in Donetsk. “The opening” of Motorolla by journalists happened thanking to clip which posted TV-channel LifeNews. The date of the clip is 19th of May 2014. Let’s take that day as a first appearance of Motorolla in Youtube. It’s because of this clip LifeNews was blamed in acquiescence for detection to insurgents and even in the correction of the fire of terrorists of “DPR”.
The journalist Aleksander Horobets expressed his assumption in a blog on a site “Echo of Moscow” that the fire of the fighters was corrected by the journalist of LifeNews channel. There also he put the clip. When we watch this video we hear the operator’s voice, which commands the insurgents and corrects their fire directly on the advance. There is a logo of LifeNews on the video.
The video of “LifeNews” channel
So, it was a moment when LifeNews found Motorolla — Arseny Pavlov, who shot this video. It’s heard in a clip that one of the mercenaries refers to him by his call sign. Motorolla was made to justify LifeNews from slander, which fairy fallen on the TV-channel. Lifenews was forced to find Motorolla and to upload the plot about it.
The video of “LifeNews” channel
Interesting fact: when Hennadiy Dubovoi made an interview with Motorolla and he asked him “What are you going to do after the war?” — Arseniy Pavlov answered: “I’m going to grow up my son. He’s five years old. I called today to my wife, talked with son, everything is normal there with them. I want six sons and one daughter. That’s I’ll do after the war. I will make children and grow them up”.
However, later we see the next statement of Pavel Hubarev in material from July 8 2014: “militia Motorolla has the intention to marry Elena (prettty girl from Semenovkka). It will be the first official marriage in Novorossiya. I was honoured to be the emeritus witness. The wedding gift will be the flat from Privatbank funds”.
LifeNews posts the news about soon wedding of Motorolla.
And what about “Orthodox clamps”?
Info: Arseniy Pavlov was born in 1983 in Komi Republic. He became an orphan when he was 15. Motorolla was grown up by his grandmother. He served in the army for three years as a communicator, where he got his nick-name. Arseniy took part in the Second Chechnya War. He came back home after his military service, got married. He has a child. People say that he worked or car mechanic or specialist in granite. According to the information, which appeared, when he became famous the last place of his work is the carwash in Kaluga.
Givi (Michael Tolstyh)
It’s hard to define when Michael Tolstyh, more known as Givi appeared in the internet. According to Wikipedia information he took part in the fightings for Slavyansk and he got glory as a result of battles for Illovaysk in the summer 2015. The clip of Russian information agency, which made the shootings in Ukraine from the side of insurgents was posted on November 3 2014. The insurgent with callsign “Tankist” told in it that Givi fighted in Slavyansk in tank under him. This variant doesn’t dock with the story about Great & Glory “Chieftain” Givi.
The video of “Len.Ru” channel
The first mention about Givi was in Youtube on August 18, 2014. Any earlier references about him weren’t found. Youtube-channel “Info corpus” shot a clip about fightings in Illovaysk, where Givi first time appeared.
The video of “Info corpus” channel
Even video, where Motorola and Givi are “performed” in duet, appeared in the web. They were so pretty nice to Moscow curators and Russian mass-media.
A few words about Givi’s past. Michael Tolstyh was born in Illovaysk in 1980. He has been serving in Ukrainian army in 1998-2000. Michael got the specialty of a tankman in the training centre “Desna”. Givi got his callsign not because of his Georgian roots. He got it for his appearance which is close to Caucasus people. But he affirms that he has Georgians in the family.
He worked as a spiderman and industrial climber after the army. Closer to spring 2014 he worked as a driver of Diesel Forklifts on rope factory in Ilovaysk. When Givi became popular in Russian mass-media a new information about past of the insurgent appeared. It turned that he worked as a security in supermarket, also he was recognized as a valet at the Covered Market.
Abkhaz (Akhra Avidzba)
Akhra Avidzba, callsign “Abkhaz” is the commander of international brigade “Pyatnashka”. He appeared on July 20 on the photos of glimpsed in the internet Dmitry Gritsyuk — Rissian insurgent, sadist, who liked very much to photograph corpses of Ukrainian militaries and to shoot on the backdrop of the torn bodies.
At that times Abkhaz didn’t featured in any round-up and wasn’t well-known. Exactly the page of Gritsyuk became the start platform for him. At that time nobody payed the attention on this Caucasian guy. Photo was made in Donetsk on Stratonautov street, not far from Donetsk Airport. A little bit later, on July 27 Abkhaz will occasionally appear in shot clip of 30 seconds, which was made by channel “Info corpus”. He said the date of his coming to Ukraine — the 4th of July.
The video of “Info corpus” channel
He posted the photo on his page where the date was put — the 6th of July and there is the same Stratonavtov street. It’s the first photo of Abkhaz in Ukraine.
But his page become interesting only after his appearing on Youtube and TV-channels as a commander of unit “Pyatnashka”. Judging by the photos of Gritsyuk’s page and his page he was an usual mercenary before this. The next observing of clips where “Pytnashka” appears didn’t show the special role of Abkhaz in the heading of group. He never appears on the advance, only in front of the cameras. It’s known a little about the past of Abkhaz, but judging by photos on his page on social network “Vkontakte” Abkhaz studied in Abkhaz State University. It is the only high-educated institution in this pseudo-country.
By the way, the bloodthirsty paratrooper Dmitry Gritsyuk also listed in “Pyatnashka”. But he wasn’t noticed in any of clips shot by insurgents for youtube-channels. He likes to shoot himself.
The heroes with clean faces
The appearing of this “talking heads” wasn’t unexpectable. If you permanently look for the videos of insurgents, news on their inforesources, you can noticed that in one moment Russian mass-media saw the “heroes” in them. The persons who is fighting for “Russian world” and “Russian lands”. They suddenly become well-known.
И они внезапно стали известными. More precisely it can be suggested that Moscow curators behind them pointed only on this personages.
Why exactly they are? There is a lot of more colourful “heroes”. For example, Dmitry Gritsyuk, but he’s bloodthirsty. The professionalism of military, who took part in a number of operations, is seen in him. And fighters who are featuring in the clip about the blowing up of tower in Donetsk Airport in the last week of July 2014 together with Gritsyuk — they are real professionals of Airborne.
Such people can’t be shown, because they strongly didn’t look like as a simple “tractor operators and miners”. It’s hard to hide explicit skills of sabotage activities behind enemy lines. This things strongly catches the eye of the spectator.
Our described trinity is the people they need.
Motorolla came from Russia, he’s volunteer. He came to defend Russians and Russian land.
Givi was born on Donbass, in Illovaysk. He hates Ukraine, loves Russia, but he’s glad that Donbass his Motherland. He defends it.
Abkhaz was born in Abkhaziya. He trembly treats his native city Apsny. He come into Donbass to struggle against the injustice.
All of them are perfect personages for TV. It’s very simple to rule them. They will speak exactly what is needed…
Sometimes we see them talking something in walkie-talkie, of course they need to play role of commanders.
Interesting trifle: you never see their faces or clothes dirty in any video with this personages. Even when they say in the interview that they come from the advance. Remember the famous clip with Motorolla when he came home to have dinner from airport. He has clean face and clean uniform. The same with Givi and Abkhaz, their uniform is always clean and ironed. But there was one case with Givi in Donetsk when he was under mortar’s fire. This clip was expanded on the details, because it looked like as staging work.
What conclusion could be made? There is only one conclusion. The people are official “talking heads”. They didn’t take part in the active fightings. They present the notorious “tractor operators and miners”. As it has been said earlier, the 70% of Russian militaries and only 30% of local insurgents fights. Such militias and their TV-commanders, like Givi, Motorolla and Abkhaz only cover Russian warriors from regular army. Such “chieftains” continue to say that there is no any Russian militaries on Donbass. Meanwhile, apppearing on video Russians laugh and send greetings in Russia and call themselves the volunteers.
Alexander Volchansky for informator.lg.ua