July 13, 2023

War Criminal's Event Interrupted by Police


War Criminal's Event Interrupted by Police
Policemen in front of Listva library in St.Petersburg. Listva: Peterburg, Telegram.

On June 9, St. Petersburg police evacuated the ultra-right Listva ("Leaf") Library on the day Igor Strelkov, the self-proclaimed "[man] responsible for the war in Eastern Ukraine," was to give a talk. The Russian nationalist often criticizes Russian leaders for their "insufficiency" in the full-scale war in Ukraine. 

Strelkov, born Igor Vsevolodvich Girkin, worked for the far-right newspaper Zavtra ("Tomorrow") before fighting alongside Russian-backed separatists in Transnistria, Moldova, and Republica Srpska in the Bosnian war. The pro-war activist is accused of partaking in the Višegrad massacre, where thousands of  Bosnian civilians were killed and raped. A Dutch court convicted him in absentia for shooting down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) in 2014. Afterward, he was dismissed as defense minister of the Russian-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

According to a Telegram post by Listva, it was not the first time the police performed an "evacuation" at the library. And such interruptions of events have occurred elsewhere with anti-war speakers or performers, as with pianist Polina Osetinskaya's concert in Moscow in 2023. However, Yevgeny Prigozhin's uprising has now opened the doors to more police interventions on pro-war public figures like Strelkov.

 

You Might Also Like

Scared and Suspicious
  • July 04, 2023

Scared and Suspicious

Nearly half of Russians distrust official information regarding the war in Ukraine.
Prigozhin's Uprising
  • June 24, 2023

Prigozhin's Uprising

Russia's home-grown mercenaries have taken over Rostov-on-Don and threaten to march on the capital.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals
[INVALID]
[INVALID]

Some of our Books

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955