Andrei Yevgenyevich Purgin (, , born 26 January 1972) is a Ukrainian pro-Russian activist, cofounder of the
Donetsk Republic organization along with Aleksandr Tsurkan and Oleg Frolov. Until 4 September 2015 he was the Chairman of the
People's Council of the
Donetsk People's Republic
The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...
.
[
]
Biography
Born in Donetsk
Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...
on 26 January 1972.[Small bio]
on Politrada In 1989 he entered the Donetsk State Technical University
Donetsk National Technical University (DonNTU, formerly Donetsk Polytechnic Institute and other names) is the largest and oldest higher education establishment in Donets Basin, Donbas, founded in 1921. In its early years, it was attended by Nik ...
. From the early 1990s until the mid-2000s
File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center (1973–2001), World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty on the left during the September 11 attacks, terrorist attacks on Sep ...
he held about 70 jobs, including trading companies, charitable organizations and the Donetsk circus.
On 23 February 2005 (Soviet Army and Navy Day
Defender of the Fatherland Day ( ''Den' zashchitnika Otechestva''; ; ; ; ) is a holiday observed in Russia, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. It is celebrated on 23 February, except in Kazakhstan, where it is celebra ...
) Purgin participated in a protest of the Union of the Born by Revolution that established a small tent city at the Lenin Square in Donetsk. The protested issued a request consisting of 12 principles that included federalization of Ukraine, official status for the Russian language and other issues promoting the rights of the Russian-speaking population. The Donetsk District Court of Voroshilov Region ordered the tents to be removed.
At the end of 2005 (6 December 2005) Purgin already headed the newly organized movement Donetsk Republic that claimed its heritage from the Soviet puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...
Donetsk–Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic. The organization claimed to fight the "orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
** Orange juice
*Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...
plague" of President Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...
. It was marginal.
In the winter of 2013, together with "titushky
The Titushky (plural; ; ; ; ) were mercenary agents in Ukraine who supported the Ukrainian security services during the administration of Viktor Yanukovych, often posing as street hooligans in sports clothing with the purpose of serving as provoca ...
", Purgin dispersed supporters of Euromaidan
Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...
in Donetsk; but in the heat of battle titushky beat him.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs Purgin was arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine ( ; abbreviated as SBU [] or SSU) is the main Internal security, internal security agency of the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government. Its main duties include counter-intelligence activity and combati ...
(SBU) on 19 March 2014, however, on 22 March 2014 he already was released. On 19 April 2014 Purgin was listed on the SBU wanted list for terrorism.
In the interview to "Informbyuro" on May 18, 2014, Purgin stated that on March 27, 1994, there was a referendum in Donetsk and Luhansk regions where 90% of population voted for federalization of Ukraine.[Andrei Purgin: we think for the process of gaining political and economical independence of Donbas to be the least difficult]
. Informbyuro. 18 May 2014 He also acknowledged that the Donetsk Republic as organization included also National Bolsheviks mainly in Makiivka
Makiivka (, ), formerly Dmytriivsk () until 1931, is an industrial city in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine, located east from Donetsk. The two cities are practically a conurbation. It has a population of It hosts the administration of Makiivka ...
.[
Purgin opposed some of the key points of the February 2015 ]Minsk II
The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. After a defe ...
cease-fire agreement.[Ukrainian Separatist Leader Released By Rebels After Four-Day Detention]
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
(9 September 2015)
Ex-rebel chief in eastern Ukraine: ouster due to 'intrigue'
Yahoo news
Yahoo News (stylized as Yahoo! News) is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo. The site was created by Yahoo software engineer Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such ...
(9 September 2015)
New Ukraine truce: rays of hope and clouds of doubt
AFP news
Agence France-Presse (; AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.
With 2,400 employees of 100 nationalities, AFP has an editorial presence in 260 c ...
(7 September 2015)
On 4 September 2015 Purgin was removed from the position of the Chairman of the People's Council of the unrecognized Donetsk People's Republic for "an attempt to disrupt a meeting of the People's Soviet and present false inflaming information". He was then detained for four days for reasons unknown to him.[ The new chairman of the Soviet became ]Denis Pushilin
Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin (born 9 May 1981) is a Russian politician who has served as the Head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) since 2018. He has held the position in an acting capacity ever since the Russian annexation of the DPR in ...
, his deputy. Pushilin denied Purgin's arrest. Observers claimed Purgin's dismissal was part of efforts of the Russian government to bring the Donetsk People's Republic to heel to observe the Minsk II agreement.[
]
Sanctions
He was sanctioned by the UK government in 2014 in relation to the Russo-Ukrainian War
The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...
.
References
External links
* Aslamova, D.
Vice-Premier of the Donetsk People's Republic Andrei Purgin: Ukraine placed a cross on the Donets basin. It does not need people here
'. "Komsomolskaya Pravda
''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' (; ) is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper that was founded in 1925. Its name is in reference to the official Soviet newspaper '' Pravda'' (English: 'Truth').
History and profile
During the Soviet era, ''Komsomolskaya ...
". 8 July 2014.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purgin, Andrei
1972 births
Living people
Donetsk National Technical University alumni
People from Donetsk
Pro-Russian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
Politicians from Donetsk
Russian nationalists
People from the Donetsk People's Republic
Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas
Fugitives wanted by Ukraine
Individuals designated as terrorist by the government of Ukraine
Russian individuals subject to European Union sanctions
Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions
Ukrainian collaborators with Russia