Leonid Ivanovich Pasechnik (russian: Леони́д Ива́нович Па́сечник; born 15 March 1970) is a Russian politician is serving as the acting head of the Lugansk People's Republic from 4 October, 2022. He served as President of the breakaway

Lugansk People's Republic The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...

since 2018 to 2022. He previously served as the partially recognized republic's Minister of State Security from 2014 to 2017.Former SBU agent, whom Yushchenko gave a medal. Who is the new leader of "LPR" (Бывший СБУшник, которому дал медаль Ющенко. Кто такой новый главарь "ЛНР")
Espreso.tv. 24 November 2017
DNR 24. 24 November 2017

Biography

Background and military career

Pasechnik's father worked in

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

law enforcement, for the OBKhSS, for 26 years. In 1975 the Pasechnik family moved to

Magadan Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a port town and the administrative center of Magadan Oblast, Russia, located on the Sea of Okhotsk in Nagayev Bay (within Taui Bay) and serving as a gateway to the Kolyma region. History Maga ...

in the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

where Pasechnik's father was associated with gold mine operations. Pasechnik graduated the Donetsk Military-Political College and worked for the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian ...

(SBU) in

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost oblast ...

as a chief of a detachment combating

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

operations and the chief of the Stakhanov district detachment. On 15 August 2006 he became famous for intercepting large quantities of contraband at Izvaryne border checkpoint ($1.94 mln and 7.24 mln Russian rubles), at the same time refusing a bribe out of principle. In March 2007 SBU Lieutenant Colonel Pasechnik received from the

Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

medal For Military Service to Ukraine A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

, "for showing integrity and professionalism in the line of duty".

Career in the Luhansk People's Republic

In 2014 he sided with pro-Russian militants, becoming on 9 October 2014 a minister of State Security for the self-proclaimed state Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). On 21 November 2017, armed men in unmarked uniforms took up positions in the center of Luhansk in what appeared to be a power struggle between the head of the republic

Igor Plotnitsky Igor Venediktovich Plotnitsky uk, Ігор Венедиктович Плотницький, translit=Ihor Venedyktovych Plotnytskyi (born 25 June 1964) is a former Ukrainian separatist leader who served as the head of the self-proclaimed Luhan ...

and the (sacked by Plotnitsky) LPR appointed interior minister

Igor Kornet Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling * ...

. Three days later the website of the separatists stated that Plotnitsky had resigned "for health reasons. Multiple war wounds, the effects of blast injuries, took their toll." The website stated that Pasechnik had been named acting leader "until the next elections."Ukraine rebel region's security minister says he is new leader
,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

(24 November 2017)Separatist Leader In Ukraine's Luhansk Resigns Amid Power Struggle

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

(24 November 2017) Russian media reported that Plotnitsky had fled the unrecognised republic on 23 November 2017 to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. On 25 November the 38-member People's Council of the LPR unanimously approved Plotnitsky's resignation. Pasechnik declared his adherence to the Minsk accords, claiming "The republic will be consistently executing the obligations taken under these agreements."Lugansk People’s Republic head resigns

TASS news agency The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...

(24 November 2017) On 30 March 2018 Pasechnik stated "Our PRexperience can help all

regions of Ukraine The administrative divisions of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Адміністрати́вний у́стрій Украї́ни, tr. ''Administratyvnyi ustrii Ukrainy'') are subnational administrative divisions within the geographical area of Ukraine un ...

eventually gain freedom and independence, and then we can together declare a new Ukraine in which representatives of different nationalities and cultures will freely live." (While meeting people living in territory controlled by LPR in the summer of 2019) Pasechnik stated: "It does not mean, that we will return back into Ukraine. This is the only way to stop this madness, this war. You should understand that we, as a sovereign state will be a state within the state – that will be our special status". On 6 December 2021, Pasechnik became a member of the Russian ruling party

United Russia United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...

. United Russia chairman

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

personally handed him his party ticket during the party's annual congress in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

.Ukraine conflict: Putin invites separatist leaders into his party

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

(6 December 2021)

2022 developments

On 27 March 2022, Pasechnik said that the

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...

may hold a referendum to join Russia in the near future. The authorities of the Luhansk People's Republic eventually scheduled a "

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

" on the republic's entry into Russia as a

federal subject The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation (russian: субъекты Российской Федерации, subyekty Rossiyskoy Federatsii) or simply as the subjects of the federation (russian ...

for 23–27 September. On September 30 2022, together with other pro-Russian occupation heads

Denis Pushilin Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin (russian: Дени́с Влади́мирович Пуши́лин, ; uk, Денис Володимирович Пушилін, Denys Volodymyrovych Pushylin; born 9 May 1981) is a Russian and Ukrainian politician ...

Volodymyr Saldo Volodymyr Vasylovych Saldo (, ; born 12 June 1956) is a Russian and former Ukrainian politician serving as the head of the collaborationist Kherson military–civilian administration in Russian-occupied Ukraine since 26 April 2022. Early li ...

and

Yevgeny Balitsky Yevgeny Vitalyevich Balitsky (russian: Евгений Витальевич Бали́цкий, uk, Євген Віталійович Балицький, translit= Yevhen Vitaliiovych Balytskyi; born 10 December 1969) is a Russian and Ukrainia ...

, Pasechnik attended in Moscow the ceremony in which

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

formally announced the

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasechnik, Leonid 1970 births Living people People from Luhansk United Russia politicians Heads of the Lugansk People's Republic People of the Luhansk People's Republic Pro-Russian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas Ukrainian defectors Security Service of Ukraine officers Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List Ukrainian collaborators with Russia Individuals designated as terrorist by the government of Ukraine Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Ukraine Military leaders of the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War