Pavel Yuryevich Gubarev (russian: Па́вел Ю́рьевич Гу́барев, ; or Pavlo Yuriyovych Hubariev uk, Павло Юрійович Губарєв; born 10 February 1983) is a Russian activist who proclaimed himself the "People's Governor" of the
Donetsk Region
The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...
at the Regional Assembly on 3 March 2014, after separatists seized the building. Gubarev had earlier declared himself leader of the
Donbas People's Militia
The Donetsk People's Militia and Luhansk People's Militia (formerly also called Russian separatist forces in Donbas) are pro-Russian paramilitaries in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which have been fighting the Armed Forces of Ukraine i ...
. Since then, he has been sidelined by other separatist leaders and was banned from taking part in the
2014 Donbas parliamentary elections.
These elections also eliminated the post of "People's Governor".
Gubarev was not a figure in local politics prior to the beginning of the
2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
From the end of February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in major cities across the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, which resulted in the succes ...
.
Shortly after declaring himself "People's Governor" on 6 March 2014, Gubarev was arrested by the
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for "advocating separatism" and "illegal seizure of power". He faced up to ten years in prison.
On 7 May 2014, Gubarev was freed in exchange for
SBU officers detained earlier by the
Donbas People's Militia
The Donetsk People's Militia and Luhansk People's Militia (formerly also called Russian separatist forces in Donbas) are pro-Russian paramilitaries in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which have been fighting the Armed Forces of Ukraine i ...
.
Early life
Gubarev gained a degree in history from the
Donetsk National University
Vasyl' Stus Donetsk National University (Vasyl' Stus DonNU) ( uk, Донецький національний університет імені Василя Стуса, ''Donets’kyi Natsional’nyi Universytet''; russian: Донецкий на ...
, and later became an employee of a Donetsk advertising agency.
[ In 2007, he founded and served as the company director of the "Morozko" company, which supplied hired ]Ded Moroz
Ded Moroz (russian: Дед Мороз, ; Russian diminutive: russian: Дедушка Мороз, Dedushka Moroz, label=none; sk, Dedo Mráz; pl, Dziadek Mróz) or Morozko (russian: Морозко) is a legendary figure similar to Saint Nich ...
(Santa Claus) figures in the Donetsk area.
Career and activities
Gubarev was a member of the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine
The Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine (PSPU) is a banned Pro-Russian National Bolshevik political party in Ukraine led by Nataliya Vitrenko. The party was represented in Ukraine's national parliament between 1998 and 2002.
History
The par ...
, a pro-Russian party based in the southeast of the country.[ According to an unnamed acquaintance, Gubarev advocates ]Pan-Slavism
Pan-Slavism, a movement which crystallized in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had ruled ...
.[ In earlier years Gubarev was a member of the neo-Nazi ]Russian National Unity
Russian National Unity (RNU; transcribed Russkoe natsionalnoe edinstvo RNE) or All-Russian civic patriotic movement "Russian National Unity" (russian: Всероссийское общественное патриотическое движен ...
paramilitary group, that later took part in the War in Donbas
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
on the side of pro-Russian forces. Gubarev has publicly given thanks to this group for providing him with military training. In the same interview he said he was not a radical nationalist and described himself as "centre-left".
On 1 March 2014, pro-Russian citizens at a meeting in Lenin Square in the center of Donetsk elected Gubarev as governor of the region.
From the beginning of the 2014 Crimean crisis
In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War.
The Revolution of Dign ...
, Gubarev led pro-Russian protesters who blockaded and occupied the Donetsk Regional State Administration building.
During a press-conference with journalists on 6 March 2014, Gubarev stated that his main goal as the self-proclaimed governor was to declare a referendum on the territorial status of Donetsk Oblast
The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...
, non-recognition of the new Ukrainian government, and non-recognition of Donetsk governor Serhiy Taruta
Serhiy Oleksiyovych Taruta ( uk, Сергій Олексійович Тарута, rus, Сергей Алексеевич Тарута, r=Sergei Alekseyevich Taruta, born 22 July 1955 in Novoazovsk Raion, Vynohradne, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian SS ...
.
On 6 March 2014, 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 ...
arrested Gubarev. Following his arrest, Gubarev was reportedly taken to Kyiv for detention. He was later charged with wanting to damage "the territorial integrity and independence of the state".
On 16 March, a crowd of protesters stormed government buildings in Donetsk demanding Gubarev's release.
On 7 May 2014, Gubarev and two other pro-Russian activists were freed in exchange for SBU officers, detained earlier by the Donbas People's Militia
The Donetsk People's Militia and Luhansk People's Militia (formerly also called Russian separatist forces in Donbas) are pro-Russian paramilitaries in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which have been fighting the Armed Forces of Ukraine i ...
.[
In October 2014, during a failed assassination attempt on him, Gubarev lost control of his car when it came under gunfire and suffered a head injury. He later regained consciousness and was moved from intensive care to the ordinary ward of the hospital.
Gubarev was excluded by the election commission from participating in the 2014 Donbas parliamentary elections "because his party was not able to hold a founding conference".]
Early February 2016 Gubarev was appointed Yasynuvata Raion
Yasynuvata Raion ( uk, Ясинуватський район, ) was one of the administrative raions (a ''district'') of Donetsk Oblast, located in southeastern Ukraine. The administrative center of the district was the city of Yasynuvata, which ...
mayor by the Donetsk People's Republic
The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a Territorial ...
.
Following the death of Alexander Zakharchenko
Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko uk, Олекса́ндр Володи́мирович Заха́рченко, translit=Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Zakharchenko (26 June 1976 – 31 August 2018) was a Ukrainian separatist leader who was the h ...
, there were elections in the Donetsk People's Republic on 11 November 2018.[ In September 2018, Pavel Gubarev went to Moscow and obtained permission to be a candidate for the post of head of the Donetsk People's Republic.] Gubarev and supporters collected 15,000 signatures for his nomination papers (the law only requires 10,000 signatures).[ Gubarev's candidacy displeased ]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 ...
, who has taken over as head of the Donetsk People's Republic, and pressure has been put on Gubarev.[
On 29 September 2018, Gubarev's wife, Ekaterina, was arrested and temporarily detained to prevent her attending the ]Free Donbas
Free Donbas (russian: Свободный Донбасс, Svobodnyy Donbass) is a public movement and political bloc in the Donetsk Oblast fighting for the separation of the region from Ukraine. The bloc includes several parties and movements. The ...
party convention so that she was excluded from the party list for the "elections" of the People's Council of the Donetsk People's Republic
The People's Council (russian: Народный Совет, Narodny Sovet), formerly the Supreme Council (russian: Высший Совет, Vysshy Sovet), is the regional parliament of the Donetsk People's Republic, a disputed entity annexed as a ...
on 11 November.[ At the convention, the Free Donbas movement was taken over by supporters of ]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 ...
.[ After this incident Ekaterina Gubareva left for Rostov-on-Don.][ In early October 2018, the electoral commission ruled that the signatures on Gubarev's nomination papers were invalid;] the authorities in Russia often use this method to exclude candidates.[
In 2022, Gubarev signed a short-term contract with the ]Russian Armed Forces
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...
, as a private, in order to participate in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
. During his service there, he declared in an interview their goal to free from "possession" those who he considers to be Russians, even at the cost of killing them all, which would amount to genocide on Ukrainians.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gubarev, Pavel
1983 births
Living people
People from Sievierodonetsk
Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine politicians
Pro-Russian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
Prisoners and detainees of Ukraine
Russian nationalists
People of the Donetsk People's Republic
Donetsk National University alumni
Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas
People of Anti-Maidan
Heads of government who were later imprisoned
Ukrainian collaborators with Russia
Russian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions
Individuals designated as terrorist by the government of Ukraine