Volodymyr Rybak (30 November 1971 – c. 17 April 2014) was a Ukrainian politician, representative of the

Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activit ...

city council, kidnapped and then murdered by the pro-Russian militia on 17 April 2014. It was one of the first war crimes alleged to have been committed by pro-Russian forces during the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...

Biography

Rybak was born in the city of

in 1971. In 1995 he graduated the Automobile Highway Institute of the

Donetsk National Technical University Donetsk National Technical University (DonNTU, formerly Donetsk Polytechnic Institute and other names) is the biggest and oldest higher education establishment in Donbas, founded in 1921. In its early years, it was attended by Nikita Khrushchev. ...

and in 2002 – the

Interregional Academy of Personnel Management Interregional Academy of Personnel Management ( uk, Міжрегіональна Академія управління персоналом (МАУП), translit.: ''Mizhrehional'na Akademiya upravlinnya personalom'', English acronym: MAUP) is a pr ...

. In 1995–2009 Rybak worked in the division of Criminal Investigation for the Horlivka city

militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, , mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə) was the name of the police forces in the Soviet Union (until 1991) and in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), as well as in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992). The ...

. In 2009 he joined the All-Ukrainian Association Fatherland (''

Batkivshchyna The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" ( uk, Всеукраїнське об'єднання "Батьківщина", translit=Vseukrains'ke obiednannia "Bat'kivshchyna") referred to as Batkivshchyna (), is a political party in Ukraine led by Peo ...

'') and next year headed its city's party cell. Since November 2010 Rybak was a member of the Horlivka city council.In memory of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred: normal Volodymyr Rybak

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...

(12 September 2020) During the

2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election The Ukrainian parliamentary election of 2012 took place on 28 October 2012.Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

at the 41st electoral district (the Budonivskyi District of

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...

) placing 4th with 5,195 votes (4.55%, winner of the

Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of Uk ...

won the district with 80.85% of the votes). Rybak was an active supporter of the 2013–2014

Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...

protest. Rybak was abducted by separatists on 17 April 2014 after trying to raise the

flag of Ukraine The flag of Ukraine ( uk, Прапор України, Prapor Ukrainy) consists of equally sized horizontal bands of blue and yellow. The blue and yellow bicolour first appeared during the 1848 Spring of Nations in Lemberg, then part of the ...

on Horlivka's town council building.Poroshenko: Street in free Horlivka to carry tortured Ukrainian activist's name

UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...

(17 April 2016) Later his body with signs of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

was found in the River Torets, along with other two bodies. According to forensic reports, the victims were drowned being still alive and their bodies were covered with burns and stabs and their stomachs ripped open. The two other victims were

Kyiv Polytechnic Institute ) , image = NTUU KPI logo.png , image_size = 220px , caption = Seal of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute , established = 1898 , students = 36,000 (approximately) , admini ...

student Yuriy Popravka and 25-year-old Yuriy Diakovsky. In 2015 a memorial plaque was placed in

Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...

after its liberation from Russian forces. In May 2020 Igor Strelkov, a key organizer of the Donetsk People's Republic's militant groups confessed in an interview with Ukrainian journalist

Dmitry Gordon Dmitry Ilyich Gordon ( uk, Дмитро Ілліч Гордон, Dmytro Illich Hordon, russian: Дмитрий Ильич Гордон; born October 21, 1967) is a Ukrainian journalist, interviewer, politician and singer. He is also the editor- ...

that he bore some responsibility for the killing of Rybak: "Naturally, Rybak, as a person who actively opposed the "militias", was an enemy in my eyes. And his death, probably, is to some extent also under my responsibility".

References

External links

Biography
politrada.com
Biography
at the Horlivka city portal
Volodymyr Rybak speaks frankly: Cops are jackasses, mayor – a puppet, communists – traitors
Horlivka city portal

Broadcasting Service of News (TSN). 1971 births 2014 deaths People from Horlivka Donetsk National Technical University alumni Interregional Academy of Personnel Management alumni All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" politicians People of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Ukrainian victims of human rights abuses Ukrainian torture victims Ukrainian people taken hostage Pro-Ukrainian people of the war in Donbas People killed in the war in Donbas Recipients of the Order of Gold Star (Ukraine) People murdered in Ukraine Russian war crimes in Ukraine {{ua-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References

External links