Kirill Sergeyevich Stremousov (, ; 26 December 1976 – 9 November 2022)
was a Russian and Ukrainian politician and blogger who served as the deputy head of the
Kherson military–civilian administration in
Russian-occupied Ukraine from 26 April 2022 until his death on 9 November 2022,
just before Russia ordered a retreat from Kherson.
Biography
Stremousov was born on 26 December 1976 in
Holmivskyi, Donetsk Oblast,
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
,
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
.
He graduated from the
Ternopil Academy of National Economy. He owned a fish feed company for five years. Stremousov later became the head of the
Henichesk
Henichesk ( uk, Гені́чеськ, Heniches’k, ; rus, links=on, Гени́ческ, r=Genichesk, p=ɡʲɪˈnʲit͡ɕɪsk) is a port city along the Sea of Azov in the Kherson Oblast of southern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre ...
Fish Inspectorate''.'' In 2007, he was given a leading position in Kyiv's Fisheries Committee. Shortly after, he resigned and left for Kherson.
Following his arrival in Kherson, Stremousov founded an NGO "Tavria News" and went on a trip to the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
. After returning from America, he conducted seminars on a mystical approach to a healthy lifestyle and became a follower of the post-Soviet neo-Pagan and neo-Stalinist conspiracy theory
Conception of Social Security (russian: Концепция общественной безопасности). In 2013, Stremousov was one of the organizers of the "Russian runs", which were to show Kherson the "strength of the Russian spirit".
In December 2013, he founded the organization "For the President", which provided explicit support to President
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...
.
In January 2016, he co-founded the Ukrainian Center for Environmental Self-Defense.
[ Timeline of Stremousov's actions.] In February 2017, he beat a police officer during a fight in the city council. On 21 May 2018, Stremousov shot a man with a (a non-lethal weapon) in the Henichesk district. On 6 April he was involved in the attack on the
SBU convoy.
On 8 October 2018, he was named the head of the Kherson branch of the
Socialist Party of Ukraine
The Socialist Party of Ukraine ( uk, Соціалістична Партія України, translit=Sotsialistychna Partiia Ukrayiny, SPU) was a social democratic and democratic socialist political party in Ukraine. It was one of the oldest par ...
.
On 18 January 2019, he was part of a group that fired at the Novy Den newspaper in Kherson.
For this he was suspected of hooliganism.
In January 2019, he was expelled from the Socialist Party of Ukraine.
In the
2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election he was a candidate for the
People's Deputy of Ukraine
People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. Gallen-Alten ...
as a self-nominated candidate in the 82nd constituency, receiving 1.74% of the vote.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, Stremousov started promoting
anti-vaccination beliefs and
conspiracy theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
.
In his videos he accused the authorities of spreading COVID-19, spoke about "
US biolabs in Ukraine", and urged residents not to wear masks and not to adhere to restrictions.
On 18 June 2020, he attacked journalist Dmytro Bagnenko and was involved in a criminal case under the article on obstruction of the journalist's work. In August 2020, the SBU conducted searches of Stremousov's properties as part of criminal proceedings to expose the Russian
FSB.
In the
2020 local elections he unsuccessfully ran for the post of mayor of Kherson as a self-nominated candidate.
Stremousov became a member of the pro-Russian
Derzhava party in 2021.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the occupation of
Kherson Oblast, Stremousov took a pro-Russian position. On 16 March 2022, Stremousov and other local pro-Russian activists held a meeting of the collaborationist
Salvation Committee for Peace and Order in the building of the Kherson Regional Administration. The following day, the Ukrainian government accused Stremousov of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
for his role in this meeting and opened criminal proceedings against him.
On 26 April 2022, Stremousov was appointed by the Kremlin the deputy president (governor) of the
Kherson Military-Civilian Administration
The Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast is an ongoing military occupation of Ukraine's Kherson Oblast by Russian forces that began on 2March 2022 during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian invasion of Ukraine as part of the southern ...
. In an indication of an intended split from Ukraine, Stremousov announced two days later that the region would switch its currency to the
Russian ruble
''hum''; cv, тенкĕ ''tenke''; kv, шайт ''shayt''; Lak: къуруш ''k'urush''; Mari: теҥге ''tenge''; os, сом ''som''; tt-Cyrl, сум ''sum''; udm, манет ''manet''; sah, солкуобай ''solkuobay''
, name_ab ...
the following month. Additionally, citing unnamed reports that alleged discrimination against Russian speakers, Stremousov said that "reintegrating the Kherson region back into a
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
Ukraine is out of the question". On 11 May 2022, Stremousov announced his readiness to turn to President
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 ...
with a request for Kherson Oblast to join the Russian Federation, noting that there would be no creation of the "Kherson People's Republic" or referendums regarding this matter. After this announcement, leaflets started appearing around Kherson offering a
₴500,000 reward for Stremousov's assassination.
On 30 May, he spoke about exporting grain from Kherson to Russia: “We have space to store (the new crop) although we have a lot of grain here. People are now partially taking it out, having agreed with those who buy it from the Russian side." Stremousov also worked on selling sunflower seeds.
On 3 June 2022, Stremousov was
sanctioned by the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
for providing support and promoting policies that undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.
Analysis of a video made by Stremousov during the Ukrainian counter-attack on Kherson started on 29 August 2022 shows landmarks in the background that identify the location as the Marriott Hotel at 38 Revolyutsii Avenue,
Voronezh
Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...
, a city in southwestern Russia from Kherson. This is interpreted as being due to his having fled. When asked about his location, Stremousov said he was "travelling around Russian cities, meeting different people for work".
On 28 September Stremousov received a Russian passport.
Amid the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kherson region, on 6 October Stremousov expressed dissatisfaction with "incompetent commanders" and blamed Russian defense minister
Sergei Shoigu
Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...
for having "allowed this situation to happen", adding that many suggest the minister should shoot himself.
Death
On 9 November 2022, Stremousov died in a car crash near
Henichesk
Henichesk ( uk, Гені́чеськ, Heniches’k, ; rus, links=on, Гени́ческ, r=Genichesk, p=ɡʲɪˈnʲit͡ɕɪsk) is a port city along the Sea of Azov in the Kherson Oblast of southern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre ...
, Russia's de facto headquarters in the region, at the age of 45.
His death came hours prior to Russia's official retreat from Kherson city.
President Vladimir Putin posthumously awarded Stremousov the
Order of Courage. Stremousov was buried on 11 November in
Simferopol
Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is ...
. The Russia-backed administration of the Kherson Oblast promised to name a street after Stremousov in the city of Kherson and erect a statue to commemorate his life.
In a post on the Telegram messaging app,
Sergey Aksyonov
Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov (russian: Сергей Валерьевич Аксёнов, uk, Сергій Валерійович Аксьонов, ro, Serghei Valerievici Aksionov; born 26 November 1972) is a Russian politician serving, since ...
, head of the Russia-annexed Crimea Peninsula, called Stremousov a “true fighter” and a “Russian patriot”. Stremousov's funeral was attended by First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia
Sergey Kiriyenko.
Controversies
In 2017, Stremousov faced backlash after he filmed himself spinning his four months old daughter around his head by her legs. While doing this, he said that he could hear “her bones are popping.” The newspaper ''
The Financial Express'' called Stremousov "heartless" and emphasized that he ignored the screams of the baby.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stremousov, Kirill
1976 births
2022 deaths
COVID-19 conspiracy theorists
People from Horlivka
Recipients of the Order of Courage
Road incident deaths in Ukraine
Russian nationalists
Socialist Party of Ukraine politicians
Ternopil National Economic University alumni
Ukrainian collaborators with Russia during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine