Oles Buzina

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Oles Buzina
Олесь Бузина
Buzina in 2008
Born
Oles Oleksiiovych Buzina

(1969-07-13)13 July 1969
Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died16 April 2015(2015-04-16) (aged 45)
Kyiv, Ukraine
Occupation(s)Journalist, writer, politician
Websitewww.buzina.org Edit this at Wikidata

Oles Oleksiiovych Buzina (Ukrainian: Оле́сь Олексі́йович Бузина́; 13 July 1969[1] – 16 April 2015) was a Ukrainian journalist and writer known for his criticism of Ukrainian politics and for the support of closer ties of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.

He was found killed by a gunshot on 16 April 2015, near his residence in Kyiv. The murder case remains unsolved.

Biography[edit]

Oles Buzina was born on 13 July 1969 in Kyiv and attended local schools. In 1992 he graduated from the Faculty of Philology Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv specialising as a teacher of Russian language and literature.[1] He began a career in journalism[1] working for a number of Ukrainian media outlets:[2][citation needed]

  • Newspaper Kievskiye Vedomosti (1993–2005)
  • Newspaper 2000 (2005–2006)
  • Various magazines, such as Natali, EGO Ukraine, XXL Ukraine
  • From October 2006 Buzina was an anchorman of Teen-liga program on TV channel Inter
  • Newspaper Segodnya, where he had his own column and blog since 2007
  • As an expert, he participated in the reality-show Bachelor on TV channel STB from 2011
  • From 2012 he was host of Po sledam prashurov (In the Footsteps of Ancestors)[3] show on K-1 TV channel.
  • In January 2015 he became editor-in-chief of Segodnya newspaper, where he had worked for many years.[4] He resigned in March,[5] protesting the censorship of the newspaper's owners, having limited control over newspaper's policy, his absence of control over newspaper's website, and an imposed ban on his appearance on TV and interviews with the press.
  • Buzina founded his own website, featuring blogs and sale of some of his books online.

He was invited as a guest to numerous talk shows in Russia. Some of his articles were published in the Russian media.

As a writer he published eight books, mainly about prominent figures and the history of Ukraine and Russia.

Personal life[edit]

Buzina was married and the father of one daughter.

Politics[edit]

In addition to his reporting, Buzina tried to enter politics. He ran in the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election for a constituency seat in Kyiv for Russian Bloc[6] but failed to win parliamentary representation.[7] In Constituency No. 223, his 8.22% of votes was insufficient.[6]

Political and public views[edit]

Buzina held anti-Orange Revolution[8][9] and anti-Euromaidan views.[10]

On 20 January 2006 he claimed that as a writer he was aware of political censorship in post-Orange Revolution Ukraine, as some publishers were afraid to release his books.[8]

In May 2009 he campaigned for adoption of a series of laws prohibiting neo-Nazi organizations, propaganda of Nazism, and ideological legacy of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists as a totalitarian fascist party.[11] This initiative was supported by Borys Kolesnikov, one of the leaders of Party of Regions.[citation needed]

In May 2009 National Expert Commission of Ukraine on the Protection of Public Morality launched an investigation against Oles Buzina as a result of complaint filed by Petro Kononenko, director of Institute of Ukrainology. Kononenko stated that Oles Buzina "discredited most outstanding Ukrainian public figures and picks everything that's shameful in our history".[12]

As of April 2009 Buzina was sued 11 times and every single time judges ruled out in his favour.[13] In 2000 he was physically assaulted right after winning in court one of these cases.[2] Some of these legal actions saw Ukrainian politicians as plaintiffs: Pavlo Movchan, Volodymyr Yavorivsky.[8]

On 22 March 2009 a Femen activist threw a cake at Oles Buzina, protesting his book in which he defended men's rights.

On 22 March 2009 he had a cake thrown at him by a FEMEN activist who declared his only fiction book sexist. Oles Buzina was rated 4th in the "Homophobe of the Year - 2011" list by the Ukrainian gay forum.[14]

He identified himself as both Ukrainian and Russian, though having ethnic Ukrainian parents.[13]

His views on Ukraine expressed on multiple occasions during years of journalism and political commentary included statements that Ukraine should be part of Russia,[13] that it should be a bilingual federal state of Russia[13][15] and that it should favor an alliance Belarus and Kazakhstan rather than joining the European Union.[8][16]

His political stance was criticized[17] for a comment to newspaper Den that he gave in 1999:

...my ideal is the reconstruction of the Russian Empire, but I am forced to adapt to the ugly conditions of "construction" of an independent Ukraine.

— When wouldn't you shake a man's hand?, Den [18]

He stated that the quote was a fabrication.[19]

Assassination[edit]

In January 2014, Buzina said on a Russian state-owned TV channel Russia-1 that he was receiving constant death threats.[20][non-primary source needed] In April 2015, the Myrotvorets website published his home addresses.[21]

On 16 April, Buzina was found dead near his home.[22]

His killing was one of a few targeting pro-Russian activists or people linked to former president Victor Yanukovych. in the period. Former MP Oleg Kalashnikov was shot and killed in his apartment block the same week.[23] Journalist Sergey Sukhobok was also killed in Kiev the same week, followed by the arrest of two suspects.

A previously unknown Ukrainian nationalist group calling itself "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" - named after a group of partisans who fought against the Russian army in World War II, claimed responsibility for the murders of Buzina and Kalashnikov, in emails to the parliamentary opposition and to political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko.[23][24][25][26]

Speculations[edit]

Markian Lubkivskyi, an advisor at the Security Service of Ukraine, said that linguistic analysis of the telephone call of the "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" indicated they were not native Ukrainian speakers, and Vasyl Vovk, the head of the Main Investigations Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine, said the organization was fake.[27][24] Analyst Anton Shekhovtsov stated that the "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" is frequently demonised in Russian propaganda. He also speculated that corruption related to Yanukovych's presidency or action by far-right Ukrainian activists were both plausible theories explaining the murder, as was the view of Poroshenko and others that the murders could be provocations by Russian intelligence.[24]

Reactions[edit]

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the Buzina and Kalashnikov's murders were "a deliberate provocation" aimed at "destabilising the internal political situation in Ukraine and discrediting the political choice of the Ukrainian people", and that he would personally oversee the investigations into the two murders. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that the best specialists of the General Procurator’s Office and police would be dealing with the crimes.[24] Ukrainian MP and adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko speculated that Buzina’s murder "had been organised by the Russian security services in order to create the atmosphere of terror in Kiev, to carry on the hysteria in the Russian media".[24]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on live Russian TV that this murder was a political one and offered his condolences to the family of the victim.[28] Radio Free Europe reported that "At 2:05, Ukrainian presidential adviser Anton Herashchenko confirmed the slaying on Facebook. And by 2:17, Russian President Vladimir Putin was already using Buzina's killing to attack Ukraine's "democratic" values during his annual call-in show with the Russian public."[29]

Ukrainian officials blamed "Russian special forces assassins" for the murder.[30]

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein described this murder and others as disturbing and demanded quick and decisive investigation.[31] The European Union, Germany,[32] the United States, UNESCO,[33] OSCE,[34] Amnesty International[35] demanded an independent investigation of Buzina's murder as well as that of Ukrainian journalist Serhiy Sukhobok and politician Oleg Kalashnikov.

Investigation[edit]

On 18 June 2015 Minister of the Interior Arsen Avakov announced the arrest of two alleged killers, Andrey Medvedko and Denis Polischuk.[36][37][38] One of the suspects served in the Kyiv-2 Battalion of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine and was a member of the neo-Nazi group "S14",[39] while the other was a member of the nationalist party Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian People's Self-Defence (UNA-UNSO); both deny responsibility for the murder.[40][41]

On 23 June 2015, Polischuk was released on bail after businessman Oleksiy Tamrazov posted his ₴5 million bail.[42][unreliable source?] However, on 2 July, the decision was overturned by the Shevchenkovsky District Court of Kyiv, and Polischuk was re-arrested.[43] On 9 December 2015, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv moved Polishuk to house arrest, ordering him to wear an electronic tagging bracelet. On 31 December 2015, Medvenko was also moved to house arrest under similar conditions.[44]

On 25 March 2016, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv released Polischuk from house arrest and released Medvenko on personal obligation.[45] On 23 May, the Court revoked all restrictive measures on Medvenko.[46][unreliable source?]

In July 2016, it was reported that a lot of major evidence, including photo robots[clarification needed] of the suspects made by eye witnesses, CCTV footage and cell phone monitoring, had been lost from case materials.[47]

By April 2017, no progress had been made in the murder investigation.[48][unreliable source?]

On 28 November 2017, the indictment against Polischuk and Medvenko was sent to the Shevchenkovsky District Court of Kyiv for consideration.[49][50]

Publications[edit]

  • Вурдалак Тарас Шевченко (2000), (The Ghoul Taras Shevchenko)
  • Тайная история Украины-Руси (2005), (The secret story of Ukraine-Rus')
  • Верните женщинам гаремы (2008), (Bring back harems for women)
  • Революция на болоте (2010), (Revolution in a swamp)
  • Воскрешение Малороссии (2012) (The resurrection of Little Russia)
  • Союз плуга и трезуба. Как придумали Украину (2013) (The Union between Plough and Trident. How Ukraine was invented)
  • Докиевская Русь (2014) (Rus' before Kievan Rus')

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Бузина Олесь Алексеевич [Oles Alekseevich Buzina] (in Russian). liga.net. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b "About the author (in Russian)". buzina.org. 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. ^ "In the footsteps of ancestors with Oles Buzina (in Russian)". buzina.org. 2012.
  4. ^ "Oles Buzina was appointed as editor-in-chief (in Ukrainian)". Segodnya. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Yes, I resigned and I don't regret that (in Russian)". buzina.org. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  6. ^ a b Політичні партії України: "Руський блок": Кандидати від партії на мажоритарних округах [Ukraine's Political Parties: "Rus'ian bloc": Candidates from the party in majority constituencies] (in Ukrainian). RBC Ukraine. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  7. ^ (in Ukrainian) Proportional votes & Constituency seats, Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  8. ^ a b c d "Oles Buzina: A human is an easy-to-kill being (in Russian)". from-ua.com. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  9. ^ "This "Maidan" is more civilized than the Orange one. (in Russian)". www.buzina.org. 9 April 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  10. ^ "Instead of golden bread loaf (in Russian)". www.buzina.org. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Oles Buzina wants to jail Nazis (in Russian)". Segodnya. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2015. Oles Busina:Nazis and extremists have to be in jail instead of torching stores.
  12. ^ "Commission on morality launches ideological censorship (in Russian)". Kiev center of political research and conflictology. 12 June 2009. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  13. ^ a b c d О.Бузина: «Если Богу будет угодно, то без крови разбежимся. Если нет - будем жить дальше в коммунальной квартире» [O.Buzina: "If it pleases God, we'll part ways without bloodshed. If not - we will continue to live in a communal apartment"]. from-ua.com (in Russian). 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  14. ^ Главными врагами геев названы писатель Бузина и депутат Григорович, главным другом [Buzina named among the main enemies of gays, and deputy Grigorovich named among the primarily friends of gays by the GFU] (in Russian). v-n-zb.livejournal.com. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  15. ^ "Stories from Oles Buzina: Taras Shevchenko - model bilingual. (in Russian)". Segodnya. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Modernization through integration. (in Russian)". www.buzina.org. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  17. ^ Олесь Бузина: между провокатором и политической жертвой [Oles Buzina: between being a provocateur and a political victim] (in Russian). BBC. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  18. ^ Есть ли ситуации, в которых вы бы не подали человеку руки? [Are there situations in which you would not have offered a man your hand?] (in Russian). Den. 3 March 1999. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  19. ^ "Last interview of Oles Buzina (in Russian)". Vesti Ukraine. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  20. ^ "Duel talk show, live air from 30/01/2014 recording. (in Russian)". RUSSIA 1 TV channel. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  21. ^ "Branded a 'Terrorist' for Reporting Two Sides of Ukraine's War". The New York Times. 5 June 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022.
  22. ^ "Pro-Russian Figures Killed In Ukraine". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
    Natalia Zinets; Pavel Polityuk (16 April 2016). "Murders of pro-Russian lobbyists increase tension in Ukraine standoff". Reuters. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
    "Prominent pro-Russian Ukrainian journalist killed in Kiev". France24 International News. 16 April 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  23. ^ a b "Nationalist groups claims responsibility for Ukraine killings". Euronews. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  24. ^ a b c d e Anton Shekhovtsov (23 April 2015). "Who killed Buzina and Kalashnikov?". ZEIT ONLINE (in German). Retrieved 13 June 2023. The name of the group, "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" (also known by its Ukrainian acronym UPA), refers to the name of a historical Ukrainian nationalist movement founded by the radical factions of the Organisation Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and engaged in the struggle against the Soviet rule from 1943 until 1954. The Soviet politicians and historians demonised both the OUN and UPA, and the Russian media still applies the title "banderivtsy" derived from the name of Stepan Bandera, the leader of one of the radical factions of the OUN, to all Ukrainian modern nationalists and even to moderates who support the independence of Ukraine.
  25. ^ Nina Jeglinski (17 April 2015). "Drei Morde in fünf Tagen: Ukrainische Nationalisten bekennen sich zu Anschlägen" [Three murders in five days: Ukrainian nationalists committed to attacks]. tagesspiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  26. ^ "Ukrainische Nationalisten bekennen sich zu politischen Morden in Kiew" [Ukrainian nationalists committed to political murders in Kiev]. SZ-Online (in German). 17 April 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  27. ^ Письмо об убийствах Бузины и Калашникова составили не украиноязычные - СБУ. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Russian). 17 April 2015.
  28. ^ Natalia Zinets; Pavel Polityuk (16 April 2015). "Murders of pro-Russian lobbyists increase tension in Ukraine standoff". Reuters. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  29. ^ Daisy Sindelar (17 April 2015). "Kyiv Alleges Journalist's Slaying Not Only Ordered, But Timed To The Minute". Radio Free Europe.
  30. ^ Natalia Zinets; Pavel Polityuk (16 April 2015). "Murders of pro-Russian lobbyists increase tension in Ukraine standoff". Reuters. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  31. ^ "Ukraine: Nationalisten bekennen sich zu politischen Morden in Kiew" [Ukrainian nationalists committed to political murders in Kiev]. ZEIT ONLINE (in German). 17 April 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  32. ^ "German government expects immediate investigation of journalist Oles Buzina's murder". TASS. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  33. ^ "Director-General condemns killing of Ukrainian journalist Oles Buzina in Kiev". UNESCO. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  34. ^ "OSCE Representative, Dunja Mijatović, strongly condemns killing of journalist in Ukraine". Council of Europe. 16 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  35. ^ "Ukraine's spate of suspicious deaths must be followed by credible investigations". Amnesty International. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  36. ^ "Polischuk accused of journalist Buzyna's murder, detained for two months". Unian. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  37. ^ "Ukraine Detains Suspects In Journalist Buzyna's Killing". www.rferl.org. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  38. ^ "Another suspect in Ukrainian journalist Buzyna's murder remanded into custody". Interfax. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  39. ^ Націоналісти при справі. Що відомо про можливих убивць Бузини [Nationalists in the case. What is known about the possible killers of Buzina]. korrespondent.net (in Ukrainian). 18 June 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  40. ^ "Polischuk accused of journalist Buzyna's murder, detained for two months". Unian. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  41. ^ "Another suspect in Ukrainian journalist Buzyna's murder remanded into custody". Interfax.com.ua. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  42. ^ "За свободу подозреваемого в убийстве Бузины заплатил экс-зампред "Укргаздобычи"". Vesti (in Russian). 23 June 2015.
  43. ^ "Суд отменил залог подозреваемому в убийстве Бузины Полищуку, он взят под стражу". UNIAN (in Russian). 15 February 2015.
  44. ^ "Court rules to put suspect Medvedko under house arrest in writer Buzyna murder case". Ukrinform. 31 December 2015.
  45. ^ "Подозреваемому в убийстве Бузины смягчили меру пресечения". LB.ua. 25 March 2016.
  46. ^ "Суд Киева отменил меру пресечения обвиняемому в убийстве украинского журналиста Бузины". TASS. 23 May 2016.
  47. ^ Власти признали пропажу документов по делу Бузины (tr. "The authorities acknowledged the loss of documents in the Buzina case") 11 July 2016 korrespondent.net, accessed 8 March 2022
  48. ^ Адвокат матери Бузины: власть делает все, чтобы дело об убийстве не дошло до суда РИА Новости Украина: (tr. "Buzina's mother's lawyer: authorities are doing everything to prevent the murder case from going to court RIA Novosti Ukraine:") 17 April 2017 rian.com.ua, accessed 8 March 2022
  49. ^ "Дело по убийству Бузины передали в суд". Korrespondent (in Russian). 28 November 2017.
  50. ^ Дело по убийству Бузины передали в суд (tr. "Buzina's murder case brought to court ") 28 November 2017 korrespondent.net, accessed 8 March 2022

External links[edit]

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