Alexander Zakharchenko
Alexander Zakharchenko | |
|---|---|
Александр Захарченко Олександр Захарченко | |
 Aleksandr Zakharchenko | |
| 1st Head of the Donetsk People's Republic | |
| Assumed office 4 November 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Inaugural |
| 2nd Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic | |
| Assumed office 7 August 2014 | |
| Deputy | Vladimir Antyufeyev Ravil Khalikov Alexander Borodai Andrei Purgin |
| Preceded by | Alexander Borodai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko 26 June 1976 Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Political party | Donetsk Republic[1] |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Novorossiya
|
| Branch/service |  United Armed Forces of Novorossiya |
| Rank | Brigadier general |
| Commands | File:Battalion Oplot SSI.png Oplot Battalion |
| Battles/wars | War in Donbass |
Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko (Russian: Алекса́ндр Влади́мирович Заха́рченко, IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ zɐˈxartɕɪnkə], Ukrainian: Олександр Володимирович Захарченко; born 1976[3]) is a Ukrainian separatist leader,[4][5] who is the current head of state and Prime Minister of the unrecognized state Donetsk People's Republic, which declared independence from Ukraine on 11 May 2014.[6][7][8][9] Zakharchenko was appointed Prime Minister in August 2014 after his predecessor, Alexander Borodai, resigned, and went on to win the early November, 2014 election for the position.[10]
Political career
Zakharchenko was born in Donetsk on 26 June 1976. He graduated from technical school and then worked as a mine electrician.[11][12] He rose to prominence in April 2014 as commander of a militia, formed from members of the civic and martial arts group Oplot, that led the separatist takeover of the 11-story government headquarters in central Donetsk.[13] On 16 May 2014 Zakharchenko was appointed 'military commandant of Donetsk'.[14] Since May 2014 Zakharchenko has played a major role in the insurgency against Ukraine's central government. On 24 July 2014 he was awarded the rank Major in the DPR armed forces, shortly after he was wounded in the arm during fighting with Ukraine government forces.[15][16]
Zakharchenko succeeded Alexander Borodai as Prime Minister on 7 August 2014.[17] Borodai then became the DPR Deputy Prime Minister.[18] In September 2014, he was the lead negotiator for the DPR at the Minsk Protocol, which agreed to a peace plan for the War in Donbass.[19]
At the November 2, 2014 Donetsk parliamentary elections, Zakharchenko won the prime ministership with 78.93% of the vote.[20]
In February, 2015 Zakharchenko, representing the DPR, agreed to the Minsk II peace treaty, calling it a “major victory for the Lugansk and Donetsk people’s republics.”[21] He was subsequently wounded in action during the closing stages of the Battle of Debaltsevo.[22]
Political positions
During the parliamentary election campaign Zakharchenko told potential voters that he wanted pensions to be "higher than in Poland."[2] Zakharchenko said this was feasible because Donetsk is very rich, "like the United Arab Emirates. ... "We have coal, metallurgy, natural gas . . . The difference between us and the Emirates is they don’t have a war there and we do.”[23] Zakharchenko promised to build "a normal state, a good one, a just one. Our boys died for this, civilians are still being killed for this until now."[2]
Zakharchenko also said he believed Ukraine's leaders are " miserable representatives of the great Jewish people." He added, "I can't remember a time when Cossacks were led by people who have never held a sword in their hands," referring to Ukraine's historical nationalists, the Cossacks, who "would turn in their graves if they could see who is running Ukraine."[24]
References
- ^ "Self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic to elect its leader, lawmakers". TASS Russian News Agency. November 2, 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c East Ukraine separatists hold vote to gain legitimacy, promise normalcy, Reuters (30 October 2014)
- ^ Template:Ru icon New Elite Donbass: losers, traitors, romance, adventurers, puppets ... Continued, Ostrov (25 June 2014)
- ^ Ukraine rebel leader Zakharchenko 'wants 100,000 men'
- ^ EU gets tough with Russian military leaders – and Soviet-era 'Sinatra'
- ^ "Pro-Russians: Ukraine's Donetsk 'Independent'". News.sky.com. 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ "Премьер-министром ДНР стал россиянин Александр Бородай". Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ "Ukraine's bogus referendums". The Economist. May 11, 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ "Ukraine crisis: Donetsk leader dismisses Kremlin support claim". Financial Times. June 3, 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ Alexander Zakharchenko named prime minister of eastern Ukraine after 'election'
- ^ "Russian resigns to make way for Ukrainian as new head of 'Donetsk People's Republic'". the Guardian. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ Ukraine crisis: Key players in eastern unrest
- ^ Separatists tighten grip on east Ukraine, EU agrees more sanctions on Moscow
- ^ Template:Uk icon In cabinet separatists included people close to the "regionals", Ukrayinska Pravda (16 May 2014)
- ^ "?????????????? ?????? - ?????? ?? ????????? 24.07.2014 1:33 ??? - ?????????????? ??????". ?????????????? ??????. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ Ukraine crisis: Key players in eastern unrest BBC, 28 August 2014
- ^ "August 7, 2014 - RT News". Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ Template:Uk icon Boroday tired of "prime minister", Ukrayinska Pravda (7 August 2014)
- ^ "Ukraine deal with pro-Russian rebels at Minsk talks". BBC News. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ "Äîíåöüê³ áîéîâèêè çà í³÷ ïîðàõóâàëè ãîëîñè: ïåðåì³ã Çàõàð÷åíêî - Óêðà¿íñüêà ïðàâäà". Óêðà¿íñüêà ïðàâäà. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ Ukraine ceasefire agreed at Belarus talks
- ^ "Ukraine Rebels Celebrate Their Taking of Debaltseve". The New York Times. 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ^ Donetsk People’s Republic campaign reveals shambolic tendencies, Financial Times (23 October 2014)
- ^ news.yahoo.com 2 February 2015
External links
