Battle of Honey Springs

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Yurevich and the family name is Borodai.

Alexander Yurevich Borodai (Russian: Алекса́ндр Ю́рьевич Борода́й, IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bərɐˈdaj]; Ukrainian: Олександр Юрійович Бородай, romanized: Oleksandr Yuriiovych Borodai; born 25 July 1972)[3][failed verification] is a Russian member of the State Duma of the 8th convocation for the party United Russia.[4] Borodai was Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in 2014 after the Donetsk People's Republic declared its independence from Ukraine on 12 May 2014,[5][6][7][8] Borodai was appointed as Prime Minister by the republic's Supreme Council on 14 May 2014.[9] Borodai, a Russian citizen, had earlier worked as a political adviser to Sergey Aksyonov, the prime minister of the Republic of Crimea.[8] On 7 August 2014, Borodai announced his resignation.[citation needed] He was succeeded by Alexander Zakharchenko;[citation needed] under Zakharchenko, Borodai became Deputy Prime Minister.[10]

In his interview to Novaya Gazeta Borodai acknowledged that he has known Igor Girkin since after the war in Transnistria.[2]

Personal

Alexander Borodai lives in Moscow.[11] He is a son of Yury Borodai, a scholar in philosophy.[3] Both his father and Borodai himself were "friendly" with Lev Gumilyov, a Eurasianist philosopher.[12]

Career and education

Borodai has a degree in philosophy from Moscow State University. In 1994 he worked for the RIA Novosti as a military correspondent during the First Chechen War. Since 1996 he worked for the openly anti-semitic Zavtra [ru] newspaper, which has called for pogroms against Jews.[13][14] Since 1998 he worked as a "political technologist" specialising in elections. Since 2001 he has headed the consulting business "Sotsiomaster" specializing in crisis management.[3] Borodai and the future military commander of the Donetsk People's Republic Igor Strelkov were close associates of the far-right nationalist Russian businessmen Konstantin Malofeev.[3][15][16]

According to Russian media, he was appointed as a deputy director of Russian FSB State Security in 2002 at the age of 35,[17][18] when he held the rank of major general – Borodai dismissed this as a hoax. He currently has a consultancy in Moscow and worked at a major investment fund.[11]

Nationalism

In the 1990s he edited a Russian[19][20][21] newspaper[22] Zavtra [ru] (Завтра -"Tomorrow"), run by journalist Alexander Prokhanov.

In December 2011, Borodai and Prokhanov co-founded the "patriotic" Web TV channel Den-TV (“Day”).[23][24] Den-TV's programming has regularly included Konstantin Dushenov, who has previously been imprisoned for anti-semitic incitement.[25]

Politics

Borodai refers to himself as "professional consultant" with expertise in ethnic conflict. “I have resolved all kinds of complicated conflict situations,” he told journalists.[11]

In 2002, according to the Moscow Times newspaper, he also dismissed reports that he had been appointed a deputy director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB)[17][18] as a hoax arranged for his 30th birthday.[11]

Crimea

Borodai worked as an advisor to appointed Crimea governor Sergei Aksyonov.[11] Borodai claims he worked as a “political strategist” during the annexation of Crimea by Russia, and states that the political forces that facilitated the takeover are the same as those active in the Donetsk Republic: "Naturally the people who set up these popular movements and were the initiators are the same people, they are connected to each other... So when I finished the work in Crimea I automatically... came here to work in southeast Ukraine.”[11]

Donetsk

Following the 2014 Donetsk status referendum; on 16 May 2014 Borodai was appointed Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic.[26]

On 28 July 2014, Borodai left Donetsk for Russia[27] and returned on 4 August.[10]

In a press conference in Donetsk on 7 August 2014, Borodai announced his resignation as Prime Minister.[citation needed] In this press conference he stated “I came here as a crisis manager, a start-upper, if you want. I’ve managed to achieve a lot in the past several months, the DPR has been established as a state”.[citation needed] As Prime Minister he was replaced by Alexander Zakharchenko.[citation needed] Borodai (also) stated he would become Zakharchenko's Deputy Prime Minister.[10] He further stated in the 7 August 2014 press conference that he believed a "native Muscovite" like him should not lead the Donetsk People's Republic.[28] In 2017 Boroday claimed (talking to Reuters) that Zakharchenko succeeded him in a Russian government effort "to try to show the West that the uprising was a grassroots phenomenon".[29]

Sanctions

As of 2023, Borodai is sanctioned by the UK government in 2014 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War. [30]

Russia

In the 2021 Russian legislative election Borodai was elected to the State Duma for the party United Russia.[4]

Security car blown up in Ukraine

On 7 November 2022, a car driven by Borodai was nearly struck by a French land mine HPD-2A2 in the Kherson region. The security vehicle in front of his was reportedly hit by the land mine, blowing out windows and tires. Video showed a camouflaged HPD-2A2 which his own vehicle missed by "millimetres".[31]

References

  1. ^ Kateryna Choursina and Daria Marchak. "Ukraine Forces Fight Rebels as Separatists Prepare Vote". Businessweek.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  2. ^ a b Kanygin, P. Aleksandr Borodai: We are not ready to conclude peace on conditions of capitulation. Novaya Gazeta. 13 August 2014
  3. ^ a b c d "Александр Бородай: "Просто я, Леонтьев и Стрелков давно знакомы"". RBC daily. 26 May 2014.
  4. ^ a b Putin’s Ukraine War: Russian MP recalls efforts to push civil war myth, Atlantic Council (2 November 2021)
  5. ^ "Pro-Russians: Ukraine's Donetsk 'Independent'". News.sky.com. 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  6. ^ "Премьер-министром ДНР стал россиянин Александр Бородай". Mk.ru. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Ukraine's bogus referendums". The Economist. May 11, 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Ukraine crisis: Donetsk leader dismisses Kremlin support claim". Financial Times. June 3, 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Ukraine: Donetsk People's Republic elects PM". Turkish Press. May 16, 2014. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  10. ^ a b c (in Ukrainian) Boroday tired of "prime minister", Ukrayinska Pravda (7 August 2014)
  11. ^ a b c d e f Delany, Max (18 May 2014). "Mysterious Russian fixer heads Ukraine rebel state". The Times of Israel.
  12. ^ Snyder, Timothy (2018). The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America. London, U.K.: The Bodley Head. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-847-92526-8.
  13. ^ "Russian neo-Nazi stabs prominent Jew". TheGuardian.com. 14 July 1999.
  14. ^ Balmforth, Tom (18 August 2014). "From the Fringes Toward Mainstream: Russian Nationalist Broadsheet Basks in Ukraine Conflict". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  15. ^ Kashin, Oleg (19 May 2014). "Из Крыма в Донбасс: приключения Игоря Стрелкова и Александра Бородая". Slon.
  16. ^ "Far-Right Propagandist Turns up in Moscow After Jan. 6".
  17. ^ a b "На Лубянку приходит новое руководство".
  18. ^ a b "ЛУБЯНКА НАЧИНАЕТ ЖИТЬ ЗАВТРАШНИМ ДНЕМ".
  19. ^ Durham, Martin; Power, Margaret (19 January 2011). New Perspectives on the Transnational Right. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9780230623705.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ Schevchenko, Olga (2008). Crisis and the Everyday in Postsocialist Moscow. Indiana University Press. p. 195. ISBN 9780253002570.
  21. ^ Umland, Andreas (5 August 2013). "New Extremely Right-Wing Intellectual Circles in Russia: The Anti-Orange Committee, the Isborsk Club and the Florian Geyer Club". Russian Analytical Digest (135): 2–6. doi:10.31205/RA.256.01.
  22. ^ Weaver, Courtney (30 May 2014). "Donetsk chaos leads to split in separatist ranks". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  23. ^ "Russias Nationalist Fringe Takes Center Stage In Eastern Ukraine". Khpg.org. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  24. ^ Balmforth, Tom (17 June 2014). "Russia's Nationalist Fringe Takes Center Stage In Eastern Ukraine". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  25. ^ "Russian newspaper editor jailed for anti-Semitic incitement". World Jewish Congress. 4 February 2010.
  26. ^ Kateryna Choursina and Daria Marchak (17 May 2014). "Ukraine Rebels Ask to Join Russia as Fighters Free Leader". Bloomberg. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  27. ^ "BBC News - Russian ex-police chief Antyufeyev leads Donetsk rebels". BBC News. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  28. ^ (in Russian) Boroday said that he is stepping down as prime minister DNR, RIA Novosti (7 August 2014)
  29. ^ Ex-Rebel Leaders Detail Role Played by Putin Aide in East Ukraine, Reuters (1 May 2017)
  30. ^ "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK" (PDF). Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  31. ^ Matthew Roscoe (7 November 2022). "State Duma deputy's security car blows up on French HPD anti-tank mine in Ukraine's Kherson region". Retrieved 9 November 2022.
Political offices
Preceded by
Inaugural
 Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic
2014 		Succeeded by
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Borodai