Yevhen Zhylin | |
|---|---|
Евгений Жилин | |
| Leader of the Kharkiv People's Republic | |
| In office April 7, 2014 – April 8, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Volodymyr Varshavsky as "People's Governor" |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 January 1976[1] |
| Died | 19 September 2016(2016-09-19) (aged 40) |
Yevhen Volodymyrovych Zhylin (Ukrainian:Євген Володимирович Жилін, 6 January 1976 – 19 September 2016) was aRussian separatist inUkraine fromKharkiv known for his involvement in leading theTitushky duringEuromaidan and attempting to form a "Kharkiv People's Republic", of which he was the self-proclaimed president. Zhylin would be assassinated in Russia in 2016.[2]
Zhylin was born inKharkiv in 1976.[2] Zhylin was a police officer before getting involved in pro-Russian separatist circles.[3][4] Zhylin was the lead suspect in a 2006 attempted assassination ofHennadiy Kernes for which he was detained for two years but ultimately acquitted and released in 2008.[2] In 2010 he opened amixed martial arts club in Kharkiv named "Oplot" or "Stronghold" claiming that the organization was made to train fighters to opposeneo-Nazis andBanderites.[2][3][5][4]TASS reported that Oplot was made to support former members of theMilitsiya who were struggling to find jobs.[6][better source needed]
DuringEuromaidan Zhylin made a name for himself as one of the leadingAnti-Maidan voices within the city, using his MMA club as an impromptu paramilitary to engage in street clashes against pro-maidan protesters.[2][3][4] He also sent some of his fighters toKyiv to fight the protesters there asTitushky.[3] Zhylin was offered to be named the chief of the Titushky, however, the role would ultimately be given to businessmanOleksiy Chebotariov, who was close to then interior ministerVitaliy Zakharchenko, who would coordinate the Titushky remotely in theMaldives while Zhylin was in charge of ground operations. Zhylin oversaw the kidnapping of pro-maidan protesters and personally tortured them on camera, releasing the footage as a threat to those who participate in the protests.[7] AfterViktor Yanukovych fled the country following theRevolution of Dignity, Zhylin's street fighters were organized into a militia fighting as a member of theRussian people's militias in Ukraine.[2] Zhylin would attempt to recruit foreign fighters from the former Soviet Union to take up arms against the "neo-Nazis" responsible for Euromaidan, includingMamuka Mamulashvili, who called the proposal "stupid" and went on to form theGeorgian Legion, promising to capture Zhylin and fight the separatists.[5] Zhylin then opened more Oplot locations in theDonbass, namely inDonetsk, which were involved in the seizing of government buildings there during the outbreak of theWar in the Donbass.[3]Alexander Zakharchenko was a member of the Donetsk branch of Oplot.[4] On April 7, 2014, Zhylin and Oplot where among the anti-maidan militias that stormed theKharkiv Oblast Council.[2] During the one-day occupation of the building Zhylin would be proclaimed the "President" of the "Kharkiv People's Republic."[2]
Following the failure of the Kharkiv People's Republic to form, Zhylin went into exile in Russia in the spring of 2014 and had a warrant pending for his arrest in Ukraine since 2016 after a two-year-long investigation concluded he was instrumental in the pro-Russian separatist circle.[2][4] Zhylin settled inMoscow where he continued Oplot's activities both as a fight club and as a private security firm.[2][4] He used his organization to finance theDonetsk People's Republic and theLuhansk People's Republic.[3] It was revealed in 2016 that Zhylin was a close personal friend ofKostiantyn Kulyk the former chief prosecutor ofKharkiv Oblast and made frequent payments, including a gifted car, to Kulyk.[8]
On September 20, 2016, Zhylin and an associate, Andrei Kozyrev, were dining in a high-end restaurant in theGorki-2 suburb of Moscow when a man with a fake mustache, sunglasses, and hat entered, walked up to the table, and shot Zhylin and Kozyrev. Zhylin was killed instantly while Kozyrev went into a coma.[4][2][3][9]
Russian nationalist politicianAleksandr Borodai stated that the assassination was the result of a "business dispute" between rival security companies,[2][3][4] while the Ukrainian politicianDmytro Tymchuk claimed Zhylin was assassinated by theFederal Security Service "defending the [information] space from those who could give evidence about the initial stage of Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine."[3]