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Denis Pushilin | |
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Денис Пушилин | |
.jpg) Pushilin in 2023 | |
| Head of the Donetsk People's Republic | |
| Assumed office 20 November 2018[a] | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | |
| Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic | |
| Acting 7 September 2018 – 18 October 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Dmitry Trapeznikov (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Ananchenko |
| Chairman of theDonetsk People's Council | |
| In office 4 September 2015 – 14 September 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Andrei Purgin |
| Succeeded by | Olga Makeeva |
| In office 15 May 2014 – 18 July 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Vladimir Makovych (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1981-05-09)9 May 1981 (age 44) Makiivka, Donetsk Oblast, Soviet Union |
| Party | United Russia (2021–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Donetsk Republic (2014–present) |
| Spouse | Elena Pushilina |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature |  |
Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin[b] (born 9 May 1981) is a pro-Russian politician who was elected the Head of theDonetsk People's Republic (DPR) in 2018, and has held the position since then, including after theRussian annexation of the DPR in 2022.[1][2][3]
He had previously served asChairman of the People's Council, and became the acting head of state and government following the assassination of incumbentAlexander Zakharchenko amidst theconflict in the east Ukraine region.[4] He successfully ran for election to a full term in the controversial2018 elections.[5] Pushilin's role inMMM Global prior to his political career is cited by critics that describe him as a fraudster who was involved in aPonzi scheme.[6]
Pushilin was born on 9 May 1981 inMakiivka, Donetsk Oblast, in theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.[7] Pushilin is the son of workers of the Makiivka Metallurgical Factory, Vladimir Pushilin and Valentina Khasanova.[8] He graduated in 1998 from Makiivka Lyceum No. 1, a school combining secondary and professional education. From 1999 to 2000, he served in theNational Guard of Ukraine in a special assignment battalion in Crimea.[8] After leaving the military, he studied Enterprise Economics atDonbas National Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture, but did not receive a degree.[9] From 2002 to 2006, Pushilin worked for a trading firm, Solodkye Zhittya ("Sweet Life”).[8]
From 1989 to 1994, a RussianPonzi scheme calledMMM cost its participants millions of dollars prior to disbanding.[10][11][8] In 2011,Sergei Mavrodi launched a newMMM. Pushilin volunteered for this successor company from 2011 to 2013 and became a key leader.[12] The new MMM openly admitted to being a pyramid scheme.[13] Pushilin was not shy in promoting involvement with the company.[14]
TheMinistry of Justice of Ukraine allowed registration of the MMM Party under the chairmanship of Mavrodi. It is interpreted as an abbreviation for "We Have a Goal" (Ukrainian:Ми Маємо Мету). Pushilin joined this new party in 2012.[12] OpposingYanukovych[15] and unknown in the Kyiv region, Pushilin got 0.08% of the votes and failed to win a seat in the December 2013repeat elections of the2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election in the 94th district (located inObukhiv).[16][17] According to his December 2013 election information, Pushilin was "not working" at the time.[1][9]
On 5 April 2014, Pushilin led a rally in Donetsk, identifying himself as deputy toPavel Gubarev, the "People's Governor" of Donetsk. Pushilin demanded a referendum, like that ofCrimea, on the question of independence from the new Ukrainian government in Kyiv.[18]
By the end of April, theEuropean Union (EU) had placed sanctions on Pushilin, which included freezing assets and banning him from entering EU member states. In June, the United States added Pushilin to theSpecially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. His name has since been added to sanction lists ofAustralia,Canada,Norway,Liechtenstein andSwitzerland.[19][20][21][22] He was also sanctioned by theUK government.[23]
On 19 May 2014, Pushilin became the Chairman of the Supreme Council of theDonetsk People's Republic, and under the draft constitution adopted on 15 May, the new republic's head of state.[24][25] In June 2014, he announced that DPR businesses which engaged in tax evasion would be nationalized.[26] Pushilin did not envision the Donetsk People's Republic becoming an independent state but preferred to join theRussian Federation (which he saw as a potential renewedRussian Empire).[15]
Pushilin survived two assassination attempts, both occurring within a week, on the 7th[27] and 12th[28] of June 2014. Pushilin was inMoscow on those dates, as was widely reported at the time.[29]
Pushilin resigned from his post of theChairman of the Donetsk People's Republic in July 2014.[30] From 14 November 2014 to 4 September 2015, he served as a vice-chairman of the Donetsk People's Republic Council; then he replacedAndrei Purgin and became the Chairman of the council once again.[31]
From 2014 to 2018, Pushilin officially represented the DPR at theTrilateral Contact Group and theMinsk II agreements. The Minsk II agreements subsequently failed, with each side accusing the other of violating the ceasefire terms.[32]
On 31 August 2018, DPR leaderAlexander Zakharchenko was assassinated in a bombing of a restaurant inDonetsk.[4] After a week-long interim leadership byDmitry Trapeznikov, Pushilin was appointed acting Head of the DPR on 7 September 2018; he was to hold this position until elections on 11 November 2018.[5] He claimed to have won those elections with 60.85% of the vote.[33] On 6 December 2021 Pushilin became a member of the Russian ruling partyUnited Russia.[34] United Russia chairmanDmitry Medvedev personally handed him his party ticket during the party's annual congress inMoscow.[34]
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On 21 February 2022, Pushilin signed an agreement for friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance between the Donetsk People's Republic and the Russian Federation. At this ceremony were also signed an agreement between theLPR and Russia, and executive orders by President Putin to officially recognize the independence of the DPR and LPR.[35]
In April 2022, news outlets noted that during Pushilin's visit to Mariupol, he awarded Senior Lieutenant Roman Vorobyov a medal, while he was wearing patches affiliated withneo-Nazism: theTotenkopf used by the3rd SS Panzer Division, and thevalknut.[36]
Along withLuhansk People's Republic leaderLeonid Pasechnik, Pushilin was one of the key figures in the September 2022 referendum on the question of the annexed regions of Russia becoming part of the Russian Federation.[37]The referendum, also organised in theKherson andZaporizhzhia provinces, passed with a reported 99% approval in the DNR, and received widespread international condemnation.[38] On 30 September, Pushilin attended in Moscow the ceremony in whichVladimir Putin formally announced theAnnexation of Southern and Eastern Ukraine, together with the other pro-Russian occupation headsVladimir Saldo,Leonid Pasechnik andYevgeny Balitsky.[39]
Pushilin has given multiple interviews over the years to pro-Russian British journalistGraham Phillips.[40][41] In December 2023, Ukraine sentenced Pushilin to 15 years in prison for 'encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, as well as collaborationist activities'. As Pushilin has remained in Donetsk, the Ukrainian court ruling was declared in his absence.[3]
Media related toDenis Pushilin at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related toDenis Pushilin at Wikiquote| International | |
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