MOSCOW - A former top commander of Russian-backed fighters in eastern Ukraine went on trial in Moscow on Dec 14, on charges of extremism for criticising the Kremlin’s military strategy towards Kyiv.

Igor Girkin, a 52-year-old hardline nationalist who is better known by his alias Igor Strelkov, was instrumental in sparking hostilities in 2014 between Kremlin proxies and Kyiv that preceded Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine.

He fell foul of Moscow and was detained after the Wagner mercenary group – a key force fighting in Ukraine for the Kremlin – tried to topple Russia’s military leadership in June.

Girkin was detained in July following a series of social media posts critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin that went out to hundreds of thousands of followers.

The case against Girkin, who became an outspoken blogger, has illustrated how any criticism of the military is off-limits, even from ardent Russian nationalists who support the conflict.

Girkin, who has declared plans to challenge Mr Putin in the presidential election set for March, faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

A Moscow court on Dec 14 formally charged him with promoting extremism in two social media posts on the Telegram platform, lawyers said.

“Today, the prosecutor announced the charges and our defendant said that he is innocent,” defence lawyer Gadzhi Aliyev said as the closed-door hearing got under way.

Supporters have said the case against Girkin is politically motivated.

MH17 downing

Girkin has had many lives.

He was one of the pivotal figures in an insurgency that the Kremlin fomented in easter Ukraine after a pro-Western revolution swept Kyiv in 2014.

When Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine became a rebel stronghold, he ruled it with an iron fist, reportedly authorising executions for petty theft.

But he was squeezed out of the separatist leadership later that year under mysterious circumstances and returned to Russia, where he lost all influence, until the Kremlin’s fully-fledged assault on Ukraine began in February 2022.

That same year, he was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment by a Dutch court over the downing of Malaysia Airlines passenger flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, which killed all 298 on board.

Girkin returned to the spotlight after the Russian military offensive in Ukraine started, becoming one of the most vocal critics of Putin and of the way in which the offensive has been conducted.

Like the late Wager boss Yevgeni Prigozhin, Girkin has complained that the Russian military offensive in Ukraine is not hard-hitting enough.

Even after his arrest, Girkin – who sports a moustache in the style of a Tsarist officer – continued his criticism online.

In August, he said he wanted to run for president.

“I consider myself more competent in military affairs than the incumbent president and certainly more competent than the defence minister,” he said when he announced his candidacy.

And he piled up criticism of Mr Putin, saying the Russian leader “had been led by the nose” by both international leaders and national allies.

Unlike Mr Putin, Girkin said he “would not have to give in to the wishes of my friends to the detriment of Russia’s economy”, referring to numerous allegations of corruption. AFP