However, for ATO participants and people from Donbass, this name evokes completely different associations associated with war, murder, torture and separatism. “Givi” is the call sign of the field commander of one of the terrorist militant groups, who is known in narrow circles as Mikhail Tolstykh. And the fact is that this person has no connections with Georgia at all. Then who is he really, a militant with the call sign "Givi", and what role does he play in the development of separatism and terrorism in eastern Ukraine?
Biographical information
Field commander of the Donetsk separatists Mikhail Tolstykh was born on July 19, 1980 in the city of Ilovaisk, Donetsk region, where he received his secondary technical education. According to official information, in 1998-2000, Mikhail Tolstykh served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at the Desna training center, in the 92nd regiment. Military specialty - tank commander. According to separatist journalist of English origin Graham Phillips, after the army, Mikhail Tolstykh worked as an industrial climber. Tolstykh himself is not an ethnic Georgian, however, according to Georgian resident Gia Beraya, “Givi’s” great-grandfather was a Georgian, which is why the militant received such a nickname.
Little is known about the family of the militant leader. According to the portal timeua.com, refugees from Ilovaisk about the same age as Mikhail Tolstykh report that, as their parents told them, father “Givi” after another prison term came home to Ilovaisk and did not work anywhere, drank a lot and heavily , and also beat his wife with enviable consistency and methodicality. The portal reports that supposedly “Givi’s” mother also drank for a long time, then simply disappeared without a trace when the future terrorist was barely 18 years old. But this information, disseminated by timeua.com, is denied by other separatists and the militant field commander himself.
As a child, according to refugees from Ilovaisk, Mikhail Tolstykh grew up withdrawn and unsociable. He was not accepted into children's groups because of his sloppiness and cruelty, which he took out on stray animals. At school, for these reasons, the future terrorist was constantly humiliated by high school students, had no friends, and since he did not want to study, he spent most of his time in the outskirts of the city in abandoned houses and buildings, where he found solace in solitude. Donetsk blogger Elkham Abubakirov shared this information with the portal elise.com.ua. According to the blogger, Mikhail Tolstoy was not actually accepted into the army due to obvious speech defects at that time and problems in the field of psychiatry. According to Abubakirov, it is unknown when “Givi” first tried drugs, but his peers claim that it was around 7-8 grades, when Mikhail, persecuted by high school students, fled to the outskirts of the city, which were replete with drug nests and so-called “raspberries” released "prisoners". It was then, the Donetsk blogger claims, that the future “lieutenant colonel” began taking marijuana. According to blogger Abubakirov, Mikhail began drinking alcohol in significant quantities a little later, especially after he was “rejected” by the military commissar for military service. During that period, “Givi” was often seen dead drunk. According to information from a Donetsk blogger, a local businessman nicknamed “Arsen” hired him as a territory cleaner and an assistant car wash at his car service center.
“Arsen” (in the world - Arsen Targonsky), according to the recollections of refugees from Ilovaisk, was a kind man. He treated his employees quite liberally and even helped them when they had problems. He also helped the future “Givi” by arranging for him to live in a dilapidated local hostel on the outskirts of the city. It is reported that “Arsen” provided Mikhail with the most basic things in the form of primitive dishes and clothing.
Around 2008-2009, another event happened in the life of Mikhail Tolstoy. One day, Mikhail was tasked with cleaning the dust in the interior of the new car of the local crime boss “Sani Ryzhego”. “Sanya Red” (aka Alexander Rakhimov) was a cruel man. After serving his prison sentence for rape and returning to Ilovaisk, Rakhimov went into the service of local authorities, who for a long time used him as a “torpedo” and a “bull” during “showdowns.” Having survived and collected capital, “Sanya Ryzhiy” opened a couple of stores and a nightclub (eatery) in Dokuchaevsk. The time will come, and Rakhimov’s disfigured corpse, torn to pieces by stray dogs, will be found in the steppe near Dokuchaevsk; he will first be kidnapped and then brutally killed by unknown militants along with his minor son. According to Elkham Abubakirov, on the day of the murder, the crime boss took his anger out on Mikhail Tolstykh by beating him in a car service station. The blogger reports that in 2011, Mikhail Tolstykh was arrested for stealing a bicycle and placed in a temporary detention center. After that, Abubakirov reports, “Givi” worked for some time as a loader in a store and as a cleaner in a car parking lot.
However, it is difficult to say to what extent this information, presented by Donetsk blogger Elkham Abubakirov, corresponds to reality. Actually, we will be able to find out the truth only after the end of the war and the liberation of Donbass from the united Russian-separatist forces.
According to Nadezhda Savchenko’s lawyer Mark Feigin, Mikhail Tolstykh previously sold vodka. “Yesterday I learned that in a past life “Givi” not only guarded the store, but also sold vodka at the station,” Feigin said.
According to Artem Rodari, a journalist for the militant TV channel "Aurora Studio", citing an interview with Mikhail Tolstykh, "Givi" actually worked as a security guard in a supermarket. The separatist field commander states that, after returning from the army in 2000, he moved to the city of Kremenchug, Poltava region, where, in fact, he worked at a factory. However, due to his mother’s illness, he was subsequently forced to return to Ilovaisk. The last place of work of the field commander before the war was the Khartsyzsk rope plant "Silur", where he worked as a driver of a diesel forklift.
Separatist commander Mikhail Tolstykh is a supporter of the policies of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, claiming that under his tenure he lived better, salaries were paid on time and there was no high level of corruption. "Givi", succumbing to Russian propaganda, believed that Euromaidan was organized by the United States. In his opinion, if the Ukrainian people themselves had done this, and not the mythical “decree of America,” he would have supported these actions. The events on the Maidan, the provocations of the Russian special services in Odessa and Mariupol led Tolstoy to believe in the existence of mythical “fascists” and “juntas”, which were artificially created with the help of mass propaganda of the Russian Federation in order to clash the Ukrainian people of polar political views among themselves. Although, what is noteworthy is that Tolstykh had already joined militant gangs on May 1 in the city of Slavyansk, while the events in Odessa and Mariupol happened on the 2nd and 9th, respectively.
In Slavyansk, he joins an illegal armed group of militants, created by uniting a sabotage group led by Igor Girkin and local separatists. In an occupied city, a militant is subordinate to a terrorist with the call sign "Taran", the commander of the so-called "armored group". From this moment on, Mikhail Tolstykh began his active work in militant gangs. At the same time, the separatist’s mother supported his participation in the bandit formations; his father opposed it, not believing in the victory of the so-called. "DPR".
Terrorist Mikhail Tolstykh does not like to talk about his personal life. And yet, in an interview with one of the local publications, he spoke about his problems.
“I don’t live in virtuality - I live in reality. Being next to me is very dangerous. Even being in the same car with me is also dangerous. There have already been three assassination attempts, and I have no right to risk human lives. As for my personal life, I don’t have one , and I didn’t have any wedding. Now, as I was, I remain a single person. To my great regret, I’ll be honest, my personal life is not going well,” admitted “Givi.”
A journalist asked him about a raucous birthday party at which Tolstoy danced with many girls, which was photographed by Graham Phillips. But “Givi” said that he did not call or offer anything to any of these girls, although, he emphasized, this does not mean that he did not want to do this. In addition, "Givi" answered the question of what he will do after the war. The "Somalia" commander replied that he himself did not know and had no plans yet.
“At the moment I have nowhere and no one to return to. My home is my battalion, our barracks and the front line,” Givi said.
In an interview with separatist media, the militant field commander said that his hobbies are football and boxing. He supports the Shakhtar and Real Madrid teams.
Donetsk separatists with the call sign "Givi" support the policies of Vladimir Putin, are supporters of Vladimir Zhirinovsky and advocate the occupation of the entire Donbass by the Russian Federation.
The militant commander also has page on the social network VKontakte, where he often posts information and popularizes the activities of the separatists, Russia and the united Russian-separatist forces.
According to the militants, Mikhail Tolstykh is a “lieutenant colonel” of the so-called “armed forces of Novorossiya”, the commander of the so-called “first separate battalion-tactical group of Somalia”.
Meeting Zakharchenko
The field commander of the separatists "Givi" first met the current leader of the self-proclaimed "DPR" during a report on the situation in Ilovaisk to the "Minister of Defense of the DPR" Vladimir Kononov, known under the call sign "Tsar". This happened in August 2014 in Shakhtersk. By that time, the militant leader A. Zakharchenko headed the Oplot separatist gang. The combined brigade at that time was commanded directly by the “Tsar”. At that time, there were about 70 militants under the leadership of the field commander Givi.
During the meeting with the future head of the so-called. "DPR", organized by V. Kononov, "Givi" received a unit of artillery from him. Mikhail Tolstykh himself actively supports and constantly praises the policies of the leader of the so-called. "DPR" by Alexander Zakharchenko.
Moreover, the field commander of the separatists "Givi", playing along with Russian propaganda, continues to state that the terrorists held the city of Ilovaisk in the amount of 170 militants and with 1 unit of the Nona artillery installation, allegedly received from Alexander Zakharchenko. The militant, working for the Russian propaganda picture, continues to declare the absence of the Russian army in the Ilovaisk cauldron. And “Nona” proposes to create a monument to the above-mentioned installation in Ilovaisk.
Participation in torture and abuse
Terrorist field commander Mikhail Tolstykh is widely known on the Internet for his abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war and Ukrainian patriots. You can find many video links on the Internet confirming this information:
Forced to eat the chevrons of captured military personnel at the airport. It was Givi who mocked the captured “cyborgs” led by Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Kuzminykh;
Harassment of officers;
Demonstrative abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Ilovaisk together with “Kadyrovites” and others.
On April 7, 2015, a representative of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Assistant Chief of the General Staff Tatyana Rychkova, in an interview with Ukrayinska Pravda, stated that Mikhail Tolstykh, better known as “Givi,” commander of the “Somalia” battalion, demonstratively shot wounded Ukrainian soldiers at the Donetsk airport.
“I know that the separatists were simply finishing off our guys. The soldiers of the 25th brigade are not taken prisoner at all, they are killed immediately. “Givi” started this. He pointedly shot a soldier,” said Rychkova. “One of the Russian military told ours about this , one of those who still know with honor that prisoners are not killed. He said: “This idiot shot your boy for show.”
At the same time, the commander of the terrorist gang, Mikhail Tolstykh, is quite cruel to the militants who are part of the illegal armed group he leads, known as “Somalia”. The terrorist could easily publicly beat his subordinate militants and throw them “in the basement.”
The Ukrainian military and partisans have repeatedly tried to destroy the terrorist commander, who was guilty of murders and abuses of Ukrainian prisoners of war, but the militant has so far escaped unscathed.
Thus, in March of this year, an attempt was made on the life of the famous terrorist Mikhail Tolstykh, nicknamed “Givi,” as the militant himself told the Russian propaganda TV channel LifeNews. According to Givi, the attack took place on March 19, when he was leaving Makeyevka. At least 12 rounds of 5.45 mm caliber were fired into the car. The terrorist said that he managed to jump out of the car while it was moving: “I managed to jump out of the car and it was already rolling away on its own. We counted 12 hits on the car. They hit the rear doors, the glass, and hit the engine. I saw the car, took out a sawed-off shotgun that was a gift from Zakharchenko opened fire, but they took off and drove towards the bypass road."
In June 2015, information was disseminated that the terrorist was killed during hostilities, but the militant brazenly called during a live broadcast of the 112 TV channel and denied this statement.
Public activity of the militant
Despite the militant’s participation in torture, sadism and murder of Ukrainian military personnel and Ukrainian patriots, Russian propaganda continues to promote the image of a terrorist field commander, as well as the famous “Motorola”. The militants make the so-called mythical “militia” “heroes” and popularize their activities among the Russian audience. On the Internet, Russian and separatist media broadcast the militant’s participation in a staged military parade on May 9, as well as the pathetic celebration of the terrorist commander’s birthday.
According to the "Informator", at the end of May 2015, information appeared that a group of terrorists led by "Givi" with weapons visited the Donetsk railway station with the aim of recruiting "volunteers" for bandit formations and for digging trenches. However, the militants received fierce resistance from both women and men. At the same time, they boldly spoke to his face about the negative attitude towards the “liberators” and criticized the activities of the Russian occupiers. Most of the women said they were going to Kyiv. This wildly outraged “Givi”, who left the station with obscenities, without agitating anyone. At the same time, he wished for people with different views that they would die from a direct hit from a shell.
“Civilians show disrespect for people in uniform. Although, on the one hand, here we ourselves are to blame, “other militias,” as I call such people. Firstly, someone started doing something weird, and that’s it , everyone is like that. It’s a pity. And when the massacre begins, when the shelling, everyone hopes that the “Rostov” battalion, the “Somalia” battalion, survived and held out, then they are for us, in my opinion. And so, why are we their number one enemy. “Well, that’s my opinion, at least I’m telling it like it is. They’re starting to accuse me of something, they’re starting to file some kind of criminal cases,” admitted the militant with the call sign “Givi.”
In general, Russian propaganda is actively using the terrorist commander “Givi” to wage an information war against Ukraine. The militant, as part of the information sabotage of the Russian special services, spreads the opinion that the allegedly occupied territory of the Donetsk region will never return to Ukraine, and terrorists will seize the entire administrative part of the Donetsk region.
In mid-September, the commander of the Givi militants once again, for Russian propaganda, announced the presence of mythical foreign mercenaries in Avdievka and that he did not want to comply with the Minsk agreements.
“Vodino, Avdeevka, Lastochkino - information is popping up everywhere about the influx of mercenaries. In Lastochkino there are “negros”, excuse me, African Americans. They have repeatedly entered Avdeevka,” Givi stated as part of the propaganda of the Russian media.
However, residents of Avdiivka told Donbass News journalists over the phone that foreigners fighting on the side of the Ukrainian army had never been seen in Avdiivka and Lastochkino.
In September 2015, a ceremonial presentation of membership cards of the separatist movement “Donetsk Republic” to militants of the “Ministry of Defense” of the separatist “republic” took place. Membership cards were presented personally by Alexander Zakharchenko. Among the new DPR activists who received tickets was Mikhail Tolstykh.
However, not all militants like open public activity. In particular, the leader of Russian terrorists Igor Girkin, criticizing the activities of Mikhail Tolstykh, said that he is not a talented commander, but has become only a “media star” for the Russian media. According to Girkin, Tolstykh was a driver for militants in Slavyansk and only thanks to the Russian media he became what he is now.
Gang formation "Somalia"
The name of the gang, led by the field commander of the Givi militants, is known to many today due to the active media use of the terrorist by Russian propaganda. Terrorist commander Mikhail Tolstykh heads the “first separate battalion-tactical group of Somalia.”
According to Information Resistance, “the first separate battalion-tactical group of “Somalia” consists of approximately 300-350 militants. The structure of the bandit formation: 1st company detachment, 2nd company detachment; tank unit, approximately 1-1, 5 tank a company of normal strength; an artillery group, which includes several mortar, anti-tank and artillery units. Mortar crews and anti-tank systems are also included in the “line” companies; a reconnaissance and sabotage unit, a rear and medical group. type T-64B and T-64BV, T-72A and T-72BA, according to some sources, there are 1-2 units of T-72B3 armored fighting vehicles - BMP-1.2, BTR-70.80, MT-LB, BRDM- 2; artillery and mortars. 6-8 units of 122-mm D-30 guns - about 6 units of 122-mm self-propelled guns 2S1 "Gvozdika", 4 units of 100-mm anti-tank guns MT-12 "Rapira", 6 - 152-mm guns. "Msta-B", one and a half batteries of 82-mm and 120-mm mortars; ATGM, MANPADS, SPG-9, AGS-17.21, ZU-23-2 - in a full range of small arms of the "full Russian-Soviet range"; transport is represented by army variations of KamazUral and a whole range of used civilian equipment from jeeps to buses and trucks.
Well-known places of “use” of the illegal armed group of militants: the capture and retention of Slavyansk; fighting in Ilovaisk; DAP area.
On June 28, 2015, the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Donetsk region, Vyacheslav Abroskin, published a list of some militants of the separate “Somalia” battalion of the so-called “DPR”, operating under the leadership of Mikhail Tolstykh (“Givi”). These are mostly previously convicted residents of the Donetsk region.
"In a militant-occupied The territory of part of the Donetsk region is operated by “Somalia” bandits under the leadership of Mikhail Tolstykh, born in 1980, a resident of Ilovaisk, nicknamed “Givi”. A “militia figure” who went from a parking attendant to a “lieutenant colonel of the DPR.” "Givi" is known for its demonstrative interrogations of captured Ukrainian military personnel," Abroskin wrote on Facebook and added a list of terrorists. - Alexander Arepyev, born in 1989, resident of Makeyevka. Evgeniy Asin, born in 1993, resident of Donetsk. "Colleague" of the Tolstoys from previous work security guard in the supermarket. Bilykh Vladislav, born in 1993, resident of Khartsyzsk. Was registered in the "children's room of the police" as a juvenile offender. In 2009, Maxim Berezhnoy, born in 1994, resident of Dergachi, Kharkov region, was suspected of committing a robbery. , born in 1990, resident of Khartsyzsk. Borodin Roman, born in 1994, resident of Donetsk. Volchkov Egor, born in 1990, resident of Donetsk. Goncharov Gennady, born in 1975, resident of Novogrodovka, born in 1990. resident of Donetsk. Yesenaliev Rinat, born in 1992, resident of Donetsk Oleg, born in 1990, resident of Donetsk Yuri, born in 1989, resident of Makeevka. In 2013, suspicions were announced for drug possession. Artem Ivanov, born in 1985, resident of Zugres. He was brought to administrative responsibility. Ismiev Anton, born in 1988, resident of Kherson. Kaliberda Andrey, born in 1993, resident of Makeevka. Previously convicted. Kasyanov Vitaly, born in 1978, resident of Khartsyzsk. Previously convicted. Laznik Vladislav, born in 1995, resident of Donetsk. Twice brought to administrative responsibility. Mikhail Lyubchenko, born in 1994, resident of the Slavyansky district. In 2012, he was suspected of committing a robbery. Mikhail Malakhov, born in 1986, resident of Donetsk. We've been convicted twice. Grenade launcher. Maluk Roman, born in 1988, resident of Ilovaisk. He was brought to administrative responsibility. Alexey Petrauskas, born in 1992, resident of Selidovo. He was brought to administrative responsibility. Podlesny Vladislav, born in 1994, resident of Donetsk. Radchenko Artem, born in 1984, resident of Makeevka. Rasulov Dmitry, born in 1991, resident of Donetsk. He was brought to administrative responsibility. Alexey Soloviev, born in 1972, resident of Slavyansk, nickname “Nightingale”. Starodubtsev Dmitry, born in 2001, resident of Donetsk. Sniper. Tarasenko Nikolay, born in 1991, resident of Ilovaisk. He was brought to administrative responsibility. Tereshchenko Denis, born in 1979, resident of Starobeshevsky district. In 2009, he was put on trial for robbery. Titarenko Roman, born in 1988, resident of Pavlograd. They will not escape responsibility for the crimes they have committed. Their “colleagues” in the gang from the Russian Federation will be identified, despite attempts to hide behind nicknames.”
In September, the portal timeua.com reported that the commander of the “Somalia” militant detachment, Mikhail Tolstykh, was appointed head of a “separate assault battalion”, which comes under the direct leadership of the leader of the “DPR” Alexander Zakharchenko. The training of Zakharchenko’s personal guards, which is what the separatists themselves called the newly created battalion under the leadership of “Givi” on social networks, will be very different from the training of other “DPR” militants. In addition to increased attention to physical training, an important element will be the development of skills and coordination of actions of foot assault groups and cover technology in conditions of interaction at short distances, as well as during street battles. In this battalion of militants, special emphasis, according to Zakharchenko’s instructions, will be placed on combat operations in buildings of varying degrees of height.
Potential assessment
The field commander of the Givi militants belongs to the category of so-called “media stars” among the leaders of illegal armed groups of Donetsk separatists. However, unlike Motorola, he is a less iconic media figure in Russian propaganda media. The activities of the commander of the terrorist gang Mikhail Tolstykh, according to Igor Girkin, have recently been limited to propaganda pictures for the separatist media, and not active participation in hostilities. The leader of Russian terrorists, Igor “Strelkov,” has a low opinion of the military “talent” of Mikhail Tolstykh, adding that it was the Kremlin media that created him into a “hero” of the separatists. Compared to militant commander Arseny Pavlov, Igor Girkin does not consider Mikhail Tolstykh to be the leading commander of the separatist gang.
The main risk for the militant with the call sign “Givi” is the threat of physical destruction from Ukrainian patriots or representatives of the special services due to the sadistic attitude towards prisoners of war and Ukrainian patriots. According to this indicator, Mikhail Tolstykh has common features with the terrorist commander Arseny Pavlov.
Today, the main threat to terrorist commander Mikhail Tolstykh is the loss of his media presence in the Russian propaganda media, which for months have been creating the image of him as a “talented leader” of a terrorist detachment. This turn of events will affect the authority of Givi among the separatists, which is maintained only thanks to the information support of the pro-Kremlin media. Not having, according to the militants themselves, great military talents, the loss of presence in the media for Mikhail Tolstoy also means a gradual loss of his positions, possible replacement, exclusion from the ranks of gangs, or even a “purge.” The use of Mikhail Tolstykh by Russian propaganda is an element of Russia’s information war against Ukraine. Therefore, a change in the priorities of the Russian media in this approach will mean the end of the career of the Givi field commander. Also among the threats to Mikhail Tolstykh, it should be noted a possible arrest and show trial by representatives of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies with public coverage of the criminal activities of militants and Russian military personnel on the territory of Ukraine. This also poses a threat to the external “curators” of the militant “Givi”.
Mikhail Tolstykh’s vulnerabilities are: dependence on Russian propaganda; artificially created authority among local militants; hunting by Ukrainian partisans and law enforcement officers.
The terrorist field commander's resources remain contacts with Russian media and connections with separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko.
The possibility of “cleaning up” or destroying the field commander “Givi” in the current military-political conditions in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk region is assessed as low probability. The liquidation or arrest of Mikhail Tolstykh is possible only with a change of power in Donetsk to representatives more loyal to Rinat Akhmetov or the Ukrainian authorities, in which case the terrorist commanders can create real military-political opposition and a threat to the new leadership. But the situation can change at any moment, as can the attitude towards him on the part of external Russian “curators” even under the current collaborationist government of Alexander Zakharchenko.
February 8 will be the anniversary of the tragic death of the Hero of the DPR, the legendary battalion commander of the Somali battalion Mikhail Tolstykh, known under the call sign Givi.
Givi was killed in a mean way because they could not win the battle, he said at his funeral Head of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko.
Mikhail Tolstoy was blown up in the office of his military unit in Makeevka. Before this, there had been attempts on the battalion commander’s life several times. The Ukrainian saboteurs involved in his death have not yet been detained.
I arrived at the apartment in the city of railway workers Ilovaisk, where Givi used to live, without warning. Then MTS communications only disappeared in the Republic. Nina Tolstykh, the mother of the famous battalion commander, invited him into the hall and treated him to coffee. Givi’s sister, Marina, was at home. In her hands the woman rocked a baby, whom she named Mikhail - in honor of her brother.
Nina Mikhailovna shows a corner decorated with photographs of her son. Flag of Somalia, numerous awards. She says that on Odnoklassniki, fans of Mikhail who did not know him personally write to her from all over the world. But they know about him well from television stories from the front lines and military reports on the Internet. Givi's victories were followed in Russia, China, Germany, Georgia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and many other countries. All these people, his mother and the entire Republic share the pain of loss.
And recently, two girls from Crimea came to Mikhail Tolstykh’s grave. They had long dreamed of meeting the woman who raised the hero. They gave her a pillow with a picture of Givi. They also left a scarf “Happy Victory Day!” and asked him to place his idol on the grave on May 9.
GIVI WAS NAMED STILL IN THE ARMY
-Who was Mikhail Tolstykh?- I ask Nina Mikhailovna.
In me, in my father (both are Belarusians.- Auto.) - he fought in the Great Patriotic War, reached Berlin... The son loved his homeland, his family, the “Somalia” battalion infinitely. If necessary, he lent his shoulder to each of his fighters. “We used to have a lot of Somali kids at our house,” the woman says with tears in her eyes.
- Nina Mikhailovna, how did you raise such a son?
I was raised by myself and my husband. My mother was in Belarus.
- What was Givi interested in as a child?
Football and boxing. Misha tried not to miss a single football match in Donetsk. I supported Shakhtar Donetsk with him. Of the foreign teams, my son liked the Spanish Real Madrid.
We had a punching bag in our apartment. Misha always took first place in boxing in Ilovaisk. And once he was offended at a competition. He won, and his opponent's hand was raised. The audience chanted in support of Misha, but the judge did not change his decision. After the fight, the son came home and said that he would not go to boxing again, he would train on his own.
- How did he study at school?
Fine. Until the fourth grade I was an excellent student. I was never called to school for bad behavior. He had a good class teacher, Svetlana Viktorovna Kirsanova. Not a Saturday passed without her gathering the children with their parents. We did crafts and had evenings. Mikhail was praised by his teachers. Now the 15th school where he studied is named in his honor.
- Who did Mikhail want to become?
First, as a dad, as a train driver. Sergei Leonidovich from the railway dynasty. When my son was 15 years old, I taught him how to drive a train.
- Did his dreams change after serving in the army?
Yes. Misha was taken to serve immediately after 10th grade and was assigned to the Desna training center in the Chernigov region. In the army he became a tank commander. Tank studied it like the back of his hand. They received letters of gratitude from the army command for raising their son to be responsible and disciplined. By the way, in the army Misha was nicknamed Givi. Because he was dark.
SON ENTERED MILITARY LYCEUM
- How was the life of Mikhail Tolstoy before the war?
At one time he worked as an industrial climber, hanging advertisements on buildings. Then at the Khartsyzsk rope plant - as a driver of a diesel forklift.
As for his personal life, immediately after the army he lived in a civil marriage and we had a grandson who was 8 months old. I named him Sergei. Now my grandson is 18 years old and is a first-year student at the Donetsk Military Lyceum.
For five years before the war, Misha lived with Natasha from Khartsyzsk, whom he loved very much. But God did not send them children.
- Has your grandson taken after his father?
I guess, yes. Mikhail raised his son in strictness. At school, Sergei was involved in a search engine club. He liked to go on hikes to look for the remains of the dead and ammunition from the Great Patriotic War. And during the armed conflict, Seryozha asked his dad to join his unit. Misha took him home twice during the summer holidays of 2016. He probably taught his son a lot. Now the grandson is a platoon commander in a military lyceum. And in two years he will go to study at a military school.
STRENGTH IS IN THE LOVE OF A MOTHER
- Nina Mikhailovna, when did the war come to Ilovaisk?
In July 2014, when Mikhail came home for a family holiday, a serious mess was already brewing in Ilovaisk. I begged my son, by God, not to interfere. He calmed me down, and he told his sister Marinka that he was already at the checkpoint in Khartsyzsk.
Misha left and was gone for a long time. I had a dream that everything was burning and my son was there somewhere... I knew that there was already a war going on in Slavyansk and my soul was not in the right place. I remember Misha called, he said something, and I only clearly heard shots at the other end.
Where are you? – asked him.
At work…
What's that noise about you?
Yes, it’s on the street... I went out to smoke.
Are you in Slavyansk?!
Yes, mommy, I’m in Slavyansk! - he said. - You know, my soul is easier now. Now you have found out where I am, and you will pray, and God will protect me.
Then the son asked:
Are you supporting me?
“I will always support your choice,” I answered.
Mommy, I love you!
After some time, Nina Mikhailovna learned that the militia were surrounded. The woman thought she was going crazy. Givi didn’t call for a long time, and then got in touch: “Mom, everything is fine!” A week later I called again at night: “I’ll be near you soon.”
Then my son called from Donetsk,” Nina Tolstykh recalls and cries.
THE GERMANS DIDN'T BOMB AS WELL AS THE APU
- When did Ukrainian soldiers fire at Ilovaisk for the first time?
July 12, 2014 - on Peter and Paul. It was hot outside. Sergei was sitting in the apartment at the computer, the window was open. Then he runs up to me: “On the street, grandfather is shouting that they have started bombing.” We had just gone down to the basement when shells began exploding in the area around the house.
When my son arrived, he insisted on sending me to Russia. And just two days later Ilovaisk was flooded with militias. I went to my sister in the Rostov region with my granddaughter on August 6. I saw how many checkpoints the Armed Forces of Ukraine set up one on top of the other and armored vehicles pulled towards our small city. Tanks, Grads, and guns stood in a row.
Nina Mikhailovna’s husband and daughter and her husband remained in troubled Ilovaisk.
On August 7, my daughter turned seven years old, continues Givi’s sister Marina. - We thought we’d call the Rostov region and congratulate them. But we sat in the basement all day - the Ukrainian Armed Forces were shelling again... When it calmed down, we went out into the yard. A gas pipe was blazing on the corner of our house. Between bombings I called my mother on Life, reassuring her that they were alive. In the evening we had dinner in the apartment and drank to our daughter’s health. But at night I had to go down to the basement again. I read prayers. I asked my mother for health, so that if we died, she would raise her daughter. The end of the world continued until dawn.
In the morning, Sergei Leonidovich with his daughter and son-in-law also gathered for the Rostov region.
There was a long line at the store near the house, people were stocking up on everything,” Marina recalls. – I couldn’t buy mineral water for the trip. I remember then in the queue someone said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would attack at 10:00.
Marina, her husband and dad reached the Russian border by taxi. They miraculously crossed the path, avoiding Ukrainian armored vehicles.
When we boarded the train to Taganrog in Uspenka, my godfather called me. “Kuma, where are you? Your house is on fire…” says Marina.
Sergei Leonidovich with his wife, daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter stayed for a month.
On September 5, Misha called: “Mom, they have turned on the light in your block,” Nina Mikhailovna recalls her son’s words. – When we returned, it was difficult to drive through - starting from Uspenka, there were destroyed Ukrainian tanks right on the highway. There were many sinkholes in our yard. Not a single piece of glass in the apartment survived - the shells exploded with such force... The Germans did not bomb like the Ukrainian military.
GIVI SHARE THE LAST BREAD
- Has the war changed your son?
He has gone very grey. Became thoughtful. Even kinder. I never forgot about people. He knew every basement in the city where people were hiding from the bombings. Mikhail brought some of the humanitarian aid that was coming to the unit, to people forced to take refuge in basements, and was interested in how they were doing. Sometimes I shared my last bread.
- Nina Mikhailovna, the “Somalia” battalion, one might say, was formed before your eyes?
- “Somalia” really took shape in Ilovaisk. Some went to Russia, and when the chaos began, they stayed with Misha. His friends always followed his son; one could not help but admire him. He immediately took four of his comrades from the canting factory. These guys later told me that Misha had a special grip, both at work and in battle...
My son had four hundred people in his battalion, and he treated everyone equally. He managed to be strict and demanding and at the same time kind. He loved his soldiers to be clean and well-groomed. He often repeated: “I am not a hero. Understand, heroes are my people who are fighting on the front line. I'm just their commander, that's all. Victory is made by my artillerymen, my soldiers on the front line, my infantry.” Misha was very happy when medals “For the Defense of Ilovaisk” were awarded to all his fighters!
- How did you stand it, knowing that your son was in the thick of it?
I do not know. I stood on the balcony until 3-4 am, unable to sleep. From the Donetsk airport occupied by Ukrainian military personnel, and then from Debaltsevo, the “northern lights” (flashes of volleys and shell explosions) were visible. Auto.).
-Have you visited your son in the military unit?
Twice. For the first time, he gave a tour of his unit in Makeyevka and showed him the gym. I saw how he trains fighters. The son remarked to one of the soldiers that he was holding the machine gun incorrectly. The weapon must be held so that it can be reloaded in a matter of seconds. If you hesitate, they can kill you...
I came home and burst into tears. My Misha is a non-military man (he served in the army for two years), but he understood military affairs and could find an approach to the soldiers.
The second time I came to Somalia myself. I wanted to make sure everything was okay with my son. In the early spring of 2016, at the Yasinovatsky checkpoint, an attempt was made on his life and he was wounded in the arm. So, the son called a thin soldier with the call sign “Bolt” and said: “Mommy, it was he who, covering himself, saved my life.” I hugged him, kissed him and thanked him from the bottom of my heart. And he: “Nina Mikhailovna, I will give my life for the battalion commander!”
Nina Tolstykh can talk for hours about her son. Listening to her, sometimes it seems that Givi is alive. The woman shows books about her son and worries about the fate of the Republic. She proudly says that many of Misha’s guys continue to serve.
Finally, Nina Tolstykh showed me a framed wall photograph with stamps “Dedicated to the Heroes of the Donetsk People’s Republic... There is such a profession - to defend the Motherland!”, donated personally Minister of Defense Vladimir Kononov. Nina Mikhailovna says that she does not need support as such, it is important that her son is remembered.
You can honor the memory of Mikhail Tolstoy both at the Donetsk Sea cemetery and at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. Nina Mikhailovna recently donated her son’s beret, childhood photographs and a letter of gratitude from the commanders of the unit where Givi served as a young man to the museum fund, located in the memorial “To Your Liberators, Donbass!”
DOSSIER "KP"
Mikhail Sergeevich Tolstykh was born on July 19, 1980 in Ilovaisk. In May 2014, he joined the militia in Slavyansk during the most fierce fighting! The most important battle in which he had the opportunity to participate as a company commander was in the summer of that year for his native Ilovaisk. Givi’s fighters held the city for several weeks in a row, despite the powerful onslaught of the National Guard, which at that time had significantly more people and weapons.
Since September 2014, Givi and his fighters have participated in the battles for the Donetsk airport. Military correspondents called Mikhail Tolstoy the reincarnation of the famous general of the war of 1812, Peter Bagration. On October 19, 2014, he turned to the leader of the LDPR, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, with a request to provide cars for transporting the wounded. Soon the militia received two Nivas from Zhirinovsky.
On February 24, 2015, the battalion commander was awarded the Order of “Hero of the DPR.” In September 2016, he was awarded the rank of colonel of the DPR Armed Forces. Among his awards are two St. George crosses, a medal “For the Defense of Slavyansk”, and two degrees of the Order of St. Nicholas.
The legendary battalion commander Mikhail Tolstykh died on the morning of February 8 as a result of a shot from a Shmel infantry flamethrower. The Main Military Prosecutor's Office of the Republic opened a criminal case into the terrorist attack.
Givi was buried with military honors in the capital at the Donetsk Sea cemetery. At the “Immortal Regiment” procession in Donetsk on May 9, 2017, the portrait of Mikhail Tolstykh was carried by the Minister of Revenue and Duties Alexander Timofeev. Walking nearby was Alexander Zakharchenko, the Head of the DPR, carrying a portrait of Givi’s friend Arsen Pavlov (Motorola).
Residents of Ilovaisk were among the first to learn about the death of Mikhail Tolstykh. After all, the legendary battalion commander comes from this small town of the Republic. Here he received his first bad grade, met his first love, and from here he went to the front.
In my father's footsteps
Givi studied at Ilovaisk school No. 12. Now his son, Sergei, goes to classes here. Few people knew that Givi had a son. Mikhail himself did not talk about this. He said that he had no one except the battalion. Now Sergei is in ninth grade.
Misha sometimes visited his son. I was interested in his affairs,” says school director Natalya Ponomarenko. - The meetings were short-lived, but Mikhail remembered him and, as best he could, was involved in his upbringing. If there were any problems with studying, Givi helped, gave instructions and advice.
Sergei learned that his father had passed away at school during classes.
On the day of our graduate’s death, in the morning, Misha’s mother called me on a landline phone,” continues Natalya. - She asked to release Seryozha from lessons. The son did not know that his father was no longer alive. Unfortunately, I was the first to tell him this sad news. The boy held on as best he could.
Natalya Stanislavovna dismissed Sergei from lessons. Until the last moment he could not believe that his father had died. The guy is very similar to Mikhail. Not only facial features, but also character. At school they say that Sergei is a brave and courageous guy.
Demined my own school
The school director met Givi not so long ago - at the very beginning of the war. After fierce fighting, the city was strewn with shrapnel and unexploded ordnance.
“I asked Misha to come and help in demining,” recalls the director of the Ilovaisk school. - He responded to my request.
Natalya Stanislavovna talks about her first meeting with Givi with particular trepidation. Even then the woman realized that he was a man of his word.
Two military vehicles approach. Misha comes out. It comes out very quickly - abruptly. There is little time. Asks specifically for a task. Sets the places where mines need to be cleared and goes to the school. This meeting was not planned. But as soon as the children saw him, they all spontaneously ran out into the school lobby.
Givi was bombarded with questions. He answered them as best he could. I talked to teachers and students. He reassured his fellow countrymen who survived the bombings.
There were no harsh phrases,” the woman adds. “He said: “The war will end, we believe in it.” We fight for freedom, but we won't fight forever." And he talked to the children like an older comrade. I shook hands and took a photo.
I kept my word since childhood
The class teacher of Mikhail Tolstykh has already died. And she could tell us what Givi was like during his school years. What were you interested in, what did you love... But the school director is familiar with the teachers who taught young Misha biology, chemistry and mathematics.
I heard only positive reviews. Misha was an average student - getting C's and B's. There were B's in men's subjects - history, foreign language, physical education and military training. But he was a person you could always rely on. He carried out any assignment one hundred percent. For him, the words friend and comrade came first. Everyone knew that if he promised something, he would always keep his word.
They plan to immortalize the memory of the Hero of the Republic on the facade of the school building.
We will always remember him. In the near future we will collect materials about Mikhail’s life during his school years. Maybe we'll create a memory book.
According to Natalya Stanislavovna, this book will contain photographs, memories of Givi’s teachers and classmates.
This book will be in our school in a place of honor,” she says.
On the day of the funeral of a graduate of Ilovaisk school No. 12, the students and the director went to Donetsk. They saw off their fellow countryman on his last journey. The son of Mikhail Tolstoy was also at the funeral, along with his grandmother and aunt. He held back his tears, but his gaze was saturated with sorrow.
“Mikhail Tolstykh died almost immediately after the fire”
In the Donetsk People's Republic, another high-profile loss - the commander of the "Somalia" battalion Givi, Colonel Mikhail Tolstykh, was killed. He and Motorola (Arseniy Pavlov) are two national heroes of the DPR. The Ukrainian media buried him so many times. And every time after rumors of Givi’s death, he himself ironically commented on his next death. But this time a miracle did not happen.
During all three years of hostilities in Donbass, Ukrainian saboteurs hunted for Givi and Motorola. But it was impossible to “get” them on the front line: the commanders of “Sparta” and “Somalia” are the so-called “men of war.”
Therefore, both of them were “taken” where they were defenseless - in the rear. Arseny Pavlov was killed in the elevator of his building, Mikhail Tolstykh - in his office at the base of the Somalia battalion.
The explosion at the Somalia headquarters occurred at 6.12 am. Initially, two versions of the assassination attempt were voiced - an improvised explosive device or a shot from an RPO "Shmel" flamethrower (it is in service with the Ukrainian army). The second version looks less likely, since the militia headquarters is well guarded and surrounded by a fence, and the target range of the flamethrower is no more than 800 meters. Nevertheless, it was she who was announced as official. As the DPR operational command reported, Mikhail Tolstykh had no chance of salvation - he died almost immediately after the fire.
Later he was accused of organizing the murder of the Somalia commander. “What else should they [the DPR] say? Why are they, excuse me, pissing each other in the toilet? It’s clear that they need to blame someone,” Avakov’s adviser told RBC.
Former tanker
How told in one interview, 36-year-old Tolstykh (originally from Ilovaisk, Donetsk region), he served as a tank commander in the Ukrainian army, where he took the call sign Givi in honor of his Georgian great-grandfather. Then Tolstykh worked as an industrial climber and driver at a rope factory.
With the outbreak of hostilities in the Donbass, he fought on the side of the forces of the self-proclaimed DPR near Slavyansk and was part of Igor Strelkov’s group. But Tolstykh and his battalion gained fame during the battles for the new terminal of the Donetsk airport. During multi-day battles, Tolstoy’s detachment managed to occupy the ruins of a building that was defended by soldiers of the Ukrainian army. In addition, the Tolstoy detachment fought near Ilovaisk, where it participated in the encirclement of the Ukrainian group. In recent battles near Avdeevka, he was wounded.
Ukrainian trace version
Leaders of the self-proclaimed republics are not yet in a hurry to comment on the death of the Tolstoys. One of the leaders of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, did not answer RBC’s calls. According to the representative of the LPR in the Minsk negotiation group, Vladislav Deinego, he does not yet have any information about possible versions. Former head of the DPR Alexander Borodai also declined to comment to RBC.
The State Duma believes that the Ukrainian side is behind the death of Tolstoy. “This fits into the general trend of Ukraine preparing an offensive in the Donbass,” Konstantin Zatulin, first deputy chairman of the Committee on CIS Affairs, United Russia member, told RBC. He recalls that “just the other day the chief of the LPR police was killed, Ukraine continues to gather equipment and forces in Avdievka and shell Donetsk.” At the same time, Zatulin believes that Kiev has not made a final decision on the offensive and they continue to watch the West’s reaction to their actions.
A former DPR officer told RBC that Givi was always loyal to the authorities and his death could not be connected with a rebellion against the leadership of the unrecognized republic or Russian curators. On the other hand, in his opinion, although the Ukrainian sabotage group could theoretically commit murder using internal agents, Tolstykh is not a commander whose murder will change the situation at the front. His media fame on a par with Motorola did not correspond to his real influence in the army, the source indicates.
Just like Motorola, Givi, according to RBC sources in the unrecognized republics, was not interested in politics and did not have his own people in the DPR parliament.
Russian trace version
“From a professional point of view, the murder of Tolstoy is the result of the disgusting work of the DPR counterintelligence,” - commented Strelkov on his VKontakte page. According to him, since the shot caught Givi in his office, it means that either the killers installed an indoor surveillance camera in the office, or had agents in his close circle.
The killers' preparedness is similar to the operation of Motorola, who died in a booby-trapped elevator in his own home. The plastic sheet was attached to the elevator cable, despite the fact that a watchman was sitting at the entrance.
According to Ukrainian political scientist Vladimir Fesenko, the assassination attempt on the Tolstoys could have been carried out by “underground sabotage groups” connected “with Russian special services.” “We have already seen more than once purges for internal reasons: for example, the liquidation of especially anarchist commanders Bednov and Dremov. The version of the struggle for control of financial flows also cannot be excluded. Perhaps the most odious figures are simply being removed. Russia, after negotiations with the West, can remove Plotnitsky and Zakharchenko from their posts and the leaders of the separatist republics,” he said in a comment to RBC.
Political scientist Vadim Karasev agrees with Fesenko. In his opinion, if their own people are involved in the death of the Tolstoys, this means that “a purge of military field commanders is underway”, who become simply unnecessary in the course of setting a course for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, “since they are “simply in the way.”
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov rejected the version of Moscow's involvement in the assassination attempt. “We absolutely and quite unequivocally exclude any [involvement], we deny accusations against the Russian side about possible involvement in this, there can be no question of this,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
If the Ukrainian special services are behind the assassination attempt on the Tolstoys, then this is a blow to the most active military leaders of the DPR, which in turn can lead to demoralization of a number of military units of the self-proclaimed republic, Karasev notes. “Givi’s death symbolizes a fork in the road: either the process will shift towards negotiations and real political regulation, or vice versa - towards a sharp military escalation, an outbreak of military violence, an attempt to resolve the conflict not so much diplomatically as through military means,” Karasev summed up.
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Series of sweeps
The death of Mikhail Tolstykh became the second high-profile terrorist attack in recent years in the self-proclaimed republics of Donbass. On February 4 of this year in Lugansk, the head of the people's militia department of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), Oleg Anashchenko, was killed as a result of a car explosion.
One of the most high-profile terrorist attacks was the death of another prominent military figure of the DPR - the commander of the Sparta battalion, Russian Arsen Pavlov, known under the call sign Motorola. He was also at his home on October 16, 2016. Officially, the DPR leaders blamed Ukrainian saboteurs for the attempt on Pavlov’s life, and later reported on the capture of a sabotage group that allegedly took responsibility for Pavlov’s liquidation.
Attempts on the lives of field commanders of the DPR and LPR began in the summer of 2015. In early January 2015, former LPR Defense Minister Alexander Bednov, known as Batman, was killed. The LPR authorities then accused Bednov and his people of robbery, kidnapping and torture.
In May 2015, the commander of the Prizrak battalion, Alexey Mozgovoy, was killed. Officially, the LPR authorities blamed the Ukrainian special services for its liquidation. Shortly before Mozgovoy’s death, he allowed himself to openly criticize the Donetsk militia, saying that military operations for LPR fighters are “pure business.” At Mozgovoy’s funeral, his comrades told an RBC correspondent that they considered the leader of the LPR Igor Plotnitsky guilty of his death.
In December 2015, Cossack ataman Pavel Dremov, another field commander who criticized Igor Plotnitsky, was killed.
The killings of LPR and DPR supporters continued in 2016. In early October, in the village of Slavyanoserbsk, Lugansk region, Armen Bagiryan (Baggy) and several associates were shot dead. And on September 19, the leader of the pro-Russian organization “Oplot”, Alexander Zhilin, was killed in the Moscow region. The Investigative Committee of Russia soon stated that the main version of the murder was Zhilin’s commercial activities.
