Sergei Arbuzov, a loyal servant of the Yanukovych "family", on orders from the Kremlin "Führer", generously finances Russian agents inside Ukraine.
Tatyana Montyan, Sergey Arbuzov
Bashtan on the banks of the Neva
CRIME.in.UA is closely tracking the fate of this moon-faced fugitive. Admittedly, this is no easy task, as Sergei Gennadievich periodically disappears from the radar. Information about him that leaks into open sources is pre-filtered by our hero's loyal PR people. However, even from this dross, nuggets of gold can be mined.
So, it's reliably known that Sergei Arbuzov, fleeing justice, made his way to Russia. He made it all the way to St. Petersburg, where he founded and headed some truly shady organization, the full name of which is: the Association "Center for Research on Economic and Sociocultural Development of the CIS, Central and Eastern Europe." What kind of ridiculous thing this is is unclear. But you have to admit, the name sounds very impressive, befitting the stern visage of the organization's chairman.
For now, we won't dwell on this "association." We'll just note a few details the reader should keep in mind: St. Petersburg, Alexander Yanukovych, and Kremlin propaganda. Let me explain. It's hardly a coincidence that Sergei Arbuzov decided to "stir up" in the same city where his "buddy," Alexander Viktorovich, was planning to get into real estate. But there's another, strangest "coincidence" here: St. Petersburg is home to the Internet Research Agency, a Russian firm funded by the Putin regime that, on an industrial scale, engages in propaganda, disinformation, provocations, and other unsavory nonsense on the World Wide Web.
Recently, Sergei Gennadievich Arbuzov has been making frequent appearances in the Ukrainian media as the chairman of the "Center for Research...." We won't quote his profound statements; we'll simply parse them for meaning. So, from Arbuzov's "researcher" statements, it follows: 1) Arbuzov is a good man; 2) everything is done wrong in Ukraine; 3) the Ukrainian government is crap; 4) Ukraine cannot join Europe; 5) we need to make peace with Russia; 6) the war in Donbas needs to be stopped almost unilaterally. So, do you see where this is coming from? For the less-than-savvy, here's a hint: the same message is being spread by the "Ukrainian Choice" public movement, led by Putin's godfather, Viktor Medvedchuk. No, this doesn't mean Arbuzov and Medvedchuk are working together. They have different goals and motives, but they share the same master.
The Montyan Case
Arbuzov's body movements seem amusing, but in the context of the dangerous processes taking place in eastern Ukraine, they are somewhat alarming.
Let's highlight two recent events. On December 2, it was reported that Luhansk militants and Ukrainian military had allegedly agreed to a ceasefire effective December 5 and the withdrawal of all heavy equipment effective December 6. The day before, the notorious civil activist and outrageous lawyer Tatyana Montyan arrived in the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic," accompanied by Dmitry Filimonov, former executive producer of the Grom.TV internet channel, who gained notoriety for his provocative reports about "torture chambers" on the Euromaidan.
Does the connection between these two events make you smile? I'm laughing too. However, these events are connected, and they're also connected to Sergei Arbuzov and his new "job."
You can read Montyan's impressions of her trip to Luhansk yourself by visiting her Facebook page. I'd venture to suggest that Tatyana Nikolaevna's main goal is to convince the internet that the "LPR" is home to wonderful, kind people, not terrorist separatists. "The people here are generally normal, cool, and charming, and I'm very glad that I decided to connect with a lot of friends," she wrote.
By the way, Montyan has "de-virtualized," I think, with her coolest "friend":
Tatyana Montyan and Alexey Mozgovoy
This is Alexey Mozgovoy, the commander of the "Ghost" terrorist group, responsible for dozens of murders of Ukrainian soldiers, civilians, and pro-Ukrainian activists. He is also known for extrajudicial killings in terrorist-controlled territories and the meme "Stay home and cross-stitch!"
Read also: A friend of the Yanukovych "family" is hiding from creditors in corrupt courts.
We wouldn't like to offer any moral or psychiatric (as some bloggers do) assessments of Tatyana Nikolaevna's journey. We're not interested in morality or medicine right now, but in Sergey Arbuzov. After all, as our sources whisper, Tatyana Nikolaevna's fascinating trip was de facto financed by Sergey Gennadievich.
Generals of information dumps
Tatyana Montyan's work with Arbuzov's media group, known in journalistic circles as "Bashtan Media," came to light during the Euromaidan. Remember the vile gay porn scandal involving journalist Vitaly Portnikov? It was Tatyana Montyan's Facebook page that became the primary source of the incriminating video. The purpose of the leak was more than obvious: Portnikov was an ardent supporter of the revolution and often appeared on stage at the Maidan alongside its political leaders.
The aforementioned pornographic film was filmed by our "valiant" law enforcement agencies (my source points to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with whom the "operatives" coerced the young gay prostitute who played the lead role into collaborating). The lewd "film" then makes its way to the office of the then acting editor-in-chief of the Vecherniy Kyiv newspaper, and only then does it make its way online and onto Montyan's Facebook page.
It's worth noting that from 2012 to February 2014, intelligence agencies were deployed to search for compromising material on opposition politicians and journalists. Law enforcement officials readily shared the results of hacking the email accounts of media figures unpopular with the now-defunct website "Ukrainian Krivda," which was part of Arbuzov's media group.
The general management of Bashtan-Media, both last winter and now, is held by Roman Kostritsa, then acting editor-in-chief of Vecherniy Kyiv. Kostritsa became a dollar millionaire by milking the municipal Kyiv Media Holding of former Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi. When the "Donetsk gang" came to power, he nearly came under investigation for embezzlement from the Kyiv treasury, but, let's just say, his organizational skills caught the eye of the "Family." He went to work for Arbuzov.
Before the shooting of the Heavenly Hundred, Bashtan Media included several print publications and third-rate television channels. Now, however, it has shrunk to a couple of websites, far from top-tier. Nevertheless, it hasn't lost, and in fact, has somewhat increased, its effectiveness in the information space thanks to the paid recruitment of well-known bloggers and relatively influential activists, such as Tatyana Montyan. Furthermore, since the goals of the main Bashtan itself have significantly changed since February 20, it can count on broad support from separatist and Russian media.
To be continued ...
Arsen Pavliv, especially for CRIME.in.UA
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