Alexey Arestovich: expert visionary or storyteller and provocateur?
The truth about who has been fooling Ukrainians for years, from Klimenko.
In times of turmoil and war, there's a great demand for false prophets, demagogues, and all-knowing experts. Therefore, if Oleksiy Arestovich weren't around in Ukraine, someone else would likely take his place on television! However, that someone else isn't just anyone, as Arestovich occupies a specific niche—a "special perspective" on geopolitics, military strategy, and society, with a somewhat unconventional narrative style.
And even when he spouts complete nonsense on screen, he does so in keeping with the canons of the Oscar-winning "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears"—that is, so convincingly that the audience is convinced their eyes are being opened to the world anew. This sets Arestovich apart from hundreds of identical "talking heads" repeating their clichés, and with the onset of the war, it made him the main mouthpiece of the Presidential Office.
Alexey Arestovich. Family and Family Business
Aleksey Nikolayevich Arestovich was born on August 3, 1975, in a military garrison near the Georgian town of Dedoplistskaro (Kakheti). His father, Nikolay Sergeyevich Arestovich, served there as a unit staff officer, and his mother, Tamara Alekseyevna, was in charge of the "chipkom" (a special branch of the military unit). He claims to have Polish and Belarusian ancestry, which raises some skepticism: after all, Arestovich bears no resemblance to the blond, gray-eyed man (instead, he has Ashkenazi features). Perhaps he was referring only to his territorial origin, or was he simply making something up based on tradition?
A few years after their son's birth, their family moved to Kyiv. By the early 90s, they were living in the so-called "Turkish Town" (Solomensky District) on Kadetskyi Hai Street, where many apartments were allocated to military personnel. According to several media reports, his mother headed a retail cooperative, and his father worked at a military academy and eventually became "the head of the admissions committee at the National Defense Academy." However, there has never been an academy with such a name in Ukraine (though there was one in Poland), so the journalists were clearly mistaken, possibly referring to the National Defense Academy (formerly the Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, now the National Defense University). Furthermore, "head of the admissions committee" is a temporary position during the admissions process for new cadets, usually held by the academy's director or deputy. However, we did not find his father, Mykola Arestovich, among the lists of the academy's former leadership.
In the 2000s, the Arestovich family was actively involved in business. Nikolai Sergeyevich was the founder of at least three companies: Promzerno LLC (since 1995, a meat producer), San-Kri, and Tekhnodex. When his son rose to power in 2019, the construction and trading company Tekhnodex expanded into new businesses: explosives production, military vehicle manufacturing, and aircraft and spacecraft repair and maintenance. And all this with a charter capital of 50,000 hryvnias!
Of the companies owned or managed by Tamara Alekseyevna, three are known: the Temp-2 housing cooperative, a service cooperative established in 1995 (her son owns an apartment in the housing complex on Aviakonstruktora Antonova Street); its subsidiary, the Temp-2 Service Cooperative (2014); and the Ecolog gardening association (2001). While also serving as an accountant at Ecolog, Tamara Alekseyevna became the subject of a corruption and fraud scandal in 2009—though it didn't go beyond indignant press coverage . It also revealed that, in addition to their son, the Arestovichs also have a daughter, Olesya, about whom her brother, for some reason, remains silent. Incidentally, Olesya looks much more like a descendant of Poles and Belarusians than her brother!
Olesya Arestovich-Korniychuk
Olesya Arestovich-Korniychuk works as a private notary and was married to Andriy Kornichuyk, the former secretary of the Ukrainian Parliament delegation to PACE. However, when Kornichuyk was yanked out of Europe in 2017 and sent as an adviser to the Ukrainian embassy in Lebanon, Olesya didn't go with him. And Kornichuyk's 2018 asset declaration no longer listed his wife (only their children), so their current relationship is likely in the process of divorce.
Alexey Arestovich himself was the founder and director of a charitable foundation bearing his name, created in June 2014 for volunteer work (or simply fundraising) and closed at the end of 2016, as well as the production studio "Aegis Film" (since 2006), whose co-founders included Ukrainian actor Anton Pavlenko and Russian actor Kirill Burdikhin.
These databases also list Irina Viktorovna Arestovich (née Gribanova), Alexey Arestovich's second wife. Since 2013, she has been a sole proprietor (printing advertising materials and organizing congresses and exhibitions). Since 2018, she has owned Medical Improvement LLC (magazine publishing and exhibitions). In 2019, she became the founder of Kafelton LLC (construction materials), and in 2021, she opened Medix House LLC (programming). Together, they are raising two children: their son, Alexander, and Veronika, Arestovich's daughter from his first marriage. However, there is no information in the media about Arestovich's first wife, the reasons for their divorce, or why she gave him their child.
Alexey Arestovich with his wife Anastasia and children
Failed intelligence officer Alexei Arestovich
In Kyiv, Oleksiy Arestovich attended Secondary School No. 178. After graduating, he decided to fulfill his childhood dream and enrolled in the biology department of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 1992. A year later, Arestovich developed a new dream: he passionately embraced art, began acting at the Kyiv Theater Studio "Black Square," and simply abandoned his studies, after which he was expelled from the university. His parents weren't opposed to this passion (it was still better than crime or drugs), but they reminded Oleksiy that he now faced the military recruitment office and a year and a half of socializing with peers, among whom there were almost no discerning artists.
The father could help his son with one thing: enrolling him in the Odessa Institute of Ground Forces (now the Military Academy), where Nikolai Sergeyevich had some connections. Alexey Arestovich studied there from 1994 to 1999, and his "military experience," as expected, began to be calculated from the moment of enrollment, hence the somewhat exaggerated figures about his length of service.
Arestovich at the Odessa Institute of Ground Forces
Also incorrect is the claim that Arestovich studied to be an intelligence officer. The Faculty of Intelligence Management was established at the Odessa Academy only in 2012, and Arestovich was studying to be a regular staff officer with a minor in translation (like Irina Vereshchuk ). His dream of becoming an intelligence officer only emerged shortly before graduation, when he began to consider his future career prospects. He realized it, again, with the help of his father, who placed his son in the central office of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, located in Kyiv on Rybalsky Island, hence the nickname "The Island" by the military.
"Island": the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, where Arestovich served
Arestovich served in the GUR office from 1999 to 2005, and judging by the very negative (to put it mildly) reviews of his former colleagues, he was not allowed to do intelligence work, being assigned to "eternal duty" and "errand boy." But this also had a positive side for Arestovich: he had more free time for his old and new hobbies. In the last two years of his service, he was more of a figurehead.
In 2005, Alexey Arestovich caused a scandal and resigned from the GUR, retiring with the rank of senior lieutenant. He explained it this way: "After the Orange Revolution, the situation in the country changed. When former sugar mill directors start issuing directives and teaching combat officers how to serve—that's nonsense, as I once reported to command. In response, they told me: 'What else can you do? You'll serve.' But the next day, I didn't show up for work, and after much hardship, I finally resigned." However, the real reason for Arestovich's resignation remains unknown. Perhaps he simply grew bored with his service on "Ostrov" and was eager to find fulfillment in a new role.
Avessalom Podvodny, Dugin and Korchinsky
Back in 2000, having just settled into his job at the GUR office, Arestovich rekindled his passion for art and, in addition, various psychological trainings (what else was a deputy duty officer supposed to do?). This led him to the "esoteric psychology" of the Moscow writer and philosopher Avessalom Podvodny (Alexander Kamensky). In 2002, Podvodny opened the online correspondence school "A Man Among People," and Arestovich became one of its first students (until 2010). This allowed Arestovich to subsequently call himself a "certified psychologist," although a diploma from Podvodny carries the same value as the title of "Doctor of Ufology" or a noble title from Juna Davitashvili.
The arrogant pathos with which Arestovich called himself a "combat officer" and despised "sugar factory directors" (could it be Poroshenko?) was no accident—after all, he was essentially quoting Dmitry Korchinsky , with whom he had met and become close long before his dismissal from the GUR. It is known that by February 2005, Arestovich was no longer just a member of the Brotherhood, but its deputy leader (he was called "Korchinsky's adjutant") and, together with him, participated in the congress of the International Eurasian Movement, held in Moscow under the slogan of creating an "anti-Orange Front." The founders of this movement on the Russian side were the well-known "neo-Eurasianist" ideologist Alexander Dugin and his associate Valery Korovin.
Valery Korovin, Alexey Arestovich, Dmitry Korchinsky, and Alexander Dugin at the Eurasian Union press conference in Moscow, 2005
Yes, the same Dugin, whose daughter died on August 20, 2022, during an assassination attempt (terrorist attack?) , whose masterminds and perpetrators have never been identified. This allows for a wide range of speculation and allegations, including the "involvement of the Ukrainian and Russian intelligence services." Arestovich himself spoke cynically about this assassination attempt (and the personal tragedy of his former ally) : supposedly Dugin "had a hand in" the money for which he was allegedly killed.
In July 2005, Arestovich and Korchinsky attended a seminar of the Russian pro-Kremlin movement "Nashi" (curated by Vladislav Surkov) at a camp on Lake Seliger. This provoked outrage among some Russian media outlets, who recalled Korchinsky's participation in the first Chechen war. However, in Ukraine, the situation was met with equanimity.
It's unclear what caused the falling out between Dugin and Korchinsky, but a couple of years later, the Brotherhood broke with the Eurasian Union and returned to its traditional positions of Ukrainian nationalism, with Korchinsky's characteristic "imperial ambition." Talk of a Russian threat began again, and in 2008, the Brotherhood organized a "command and staff exercise for public organizations" in Kyiv, where they outlined a possible scenario for a Russian takeover of Crimea. The political part of the scenario (with its speeches about Zionists) was voiced by Korchinsky himself, while the military part was laid out by Arestovich—who, as a former GUR officer, was promoted by the Brotherhood as a military analyst. In 2014, some of Arestovich's predictions actually came true (and even more didn't). He seized the opportunity, pulled out a recording of his speech from the archive as evidence of his “precognition,” and began actively making his way into the Ukrainian media as an expert.
Arestovich, however, was a poor expert, but his talent was (and remains) in eloquence. Podvodny's "esoteric psychology" left a deep imprint on his personality and thinking, further enhanced by his close association with people like Dugin and Korchinsky. All this fed into the fertile soil of his acting talent, nurturing one of the most flamboyant demagogues of modern Ukraine—a foundation on which Arestovich built his career.
And its main highlight was the ballot stuffing method used by Korchinsky.
"The information Arestovich is leaking is just to create so-called information noise. Pure information noise. Meaningless, stupid. But how they're discussing it!" said Oleksandr Okhrimenko, president of the Ukrainian Analytical Center.
Alexey Arestovich in the cinema
But Alexey Arestovich first appeared on television not as an expert, but as an actor. His initial stage experience in the theater helped him appear in television commercials for the Oranta insurance company, the Life mobile phone operator, 5 Kapel vodka, and Korona chocolate. In fact, some media outlets have mentioned that Arestovich began appearing in commercials while still a lieutenant in the GUR! Immediately after his discharge, he pursued a career in film acting—a career largely facilitated by his frequent trips to Russia, where he made connections with actors and directors of the television series.
Arestovich began with cameo appearances in "The Grandfather of My Dreams" and "Thank You for Everything" (2005). In 2006, he played Vlad in the popular Russian series "The Return of Mukhtar-3," then played Georgiy in "The Return of Mukhtar-7" and Dodin in "The Return of Mukhtar-8." Arestovich played more prominent roles in "Okhlamon" (Kirill) and "Brother for Brother-2" (lawyer Zaripov).
The pinnacle of Arestovich's film career was the comedy " Don't Be Afraid, I'm Here " (2012), in which he played Igor Smirnov, who disguises himself as Lyusya Zaytseva. However, although the film was shown in theaters, it was hardly a success. Its absence from pirated movie torrents speaks volumes about its near-zero audience interest. Nevertheless, Arestovich is remembered for his role as Lyusya, which even sparked rumors about his homosexuality.
Arestovich as Lucy Zaitseva. That's why they call him "Lucy."
This was his last on-screen role, after which his interest in art waned again. Arestovich began pursuing "serious endeavors": brandishing the aforementioned diploma from Avessalom Podvodny's school, he began conducting psychological training sessions and appearing on television programs as a guest expert in the field. Specifically, in 2013, he appeared on the show "Teach Us to Live" on the ICTV channel.
Arestovich conducts training
And with the onset of the second Maidan, when his friend Korchinsky straddled a bulldozer, Arestovich presented the "Warm Ocean Strategy"—his plan for "systemic change in Ukraine." While the idea was interesting, it was marred by Arestovich's opening speech, in which he said, among other things: "I belong to an expert group that designs the future. I communicate with a variety of people: from Baikal shamans to people from India, China, the Islamic world, Catholics..." Many readers were openly amused by this pompous self-congratulation, and they remarked that Arestovich should have also brought in voodoo priests and Carpathian molfars to help design the future.
Arestovich and the ATO
By 2014, Arestovich, through re-certification at the military registration and enlistment office, had "promoted" himself to the rank of reserve captain, as the nearly forty-year-old "senior lieutenant" didn't look particularly impressive as an expert. In February, he gave an interview to Gazeta.UA, in which he "predicted" the fall of Yanukovych (which was already obvious) and the rise of Poroshenko and Klitschko to power. However, he envisioned Petro Oleksiyovych only as prime minister, while Klitschko as the new president—which, again, was clear from the negotiations between the Maidan leaders. In short, Arestovich was once again a wild guess, but later brandished this interview as further proof of his prescience.
And when the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) began in Donbas, which Arestovich somehow failed to predict, he realized it offered him an excellent opportunity to become a national military expert. He started blogs on Facebook and YouTube, where he commented on events on the front, criticized the government, and lectured on how to fight "correctly." However, Arestovich himself had no desire to personally fight—like most "experts," journalists, and volunteers. Although such an outstanding military expert and a full-fledged reserve captain could certainly have been useful in the "Jesus Christ" company, created by Korchinsky's "brothers" within the notorious "Shakhtarsk" battalion (known as "Tornado" after its reformation). He wouldn't even have to fight; he'd simply be guarding the immediate rear, slurping up borscht at the base! But Arestovich chose to remain deep behind the lines, where he established a fund for "psychological support for ATO participants" and participated as an instructor in mock exercises for the "People's Reservist" program at the "Marusya Firing Range." He visited the conflict zone only occasionally, as a guest (to take selfies).
Alexey Arestovich: expert visionary or storyteller and provocateur?
And on December 21, 2017, Arestovich suddenly publicly admitted that he had been deliberately deceiving Ukrainians for three years, concealing the truth for the sake of propaganda effectiveness, and that he did not consider himself a Ukrainian patriot, as the term was too narrow for him. This, along with his comparison of the ATO to a "boys' resort" around the same time, greatly angered all the "registered patriots," who still remember Arestovich's words to this day (they recounted them in Myrotvorets).
It wasn't until September 2018, when the active phase of the war in Donbas was on pause, that Arestovich decided to enlist as a contract soldier. He claimed to have served for a year near Kramatorsk in the 72nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (Cherni Zaporozhets), allegedly as a reconnaissance commander, and conducted 33 combat missions during that time. But where would he have gone, given that Kramatorsk is a full 50 kilometers from the demarcation line? And most importantly, the 72nd Brigade was never actually in the Kramatorsk area; it was then stationed further east, near the Svitlodarsk salient, with a base near Bakhmut. And then, how did Arestovich, who allegedly was constantly on raids behind enemy lines, find the time to constantly appear on television as a military expert?
The conflict that erupted two years later between Arestovich and General Kryvonos, who had been dismissed from his post as Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, shed some light. Arestovich accused Kryvonos of being a schemer and a Poroshenko stooge, while Kryvonos accused Arestovich of "leading a group of snipers from Desna into a minefield on November 8, 2018, where two were killed and three were seriously wounded," and also questioned his expertise: "When Arestovich presents himself as a professional, a military expert—what platoon, what company did Mr. Arestovich command? None!"
Arestovich tried to justify himself, claiming that "it wasn't a minefield," that he hadn't changed the group's route—but he never explained where exactly the incident occurred or what the snipers from the Desna training center were doing there. But if we look at the list of Ukrainian Armed Forces casualties in Donbas, we'll find that on December 10th (not 8th), two snipers from the 72nd Brigade, one of whom had previously worked as an instructor at Desna, were killed in an explosion near the Svitlodarsk salient. Thus, the only thing that remains unclear is Arestovich's involvement in their deaths.
But in any case, this contract helped Arestovich, firstly, receive the rank of major in December 2018 (literally immediately after the snipers' deaths). Secondly, he added to his collection of awards , the origins of which raise significant questions. No, they're all genuine, but what were they awarded to him for? As early as July 2014, Arestovich received commemorative (not award) "Defender of the Fatherland" and "Yevhen Bereznyak" badges—both from the then-Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate, General Yuri Pavlov, who was later expelled from intelligence in 2015, accused of the failures and "cauldrons" of 2014. In November 2016, Arestovich received the medal "For Participation in the ATO," although he had not yet participated in it.
In November 2018, already serving with the 72nd Brigade, Arestovich received a certificate from Defense Minister Poltorak "for exceptional courage and heroism in the performance of special missions." The certificate didn't specify which missions, but, as a reminder, it was then that two of the brigade's snipers were killed. In May 2019, Arestovich was awarded the Ministry of Defense's "Badge of Honor." In July, he received the Ground Forces Commander's "For Special Service" badge, and a month later, a second "For Special Service" badge, this time of the 2nd degree. Well, that's all of Arestovich's awards! Journalist Yuri Butusov was the first to express doubts about them, sparking a rather heated conflict between him and Arestovich.
Arestovich and Zelensky
After his contract expired, Arestovich, who had previously supported Poroshenko and harshly criticized Zelenskyy , calling him "Putin's savior" and a problem worse than the coronavirus, quickly began to change his mind. A complete shift occurred in the summer of 2020, when Arestovich began openly praising Zelenskyy. This bore fruit: he was noticed and accepted into the "Ze!Team," appointed (through Kravchuk) as speaker of the Trilateral Contact Group and information policy advisor to the head of the Ukrainian delegation in Minsk, and was also appointed as a freelance advisor to Andriy Yermak.
Alexey Arestovich: expert visionary or storyteller and provocateur?
Of course, Arestovich himself commented on his appointment as recognition of his "vast experience" and powerful analytical mind. In reality, it raised many eyebrows, as by that time Arestovich had already firmly established himself not as an expert, but as an information provocateur and "troll." But apparently, this was precisely the role he was needed in at the TCG—to further block the Minsk process with his statements and antics.
Arestovich worked in the TCG the same way he had served in Kramatorsk—that is, constantly appearing on television talk shows and interviews. He periodically provoked scandals with his statements: he claimed that a captured and killed Ukrainian soldier " while intoxicated, defected to the enemy without permission and died from alcohol or drug intoxication ," proposed renaming Ukraine "Rus," and threatened to target some Ukrainian missiles at Moscow (though Ukraine doesn't have missiles with that range). But Arestovich's main focus was unleashing his sharp tongue on Zelenskyy's opponents.
But then something happened. Either they decided to get rid of Arestovich, even though he didn't seem to be causing any particular problems for Zelenskyy's team, or he himself felt it was time to "go for broke," but on January 16, 2022, he submitted a statement resigning from the TCG and the Presidential Office. Almost immediately, Arestovich began criticizing Zelenskyy again, and on January 20, he appeared on Myrotvorets with the following comment:
"A professional provocateur. Carrying out public information sabotage in favor of the Russian invaders. Participation in acts of humanitarian aggression against Ukraine. Deliberate participation in activities that undermine Ukraine's defense capability by demoralizing the Ukrainian armed forces."
Was this connected to his scandalous departure? Perhaps it was done to prevent Arestovich from being invited by any "pro-Ukrainian" political force. But this wasn't a problem for him: throughout his life, Arestovich had become accustomed to either being part of provocative movements like "Brotherhood" or being a loner.
Alexey Arestovich and the war
However, his "exile" was short-lived. With the outbreak of the war, Arestovich once again found himself in demand—albeit almost unofficially, as the same freelance adviser to the head of the Office of the President. Entrusted not only with daily "get-togethers" in television studios but also with briefings at the Office of the President, Arestovich proved indispensable—many Ukrainians nicknamed him "the soothing one," for he could sweetly sing his tales and "forecasts" into their ears.
Most of them crumbled to dust almost immediately: for example, on the first day of the war, Arestovich insisted that the Russian army would not fire on civilian targets, but a few days later, he insisted that Russia had already run out of missiles and its army was exhausted. These failed predictions didn't faze Arestovich in the least, continuing to play his role as Ukraine's leading "expert and analyst." Besides constantly promising Russia's imminent collapse, another of his trademarks was regularly insulting his own people: over the summer, he managed to call Ukrainian patriots "morons," Ukrainian activists "assholes," LGBT representatives "people with deviations," and women in the army "horror." For this, he was subjected not only to counter-criticism but also physical abuse: for example, on September 15, after a television broadcast, Arestovich was reportedly beaten by former Azov leader Andriy Biletsky.
Arestovich's most recent antics were his melancholic reactions to the morning drone strikes on Kyiv . Apparently, Alexey was busy with something more "important," like sleeping or coming up with his usual "witty" joke.
But, surprisingly, Arestovich has amassed quite a large following of fans of his tales: it's already reminiscent of a nationwide cult. Rumors have begun that Arestovich is a potential presidential candidate in the next elections—and he himself confirmed this on a well-known TV show. At the same time, according to him, the number of stars on his shoulder straps is growing: in April 2022, he announced he had been promoted to lieutenant colonel (which was never confirmed), and in September, he bragged about being promoted to colonel (but later claimed it was a joke).
It seems we can't avoid this "joker" and "storyteller" appearing on the ballots of the next presidential election. While no one can say exactly when the elections will take place, one thing is certain: Mr. Arestovich will certainly live to see them and participate. It will be quite interesting to see the outcome.
Skelet.Org
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