Anatoly Chepiga
Native name
Анатолий Владимирович Чепига
Nickname(s)Ruslan Boshirov
Ruslan Tabarov
Andrey Sholkhov
Born (1979-04-05) 5 April 1979
Nikolayevka, Ivanovsky District, Amur Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
AllegianceRussia
Service
Branch		Main Intelligence Directorate
Spetsnaz GRU
Years of serviceSince 2001
RankPolkovnik (equiv. colonel)
Battles/warsSecond Chechen War
Russo-Ukrainian War
AwardsHero of the Russian Federation

Anatoly Vladimirovich Chepiga (Russian: Анатолий Владимирович Чепига, born 5 April 1979) is a colonel in the Russian General Staff's Main Directorate (also known as GRU), the military intelligence service of the Russian Federation. He is reported to have served in the Second Chechen War and the Russo-Ukrainian War.[1] He is known to have operated under the cover names "Ruslan Tabarov" and "Ruslan Boshirov".

Hero of the Russian Federation award

According to Western sources, he received the title Hero of the Russian Federation in 2014,[2] the highest honour awarded by the President of Russia.[3] According to Ukraine, this was probably a reward to Chepiga for being the head of the team providing personal security for the then-deposed President Viktor Yanukovych during the successful "extraction mission" from Ukraine to Russia.[4] Chepiga was reportedly in the Czech Republic in October 2014, using the name Ruslan Boshirov.[5][6] and Ruslan Tabarov.[7]

The Insider published photographs of the memorial to the graduates of the FEFU – Heroes of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation behind the monument to Konstantin Rokossovsky on the territory of the school, where the name "Chepiga A. V."[8][9][10] is stamped. It is written on the official website of DOSAAF in the Ivanovo district of the Amur Region that "in December 2014, Colonel A. Chepiga was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for performing a peacekeeping mission".[11][12][8] The assignment of this title is mentioned on the portal of graduates of the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School (DVOKU)[13][10] and in the article by Olga Kapshtyk, journalist of the Suvorov Onslaught newspaper.[14] Radio Liberty together with Bellingcat published a photo of the boarding school "Heroes Alumni" booth from Odnoklassniki social network, on which "Anatoly Vladimirovich Chepiga is clearly visible, his name, surname and patronymic are well read".[15] In an interview with Business FM online and the TV Rain channel, Alexander Borzhko, chairman of the DOSAAF regional branch of the Amur Region, who was the commander of the DVOKU cadet battalion, where Chepiga served, confirmed that "Chepiga was given the Hero of Russia", although he does not know for what exactly.[16][17]

A spokesman for the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, responded to a question from journalists about whether the information presented in the BellingCat investigation that Vladimir Putin awarded a medal to a person with that name was checked: "Yes, they checked. I have no information that a person with that name was awarded".[18][19][20] RIA Novosti reports that to the clarifying question about whether it is possible that a person receives a reward, but this information is classified and for this reason Peskov does not have such information, he replied: "Once again, we do not want to continue these groundless discussions".[21]

Reported activities

Bellingcat and its investigative partner The Insider claimed that Chepiga was one of the suspects in the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal and the killing of Dawn Sturgess, having travelled to the United Kingdom together with Alexander Mishkin under the alias of Ruslan Boshirov.[1][22][23]

Later in October 2018, Turkish media outlets reported that Chepiga was also likely to be linked to the assassination of the Chechen militant field commander Abdulvakhid Edelgiriyev, in late 2015, in Istanbul. Turkish journalists noted the resemblance of Anatoly Chepiga to Andrey Sholkhov, under which alias he had operated.[24]

In April 2021 Chepiga, alongside Alexander Mishkin, was linked to the 2014 Vrbětice ammunition warehouses explosions in the Czech Republic.[25] He is wanted by the Czech Police.[26][27]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Skripal Suspect Boshirov Identified as GRU Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga". 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "ДВОКУ". www.dvocu.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "Skripal suspect 'was made Hero of Russia' by President Putin". BBC News. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  4. ↑ 112.international https://112.international/ukraine-top-news/gru-officer-involved-in-skripals-poisoning-transporting-of-yanukovych-to-russia-identified-in-ukraine-32781.html. Retrieved 19 December 2018. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ Kroupa, Janek; Chaloupská, Markéta (10 October 2018). "Russians accused of poisoning agent Skripal were secretly in the Czech Republic". iROZHLAS. The second man operated under the name Ruslan Boshirov. His real name per British media is Anatoliy Chepiga and he is an officer of GRU. He visited Prague on October 11, 2014.
  6. ↑ Bellingcat Investigation Team (24 October 2018). "Dali, Warhol, Boshirov: Determining the Time of an Alleged Photograph from Skripal Suspect Chepiga". Bellingcat.
  7. ↑ Corera, Gordon (18 April 2021). "Salisbury poisoning suspects 'linked to Czech blast'". BBC News. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Солберецкие, часть третья. "Бошировым" оказался "Герой России", полковник ГРУ Анатолий Чепига", The Insider, 26 September 2018, retrieved 26 May 2020
  9. ↑ "Герой России и Вторая чеченская: новое в деле Скрипалей", Газета.Ru, retrieved 26 May 2020
  10. 1 2 https://www. Facebook. Com/bbcnews (28 September 2018), "Разоблачение полковника Чепиги: что говорят о нем чиновники и прокремлевские СМИ?", BBC News Русская Служба, BBC News Русская служба, retrieved 26 May 2020 {{citation}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  11. ↑ "Героям Отечества посвящается... — Амурское региональное отделение ДОСААФ", Dosaaf28.ru/stati/patrioticheskaja-rabota/gerojam-otechestva-posvjaschaetsja.html, retrieved 26 May 2020
  12. ↑ https://www. Facebook. Com/bbcnews (26 September 2018), Анатолий Чепига – настоящее имя Боширова, считает Bellingcat, BBC News Русская служба, retrieved 26 May 2020 {{citation}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  13. ↑ "ДВОКУ", Dvocu.ru/index/alleja_geroev/0-36, retrieved 26 May 2020
  14. ↑ Debri-dv.com (PDF) http://debri-dv.com/filedata/files/1431.pdf, retrieved 26 May 2020 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ Крутов, Марк; Добрынин, Сергей (3 October 2018), "И все-таки – герой. Новое фото Анатолия Чепиги", Радио Свобода, retrieved 26 May 2020
  16. ↑ "Бывший командир Анатолия Чепиги: такой курсант был, ему дали Героя России", BFM.ru – деловой портал, retrieved 26 May 2020
  17. ↑ ""На лицо не запомнил, он был молодой". Бывший командир Чепиги — о его сходстве с Бошировым", Tvrain.ru/teleshow/fishman_vechernee_shou/na_litso_ne_zapomnil_on_byl_molodoj_byvshij_komandir_chepigi_o_ego_shodstve_s_boshirovym-472364/, 28 September 2018, retrieved 26 May 2020
  18. ↑ "Песков о "Чепиге-Боширове": информацию проверили, данных о том, что человек с таким именем награждался, нет", BFM.ru – деловой портал, retrieved 26 May 2020
  19. ↑ ""Это шизофрения": командир Чепиги разобрался в деле Скрипалей", Газета.Ru, retrieved 26 May 2020
  20. ↑ У Пескова нет информации о награждении Путиным человека по фамилии Чепига, ТАСС, retrieved 26 May 2020
  21. ↑ В Кремле прокомментировали информацию о награждении Чепиги, РИА Новости, 28 September 2018, retrieved 26 May 2020
  22. ↑ "Солберецкие, часть третья. "Бошировым" оказался "Герой России", полковник ГРУ Анатолий Чепига" [Solberetskys, Part Three. "BOSHIROV" turned out to be "Hero of Russia", Colonel of the GRU Anatoly Chepiga]. The Insider. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  23. ↑ Roth, Andrew; Dodd, Vikram (26 September 2018). "Salisbury poisoning suspect identified as Russian colonel". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  24. ↑ "Turkish journalists believe Chepiga-Boshirov participated in liquidation of Chechen terrorist – media". Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  25. ↑ "Salisbury poisoning suspects 'linked to Czech blast'". BBC News. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  26. ↑ Ibehej, Jaroslav (17 April 2021). "Žádost o pomoc při pátrání po 2 osobách" [Request for assistance in searching for 2 people] (in Czech). Police of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  27. ↑ Armstrong, Mark (18 April 2021). "Salisbury poisoning suspects wanted by Czech police over 2014 blast". euronews. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
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