Tolstykh Mikhail Sergeevich Givi personal. One of the most famous militia commanders, Mikhail Tolstykh, was killed in the DPR. The son entered the military lyceum

Representatives of the DPR defense department reported that the terrorist attack that claimed the life of DPR Army Colonel Mikhail Tolstykh occurred at 06:12 Moscow time. The investigation team immediately went to the scene of the attack. Details of what happened are being established.

Mikhail Tolstykh was born on July 19, 1980 in Ilovaisk (Donetsk region). Since 2014, he fought on the side of the militia. Gained fame as a result of the battles for Ilovaisk.

In honor of his grandfather, who fought during the Great Patriotic War, he took the nickname "Givi" while serving in the Ukrainian army. As Mikhail Tolstykh said, his grandfather had Georgian roots.

Givi served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 1998-2000 at the Desna training center in the 92nd regiment. Then he received a military specialty - a tank commander. After serving in the army, he worked as an industrial climber, as well as a diesel loader driver at a rope factory.

In 2014, he took part in the battles for Slavyansk and Ilovaisk. He also participated in the battles for the Donetsk airport. The unit he led was named the Somali Battalion. As reported by the Novorossiya Segodnya news agency, on March 2, 2015, Givi was awarded the medal "For the defense of the civilian population of Donetsk" by the representative of the Slovak Embassy Marian Farkas.

In February 2015, he was included in the sanctions list of the European Union. The Ukrainian authorities accuse him of committing serious criminal offenses. So, Kyiv accuses him of creating a terrorist organization, leadership and participation in it; in waging aggressive war; ill-treatment of prisoners of war; illegal imprisonment or kidnapping.

It should be noted that attempts on the life of Givi were prepared more than once. One of them happened on March 19, 2015. Then he was not injured, but his car was badly damaged.

On the morning of January 8, 2017, an assassination attempt on Givi was committed in his office. As a result of the explosion, a fire broke out in the building. After the fire was extinguished, rescuers found the body of the murdered commander of the Somali detachment.

Mikhail Tolstykh was not married. Communicating with journalists, Givi noted that he loves football and boxing. He used to play these sports. Givi called Shakhtar Donetsk his favorite team, and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo was his favorite footballer.

Mikhail Sergeevich Tolstykh(call sign - " Givi"; July 19, 1980, Ilovaisk, Ukrainian SSR) - commander of the DPR militia with the rank of lieutenant colonel of the DPR army (as of December 2014), who became famous as a result of the battles for Ilovaisk. The unit he led was called the Somalia battalion.

Mikhail Sergeevich Tolstykh
Nickname - Givi
Date of birth July 19, 1980
Place of birth Ilovaisk, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
Affiliation Ukraine DPR
Type of troops Donetsk People's Republic "People's militia of Donbass"
Years of service Ukraine 1998-2000 Donetsk People's Republic since 2014
Rank Lieutenant Colonel
Commanded the Battalion "Somalia"
Battles/wars Armed conflict in eastern Ukraine
Confrontation in Slavyansk
Battles for Ilovaisk
Battles for Donetsk airport

"Givi" is a native of the city of Ilovaisk. In 1998-2000 he served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in the Desna training center. Military specialty - tank commander. Then he worked as an industrial climber, was a diesel loader driver at a rope factory.

Since May 2014, Mikhail Tolstykh took part in the battles for Slavyansk. In the summer of 2014, he took part in the battles for Ilovaisk. Since September 2014, he took part in the battles for the Donetsk airport.

On October 19, 2014, Mikhail Tolstykh (Givi) turned to LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky with a request to provide the People's Militia with vehicles to transport the wounded. On October 28, Zhirinovsky sent a batch of Niva cars to the militias.
February 16, 2015 was included in the sanctions list of the European Union.
March 19, 2015 at Givi attempt was made. Mikhail was not injured, but his car was damaged.

Nationality of Mikhail Tolstoy ("Givi")

According to Givi, he is Russian, has Georgian roots from his great-grandfather. Nickname "Givi" took while serving in the Ukrainian army, in honor of his grandfather, who fought during the Great Patriotic War.

Mikhail Tolstoy awards ("Givi")

He was awarded various awards of the DPR, including: 2 St. George's crosses and the medal "For the Defense of Slavyansk".
On February 24, 2015 he was awarded the Order of the Hero of the DPR.

According to the Novorossiya Segodnya news agency, on March 2, 2015, Givi was awarded the medal "For the defense of the civilian population of Donetsk" by the representative of the Slovak Embassy Marian Farkas. Earlier, Farkas, who is an entrepreneur, sent several cargoes of humanitarian aid to Donetsk, and claimed that the opening of the Slovak embassy in the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic was being prepared, but the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, Peter Susko, denied this statement, saying that Slovakia does not recognize the independence of the DPR and LPR.

The presence of Mikhail Tolstykh ("Givi") on the Internet

In social networks, Givi, as he himself and famous people who communicate with him, have repeatedly stated, no.
Cases of fraud have been recorded when people created pages on social networks under the name of Givi and asked to donate funds allegedly for the needs of the Donbas militia.

Battalion "Somalia" by Mikhail Tolstykh ("Givi")

Volunteer formation taking part in the hostilities in the east of Ukraine on the side of the DPR in the defense of Slavyansk, in the battles for Ilovaisk and in the protracted siege and further successful assault on the Donetsk airport during heavy fighting in September-October 2014.

Ukraine
DNR DNR Type of army Years of service Rank commanded Battles/wars Awards and prizes

Mikhail Sergeevich Tolstykh(call sign Givi), genus. July 19, 1980, Ilovaisk, Donetsk region - rebel commander with the rank of colonel of the DPR army (as of September 2016), who gained fame as a result of the battles for Ilovaisk. The unit he led was named the Somali Battalion.

Biography

He took the nickname "Givi" while serving in the Ukrainian army, in honor of his grandfather, who fought during the Great Patriotic War. According to his own words, he has Georgian roots from his great-grandfather. In 1998-2000 he served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in the Desna training center. Military specialty - tank commander. Then he worked as an industrial climber, was a driver of a diesel loader at a rope factory.

Since May 2014, he took part in the battles for Slovyansk. In the summer of 2014, he took part in the battles for Ilovaisk. Since September 2014, he took part in the battles for the Donetsk airport.

On October 19, 2014, he turned to the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, with a request to provide the "People's Militia" with cars for transporting the wounded (unavailable link since 04-04-2016 (1306 days)). On October 28, Zhirinovsky sent two Niva vehicles to the rebels.

February 16, 2015 was included in the sanctions list of the European Union.

On March 19, 2015, an assassination attempt was made on Givi. Mikhail was not hurt, but his car was damaged.

Personal life

Not married. He considers football and boxing to be his favorite hobbies, which he used to do himself. Since the age of 13, he has been a fan of the Donetsk team Shakhtar. Favorite soccer player is Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo. Favorite movie is The Transporter with Jason Statham, and of the actors he prefers Bruce Willis.

Awards

He was awarded various awards of the DPR, including: 2 St. George's crosses and the medal "For the Defense of Slavyansk". On February 24, 2015 he was awarded the Order of the Hero of the DPR.

Battalion "Somalia"

Volunteer formation taking part in military operations in the east of Ukraine on the side of the DPR in the defense of Slavyansk, in the battles for Ilovaisk and in a protracted siege and further assault on the Donetsk airport during heavy fighting in September-October 2014.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing Tolstoy, Mikhail Sergeevich

- But for God's sake, be careful: you know how it can hit your maman.
- I will, I will, but tell me. Won't you tell? Well, I'll go tell you now.
Anna Mikhailovna briefly told Natasha the contents of the letter on the condition that she not tell anyone.
“Honest, noble word,” Natasha said, crossing herself, “I won’t tell anyone,” and immediately ran to Sonya.
“Nikolenka…wounded…a letter…” she said solemnly and joyfully.
– Nicholas! - only Sonya uttered, instantly turning pale.
Natasha, seeing the impression made on Sonya by the news of her brother's wound, for the first time felt the whole sad side of this news.
She rushed to Sonya, hugged her and cried. - Slightly wounded, but promoted to officer; he is healthy now, he writes himself, she said through tears.
“It’s clear that all you women are crybabies,” said Petya, pacing the room with resolute long steps. - I am so very glad and, really, very glad that my brother has distinguished himself so much. You are all nurses! you don't understand anything. Natasha smiled through her tears.
- Have you read the letters? Sonya asked.
- I didn’t read it, but she said that everything was over, and that he was already an officer ...
“Thank God,” Sonya said, making the sign of the cross. “But maybe she deceived you. Let's go to maman.
Petya silently paced the room.
“If I were in Nikolushka’s place, I would have killed even more of these Frenchmen,” he said, “they are so vile!” I would have beaten so many of them that they would have made a bunch of them, ”Petya continued.
- Shut up, Petya, what a fool you are! ...
“I’m not a fool, but those who cry over trifles are fools,” said Petya.
– Do you remember him? Natasha suddenly asked after a moment's silence. Sonya smiled: "Do you remember Nicolas?"
“No, Sonya, do you remember him in such a way that you remember well, that you remember everything,” Natasha said with a studious gesture, apparently wanting to attach the most serious significance to her words. “And I remember Nikolenka, I remember,” she said. I don't remember Boris. I don't remember at all...
- How? Do you remember Boris? Sonya asked in surprise.
- Not that I don’t remember - I know what he is, but I don’t remember it like Nikolenka. Him, I close my eyes and remember, but there is no Boris (she closed her eyes), so, no - nothing!
“Ah, Natasha,” said Sonya, looking enthusiastically and seriously at her friend, as if she considered her unworthy to hear what she was about to say, and as if she was saying it to someone else with whom one should not joke. “I once fell in love with your brother, and no matter what happens to him, to me, I will never stop loving him all my life.
Natasha looked at Sonya with curious eyes and was silent. She felt that what Sonya was saying was true, that there was such love that Sonya was talking about; but Natasha had never experienced anything like it. She believed that it could be, but did not understand.
Will you write to him? she asked.
Sonya considered. The question of how to write to Nicolas and whether it was necessary to write and how to write was a question that tormented her. Now that he was already an officer and a wounded hero, would it be good of her to remind him of herself and, as it were, of the obligation he had assumed towards her.
- I do not know; I think, if he writes, - and I will write, - she said, blushing.
- And you will not be ashamed to write to him?
Sonya smiled.
- Not.
- And I will be ashamed to write to Boris, I will not write.
- But why are you ashamed? Yes, I don’t know. Embarrassing, embarrassing.
“But I know why she will be ashamed,” said Petya, offended by Natasha’s first remark, “because she was in love with this fat man with glasses (as Petya called his namesake, the new Count Bezukhy); now she is in love with this singer (Petya spoke about the Italian, Natasha's singing teacher): so she is ashamed.
“Petya, you are stupid,” said Natasha.
“No stupider than you, mother,” said nine-year-old Petya, as if he were an old foreman.
The countess was prepared by Anna Mikhailovna's hints during dinner. Having gone to her room, she, sitting on an armchair, did not take her eyes off the miniature portrait of her son, fixed in a snuff box, and tears welled up in her eyes. Anna Mikhailovna, with the letter on tiptoe, went up to the countess's room and stopped.
“Don’t come in,” she said to the old count, who was following her, “after,” and she closed the door behind her.
The count put his ear to the lock and began to listen.
At first he heard the sounds of indifferent speeches, then one sound of Anna Mikhaylovna's voice speaking a long speech, then a cry, then silence, then again both voices spoke together with joyful intonations, and then footsteps, and Anna Mikhaylovna opened the door for him. On the face of Anna Mikhailovna there was a proud expression of a cameraman who had completed a difficult amputation and was leading the public in so that they could appreciate his art.
- C "est fait! [It's done!] - she said to the count, pointing solemnly at the countess, who held a snuffbox with a portrait in one hand, a letter in the other and pressed her lips first to one, then to the other.
Seeing the count, she stretched out her arms to him, hugged his bald head, and through the bald head again looked at the letter and portrait, and again, in order to press them to her lips, slightly pushed the bald head away. Vera, Natasha, Sonya and Petya entered the room and the reading began. The letter briefly described the campaign and two battles in which Nikolushka participated, the promotion to officers and it was said that he kisses the hands of maman and papa, asking for their blessings, and kisses Vera, Natasha, Petya. In addition, he bows to Mr. Sheling, and to mme Shos and the nurse, and, in addition, asks to kiss dear Sonya, whom he still loves and remembers in the same way. On hearing this, Sonya blushed so that tears came into her eyes. And, unable to endure the looks that turned on her, she ran into the hall, ran away, whirled, and, inflating her dress with a balloon, flushed and smiling, sat down on the floor. The Countess was crying.
“What are you crying about, maman?” Vera said. - Everything that he writes should be rejoicing, not crying.
It was perfectly fair, but the count, the countess, and Natasha all looked at her reproachfully. “And who did she turn out like that!” thought the countess.
Nikolushka's letter was read hundreds of times, and those who were considered worthy to listen to him had to come to the countess, who did not let go of him. Tutors, nannies, Mitenka, some acquaintances came, and the countess reread the letter each time with new pleasure and each time discovered new virtues in her Nikolushka from this letter. How strange, unusual, how joyful it was for her that her son was the son who, almost noticeably tiny members, moved in her 20 years ago, the son for whom she quarreled with the spoiled count, the son who had learned to say before: “ pear ”, and then“ woman ”, that this son is now there, in a foreign land, in a foreign environment, a courageous warrior, alone, without help and guidance, is doing some kind of masculine business there. The entire world age-old experience, indicating that children imperceptibly from the cradle become husbands, did not exist for the countess. The maturation of her son in every season of maturation was just as extraordinary for her, as if there had never been millions of millions of people who had matured in the same way. Just as she couldn’t believe 20 years ago that that little creature that lived somewhere under her heart would scream and begin to suckle her breast and begin to speak, so now she couldn’t believe that this same creature could be that strong, a brave man, a model of sons and people, which he was now, judging by this letter.

On the morning of Wednesday, February 8, tragic news came from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR): the commander of the Somalia battalion, Mikhail Tolstykh (call sign Givi), one of the most famous leaders of the militia, was killed. According to preliminary information, the battalion commander died as a result of an explosion at the base of the unit in the vicinity of Donetsk. As a source close to the DPR authorities told Lenta.ru, a shot from a Shmel flamethrower was fired into the Tolstoy's office. The prosecutor's office of the republic has already stated that it was a terrorist act carried out by a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group. What battalion commander Givi became famous for - recalls Lenta.ru.

“I hate that I was born in Ukraine”

The commander of the famous military unit of the DPR "Somalia", Colonel Mikhail Tolstykh, contrary to a number of popular myths about his Russian roots, was in fact the "flesh of the flesh" of the Donbass. He was born in Ilovaisk and spent most of his life in the Donetsk region. The irony of fate is that the call sign "Givi", which inspired fear in the Kiev security forces, was assigned to him during his service ... in the Ukrainian army. In one interview, Tolstykh said that he took it in honor of his grandfather, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War. It must be said that Givi owes his military experience to his service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). According to his official biography, in 1998-2000 he served in one of the main Ukrainian combat training centers "Desna" as a tank commander. In civilian life, Tolstykh worked as an industrial climber and a diesel loader driver at a factory.

After the outbreak of hostilities in the Donbass in the spring of 2014, he participated in almost all key events, starting with the defense of Slovyansk. He later said that he made the decision to join the militia almost immediately. An important factor was hostility towards Ukrainian domestic politics and state leaders, as well as respect for Russia, where Givi's numerous relatives and friends live. “I hate that I was born in Ukraine, but I am glad that I am in the Donbass,” he emphasized.

The battles for his native Ilovaisk in the summer of 2014 brought him real fame, which ended in a large-scale “cauldron” for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and, perhaps, the greatest defeat of the Ukrainian army during the entire period of hostilities in the Donbass. For courage and nerves of steel (for which there is evidence), Tolstykh received alternative nicknames "Hail-resistant militiaman" and "Iron Givi", which, however, did not take root: the commander did not like excessive pomposity around his person.

The next step was the active participation of "Somalia" in the battles for the Donetsk airport. Under the command of Givi, the fighters of the unit demonstrated miracles of stamina and military art. “Everyone knows that we have the best gunners who have extensive combat experience and practice. All my guys have already seen the worst thing that can happen in this war. They are not afraid of anything!” - said Tolstykh after one of the hardest fights. After the signing of the Minsk agreements to resolve the conflict in Donbass and the suspension of active hostilities, "Somalia" still remained at the forefront, fulfilling especially important instructions from the leadership of the republic.

The self-confident battalion commander was famous not only for his experience and ingenuity on the battlefield. Givi did not deny himself the pleasure of demoralizing the enemy. Thus, a video in which Tolstykh forced captured Ukrainian fighters to chew on their shoulder straps, asking them why they came to his land, to his house, caused a huge resonance.

Video: Varyag Varyagovich / YouTube

Attempts: real and fictional

It is clear that a figure of this magnitude was a desirable target for the Ukrainian security forces and saboteurs. Kyiv did not shy away from carrying out large-scale informational provocations against the Tolstoys, apparently hoping in this way to confuse the cards with the leadership of the DPR. One of these "sensations" was thrown into the media space in the fall of 2014 - just at the height of the confrontation at the Donetsk airport. Citing a “source you can definitely trust,” the central Ukrainian media began to rock the topic of the conflict between Givi and Motorola units (Sparta battalion commander Arseniy Pavlov, killed in October 2016) - allegedly due to disagreements over the continuation of shelling of the airport. The result of this, as reported in the Ukrainian press, was the arrest of Tolstoy and almost negotiations between the militia leaders and the SBU in order to extradite the militia commander to the Ukrainian security forces in exchange for ... an airport. When the information about the “arrest” was brought to the attention of the “Somalia” commander, he laughed for a long time, and then suggested that official Kyiv wanted to raise the spirit of its own army with the bad news about the DPR commanders.

Of course, there were real assassination attempts on Givi. The actions taken in March 2015 and April 2016 received the greatest response. In the first case, in the Makiivka area, unidentified persons fired at his car while he was driving to positions at the Donetsk airport. “As a result of the attack, Tolstoy’s car was damaged, he himself was not injured, because he jumped out in time and opened fire from the APS on the attackers’ car leaving, damaging its right side and shooting through the taillight,” the Somali battalion commented then. Givi himself returned to the shelled car and drove to the front line, which characterizes his personality most eloquently.

Almost a year later, again on the territory of Makiivka, unknown people tried to blow up the car where Givi was supposed to be. “An explosive device went off along the route of the commander’s car in the Somali checkpoint, but the perpetrator of the assassination did not have enough skill to “successfully” complete what he started. As a result, we have: a frightened population, a hole in the asphalt and a ditched parked car,” Yegor Donetsky, a militia representative, said then.

In October last year, I had to refute the “stuffing” that Givi was hastily selling his apartments and garages, preparing to leave the territory of the republic and flee to Transnistria. And literally in December, another “information attempt” on Tolstoy took place: information about the successful explosion of his car on the way from the restaurant was massively circulated in the media and social networks. “Stop reading Ukrainian news!” - reacted to the provocation in the DPR.

Could not do without "Somalia" and during the recent exacerbation in Avdiivka. Givi himself was “wounded with shell shock”, one of his closest assistants, a fighter with the call sign Consul, was completely “killed”, and the information was disseminated by the head of the Donetsk Regional Civil-Military Administration Pavel Zhebrivsky. In "Somalia" they reacted with humor: a video was published with a "requiem" for the Consul, after which he gets up from the coffin and promises to continue "mowing dill" (this is how supporters of the Kiev authorities are dismissively called in Donbass - approx. "Tapes.ru") .

Combat and politics

This is surprising, but the main military prosecutor's office of Ukraine officially put Mikhail Tolstykh on the wanted list only in June 2016. For comparison: Givi was included in the EU sanctions list at the beginning of 2015. But in Ukraine they did not stint on the accusations brought against the Somalia commander: here is the creation of a terrorist organization, and the leadership of a terrorist group, and participation in it, complicity in the conduct of an aggressive war, complicity in violating the laws and customs of war, cruel treatment of prisoners of war, illegal imprisonment or kidnapping. In August 2016, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv allowed Mikhail Tolstykh to be convicted in absentia, recognizing as sufficient evidence that the suspect, "performing the role assigned to him by representatives of the authorities of the Russian Federation in waging an aggressive war against Ukraine, organized and personally committed in January 2015 near the International Airport" Donetsk" acts of terrorism against the military personnel of the ATO forces, as well as ill-treated prisoners, which led to the death of nine people and other grave consequences." In September, the indictment against Givi was submitted to the court for a special trial - conviction in absentia, but the final verdict did not appear.

Givi was connected with the European Union not only by sanctions - the famous battalion commander managed to provoke political showdowns in Europe. So, in March 2015, the representative of the Slovak embassy, Marian Farkas, awarded Tolstykh with a medal "For the defense of the civilian population of Donetsk." Moreover, under the impression of the charismatic commander, Farkas sent several cargoes of humanitarian aid to Donetsk and began to prepare the opening of a full-fledged Slovak embassy on the territory of the DPR. The last intention was not realized, but all these movements made a lot of noise in European institutions. As a result, Farkas nevertheless managed to open representative offices of the DPR and LPR in Bratislava, noting that the main task of their activity is to provide assistance to the population of Donbass.

Givi and Ukraine

Tolstykh has repeatedly stressed that he has no bias towards the Ukrainian people, despite the fact that in Ukraine "Givi and Motorola scare children." However, after the death of Motorola last fall, he promised in an emotional outburst: “I will level every city that we capture before Kyiv ... The entire Ukrainian people will answer. For every one killed, a million enemies must be killed, we will do it.”

The first reaction from Kyiv to the news about the death of Givi was not original. Ukrainian officials are true to themselves and say exactly the same as about other dead leaders of the militia of Donbass: they say, there is a purge of people who are associated with the formation of the republics. There is no doubt that this version will be the focus in the coming days. Another popular option, which is likely to be happily picked up in Ukraine, is a showdown among the leadership of the republics.

Mikhail Sergeevich Tolstykh, better known by the nickname Givi, gained his "popularity" largely thanks to the Russian media, which, tirelessly, replicated on the screens the unshaven, and at first glance half-drunk, face of an ardent fighter against the "ukrofascists" for the bright ideas of "Novorossia" ".

Who is Givi-Tolstykh really?

According to official information, Mikhail Tolstykh was born in 1980 in the city of Ilovaisk, Donetsk region.

In 1998-2000 he served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in the Desna training center, in the 92nd regiment. Military specialty - tank commander.

Then he worked as an industrial climber, was a diesel loader driver at a rope factory.

Nickname origin

As for the nickname, he allegedly received it while still in the army, but not because of Georgian origin, but because of the outward resemblance to Caucasians. However, there is an opinion of a resident of Georgia, Gia Beraya, that Givi's great-grandfather was a Georgian, which is why the militant received such a nickname.

There is another version. Then it could well have happened that "Novorossia" would not have recognized its "hero", but a miracle happened: a local entrepreneur named Arsen accepted Givi as a cleaner of the territory and an assistant car washer to his car service. Arsen (in the world - Arsen Targonsky), according to the recollections of the same refugees from Ilovaisk, was a kind man, which was not typical for people of his estate in those days. Arsen arranged Givi in a local hostel on the outskirts of the city and provided him with the most basic things in the form of primitive dishes and clothes. At the car wash, workers also treated Mikhail Tolstykh with contempt, loading him with work, such as cleaning garbage or cleaning sewers. It was then that Mikhail got his nickname - "Khivi". As the residents of Ilovaisk recall, he was given a nickname at the car wash for his eternally dirty and unkempt appearance, which, in "harmony" with green overalls, resembled a Soviet prisoner of war of 1941-1942 (Reference: Khivy - the so-called voluntary assistants of the Wehrmacht, recruited mobilized forcibly) from the local population in the occupied territories of the USSR and Soviet prisoners of war).

Michael, apparently, liked his nickname. Maybe because he never heard of who the "Khivi" were. Therefore, when the Russian aggression in the Donbass began, the newly minted fighter for the bright ideas of "Novorossiya" kept his old nickname as a call sign, only slightly changing it. Thus, from "Khivi" the already well-known "Givi" turned out.

dark past

And here is what Donetsk bloggers and, in particular, blogger Elham Abubakirov, learned about the "legend of Novorossia" and at the same time the "Russian TV star".

In fact, there is no data on exactly where Mikhail Tolstykh was born, just as there is no documentary data about his parents.

According to refugees from Ilovaisk, Givi's father came home to Ilovaisk after another term of imprisonment and did not work anywhere, drank a lot and beat his wife with enviable constancy. From what exactly Givi's father died is also not known for certain, since it happened in Mikhail's unconscious childhood. His mother, allegedly, also drank for a long time, then simply disappeared without a trace when the future terrorist was barely 18 years old. But this information is denied by the separatists and Givi himself.

As a child, Mikhail was withdrawn and unsociable. In children's companies, he was not accepted because of his unkempt appearance and cruelty bordering on sadism, which he splashed out on stray animals. At school, for these reasons, Misha Tolstykh was constantly humiliated by high school students, had no friends, and since he did not want to study, he spent most of his time on the outskirts of the city in abandoned houses and buildings that abounded with drug dens. There, for the first time, Givi also tried drugs. The future "lieutenant colonel" began to use both "weed" and intravenously. By the way, Givi still has a love for marijuana.

According to the blogger, the legend of the Russian media about the alleged service of Mikhail Tolstykh in the Armed Forces of Ukraine also does not correspond to reality. He was not taken into the army due to obvious speech defects at that time and problems from the field of psychiatry (it was the psychiatrist who did not pass the medical examination at the Tolstoy military registration and enlistment office). What kind of mental illness or disorder caused this is unknown.

When he was "rejected", Givi began to drink. During that period, he was often seen dead drunk, sometimes even falling asleep on the street in any weather.

Around 2008-2009, another significant event happened in the life of Mikhail Tolstykh. Somehow he was instructed to wipe the dust in the cabin of a new car of the local semi-authority "Red Sleigh".

"Sanya the Red" (in the world - Alexander Rakhimov) was a stupid man, but cruel. After serving his "youngster" for rape and returning to Ilovaisk, Rakhimov, having sufficiently developed fists and muscles, went to the service of local authorities. Surviving and collecting capital, Sanya Ryzhiy opened a couple of shops and a nightclub-eatery in Dokuchaevsk.

And on that ill-fated day, Sanya the Red was unusually angry and was looking for someone to vent his anger on. The victim quickly identified herself. Trying to clean the ashtray in the car, Tolstykh-Khivi scattered cigarette butts and ashes on the seat of Ryzhy's expensive Sani's car. The massacre was not long in coming: Heavi was immediately severely beaten.

The time will come, and the disfigured corpse of Rakhimov, torn to pieces by stray dogs, will be found in the steppe not far from Dokuchaevsk. He will first be abducted and then brutally killed by unknown militants along with his underage son.

In 2011, Mikhail was arrested for stealing a bicycle in a deadly drunk state (although, perhaps, this theft was simply "hung"). He was placed in the IVS. However, he was soon released under another amnesty.

After that, he worked for some time as a loader in a store and as a cleaner in a car park. Some media have spread information that Mikhail Tolstykh allegedly worked as a security guard at a supermarket and a car valet.

And according to the journalist of the militant TV channel Artem Rodari, citing an interview with Mikhail Tolstykh, Givi actually worked as a security guard in a supermarket. The field commander of the separatists states that, having returned from the army in 2000, he moved to the city of Kremenchug, Poltava region, where, in fact, he worked at the plant. 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 Khartsyzsky rope plant "Silur", where he worked as a driver of a diesel loader.

And these are the answers to the questions of the Georgian journalist:

However, it is difficult to say how true this information is. Actually, we, perhaps, will find out the truth only after the end of the war and the liberation of Donbass.

"Career" in the Donbas conflict

According to his own statement, Givi always sympathized with Russia more, therefore, after the start of unrest in eastern Ukraine, he took the side of the separatists and from May 2014 went to fight in Slavyansk, where he joined an illegal armed formation of militants created by combining a sabotage group led by Igor Girkin and local separatists.

As a commander of militants, he first showed himself in the summer of 2014 in the battles near Ilovaisk. There, a detachment under the command of Givi was directly involved in blocking Ukrainian troops trying to get out of the encirclement.

According to the information of 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" Somalia ".

The separatist field commander Givi first met the current leader of the self-proclaimed "DPR" during a report on the situation in Ilovaisk to "DPR Minister of Defense" Vladimir Kononov, known by the call sign "Tsar". This happened in August 2014 in the city of Shakhtersk. By that time militant leader A. Zakharchenko headed the separatist gang "Oplot. " Under the leadership of the field commander Givi then there were about 70 militants.

During an acquaintance with the future head of the so-called. "DPR", organized by V. Kononov, Givi received a unit of artillery from him. Subsequently, Givi stated that the terrorists held the city of Ilovaisk in the amount of 170 militants and with one unit of the Nona artillery mount. The militant also declared the absence of the Russian army in the Ilovaisk cauldron. And to the aforementioned installation, "Nona" proposed to erect a monument in Ilovaisk.

Since September 2014, together with Motorola, he has been leading militant attacks on the Donetsk airport. Experts noted that terrorists most often chose frontal offensives as their attack tactics, which led to heavy losses among the attackers. The number of deaths in the groups of Givi and Motorola during the period of senseless attacks on the airport is incalculable.

On October 19, 2014, he turned to the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, with a request to provide the "People's Militia" with vehicles for transporting the wounded. And on October 28, Zhirinovsky sent a batch of Niva cars to the rebels.

Mikhail Tolstykh is widely known on the Internet for his abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war and patriots of Ukraine. On the Internet you can find many video links confirming this information.

For example, forcing prisoners to eat chevrons. It was Givi who mocked the captured "cyborgs" led by Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Kuzminykh. Demonstrative bullying of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Ilovaisk, along with "Kadyrovtsy", etc.

On April 7, 2015, the 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 just finished off our guys. The fighters of the 25th brigade are not taken prisoner at all, they are killed right away. It was Givi who started it. those who are still with honor know that prisoners are not killed.He said: "This moron shot your kid for show."

At the same time, the commander of the terrorist gang, Mikhail Tolstykh, is also quite cruel to the militants who are part of the Somali illegal armed formation headed by him. A terrorist could easily publicly beat his subordinates and throw them "in the basement."

Assassination attempts

The Ukrainian military and partisans have repeatedly tried to destroy the commander of the terrorists, but the militant has so far come out "dry from the water."

So, in March 2015, an assassination attempt was made on Givi, about which the militant himself told the Russian propaganda channel LifeNews. According to Givi, the attack was committed on March 19, when he was leaving Makeyevka. The car was fired at least 12 rounds of 5.45 mm caliber. The terrorist said that he managed to jump out of the car on the move:

“I managed to jump out of the car and it was already rolling on its own. We counted 12 hits on the car. The hits fell on the rear doors, on the glass, hit the engine. and drive towards the bypass road.

In June 2015, information was circulated that the terrorist was killed during hostilities, but the militant brazenly called during the live broadcast of the 112 TV channel and denied this statement.

On April 7, 2016, Givi was wounded near the village of Verkhnetoretskoye, Donetsk region. The media write that the commander of "Somalia" "miraculously managed to avoid death." As a result of the attack, the commander was wounded in the arm.

At the end of May 2015, information appeared that a group of terrorists led by Givi with weapons visited the Donetsk railway station in order to recruit "volunteers" in gangs 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 a foul language without agitating anyone. At the same time, he wished people with other views to die from a direct hit by a projectile.

“Civilians show disrespect for people in uniform. Although, on the one hand, we ourselves are to blame here, “other militias,” as I call such people. ", all of them. It's a pity. And when the massacre begins, when shelling, everyone hopes that the Rostov battalion, the Somali battalion survived and held out, then they are for us, in my opinion. And so - we are their number one enemy why "Something has become. Well, this is my opinion, at least I say it the way it is. They start accusing of something, they start writing some kind of criminal cases there,"

confessed to the militant.

In general, Russian propaganda is actively using terrorist commander Givi in the information war against Ukraine. Thus, he spreads the opinion that the allegedly occupied territory of the Donetsk region will never return to Ukraine, and the terrorists will seize the entire administrative part of the Donetsk region.

In mid-September 2015, Givi once again announced the presence of mythical foreign mercenaries in Avdiivka and that he did not want to comply with the Minsk agreements.

"Vodino, Avdeevka, Lastochkino - information about the influx of mercenaries is slipping everywhere. "Negroes" are stationed in Lastochkino, excuse me, African Americans. They have repeatedly entered Avdiivka, "-

as part of the propaganda of the Russian media, Givi said.

However, residents of Avdiivka told Novosti Donbass reporters that foreigners fighting on the side of the Ukrainian army had never been seen in Avdiivka and Lastochkino.

In the same month, the timeua.com portal 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 the personnel of Zakharchenko's personal guards, which is exactly 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 techniques in conditions of interaction at short distances, as well as in street battles. In this battalion of militants, a separate emphasis, on the instructions of Zakharchenko, will be placed on military operations in varying degrees of building height.

There was also a solemn presentation of membership cards of the separatist movement "Donetsk Republic" to militants from the "Ministry of Defense" of the "DNR". Alexander Zakharchenko personally presented membership cards. Mikhail Tolstykh was among the new "DPR" activists who received tickets.

In February 2016, Givi had a conflict with another leader, Alexander Khodakovsky. Thus, the leader of an illegal armed group said that the commander of the Vostok brigade and the so-called "Secretary of the Security Council" of the self-proclaimed "DPR" Alexander Khodakovsky is engaged in subversive activities in favor of Ukraine.

According to Givi, Khodakovsky will be on the side of the militants until the Ukrainian side gives him a command.

"I talked with him a couple of times. The man is an SBU officer, he was brought up in such a structure, so it was unpleasant to communicate with this person,"

said militant Givi.

He stressed that he absolutely did not trust Khodakovsky:

"I don't believe a single word he says."

Among other things, Givi believes that Khodakovsky is guilty of the losses suffered by the militants during the battle for the Donetsk airport in May 2014.

And in March 2016, information appeared that in the occupied Makiivka, Donetsk region, the base of the terrorists of the Somalia battalion had stopped its activities.

Volunteer, coordinator of the Stop Terror project Semyon Kabakaev announced this on his Facebook.

“For three days in Makiivka, the base of the terrorist battalion “Somali” curtailed its activities. and complexes. Apparently, they will be taken out later," the volunteer writes.

"It seems that this is the end of the popular "legend" under the call sign Givi. If they take you back to work in the supermarket, then it's good," he added.

And according to Ukrainian intelligence in the occupied territories of Donbass, a new wave of purges of unreliable commanders of the DPR militants has begun. The list of objectionable included the bandit formations "Sparta" (commander - Arseniy "Motorola" Pavlov, "Somalia" (commander - Mikhail "Givi" Tolstykh) and "Vostok" (commander - Alexander Khodakovsky).