Putin.War-Eng.pdf

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An Independent Expert Report
Foreword
The assassination of Boris Nemtsov February 27, 2015
was both shocking and not shocking at the same time. To
know that the life of someone whom you liked and respected
so much was taken violently and suddenly was a shock. At
the same time, knowing how the Putin regime has demonized
Russian opposition figures and critics – describing them as
part of a “fifth column”, or enemy of the state, seeking to
overthrow the government and using nationwide television to
blacken their reputations – it is no surprise that Boris paid the
ultimate price. Indeed, the environment that Putin has
created condones, if not encourages, violence against anyone
bold enough to criticize the country’s leaders.
Few were more relentless and courageous than Boris in
exposing abuses of the party in power. While we may never
know who was behind his assassination, we do know that he
persevered in reporting on the corruption and human rights
violations of the Putin regime despite threats to his liberty
and ultimately to his life. Some observers write off Boris,
saying he had little impact on average Russians’ perceptions
of Putin. But Boris was in pursuit of the truth, not a
popularity contest, and he felt it his patriotic duty and
responsibility to shine a light on the outrages of the Putin
clique. Given the Kremlin’s control over the media, it is
nearly impossible for critics to rise in the standings; if they
were to do so, they would become the next target.
Speaking out even with low popular support makes
Boris’s determination even more admirable. How many of us
would regularly organize opposition rallies or issue scathing
reports critical of the host regime and exposing its corruption
when it seemed that not many in the country cared? Doing
the right thing when the government relentlessly attacks you
and the population seemingly ignores you takes a strong
character that few of us have.
Boris’ report, “Winter Olympics in the Sub-Tropics:
Corruption and Abuse in Sochi,” detailed allegations of
rampant corruption in preparation for the 2014 Sochi Winter
Olympics.
I had the privilege of appearing with Boris and
several other brave Russians in a panel
discussion on that report in May 2013 in
Washington, DC. I participated knowing I lived
in the safety of the United States; they were
returning home to Russia, with an uncertain
future ahead of them.
Boris’ report, “Winter Olympics in the Sub-Tropics:
Corruption and Abuse in Sochi,” detailed allegations of
rampant corruption in preparation for the 2014 Sochi Winter
Olympics. I had the privilege of appearing with Boris and
several other brave Russians in a panel discussion on that
report in May 2013 in Washington, DC. I participated
knowing I lived in the safety of the United States; they were
returning home to Russia, with an uncertain future ahead of
them.
Boris’ last project was one, tragically, that he did not live
to see come to fruition. “Putin. War” compiles information
and evidence on Putin’s war on and in Ukraine (which the
Russian leader, of course, denies). It exposes the
involvement of Russian forces in the fighting in Ukraine,
tallies Russian casualties, calculates the economic and
financial costs of the war for Russia, describes the atrocities
committed by Russian-supported fighters, and reveals the
role of forces sent by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. In
other words, it unveils as total lies all of the Kremlin’s
denials of involvement in Ukraine. It is not clear whether
Boris’ plans to issue such a report played a role in his murder,
but the possibility certainly cannot be ruled out.
Filling Boris’ shoes is no easy task, but those who saw it
as their mission to finish what Boris had started knew exactly
how best to remember him. I can think of no better tribute to
everything Boris stood for than for his friends and supporters
to pick up the pieces and pull together this report. I am
confident Boris would be very proud. Doing so, however,
brings with it risks for those involved. We in the West have
an obligation to demonstrate solidarity with Russian
democracy and human rights activists and politicians who
understand the threat posed by Putin’s authoritarianism.
Their statements and reports will stand the test of time, and
the least we can do is stand with them.
David J. Kramer,
senior director for
human rights and democracy at the
McCain Institute for International
Leadership in Washington, DC
«The
task of the opposition now
is education and truth.
And the truth is that Putin
equals war and crisis.»
Boris Nemtsov, Facebook post, January 31, 2015
Contents
Putin. War
An Independent Expert Report
Published:
May 2015. City of Moscow
Editors:
Ilya Yashin, Olga Shorina
Lay-Out and Art Work:
Anna Puskal'n
Photo Editor:
Olga Osipova
Cover Design:
Pavel Yelizarov
The electronic version of the report in
the original Russian is available at:
www.putin-itogi.ru
E-mail
doklad.voina@gmail.com
This is not a press report.
The photographs published in this
report are used in compliance with
current intellectual property law.
Cover photo:
Pyotr Shelomovsky
English Translation:
Catherine
A. Fitzpatrick
The report has been translated into
English with the support of Free
Russia Foundation and is available at:
http://4freerussia.org/putin.war
Preface
Chapter 1
Why Putin Needs This War
Chapter 2
Lies and Propaganda
Chapter 3
How They Took Crimea
4
8
12
Chapter 4
Russian Military in the East of Ukraine
16
Chapter 5
Volunteers or Mercenaries?
Chapter 6
Cargo 200
Chapter 7
Vladimir Putin's Army Depot
Chapter 8
Who Shot Down the Boeing?
Chapter 9
Who Rules the Donbass?
Chapter 10
Humanitarian Disaster
24
32
39
43
51
56
Chapter 11
What Does the War with Ukraine Cost?
60
Conclusion
2
Photo by Denis Sinyakov
he idea for this report belongs to
Boris Nemtsov. One day, he
strode into the RPR-PARNAS
party headquarters and loudly announced:
“I know what we have to do. We’ll write a
report, called Putin.War, publish a bunch of
copies and hand it out on the streets. We’ll
tell how Putin unleashed this war. It’s the
only way we can beat the propaganda.”
Nemtsov triumphantly looked around at
everyone, the way he always did when a
good idea came to him. “What do you think,
Shorina? Do you like it?” he asked,
hugging Olga.
Starting in early 2015, Boris began
collecting material for the report. He
worked extensively with open sources, and
found people who could share information.
Nemtsov believed that only by attempting
to stop the war could one display real
patriotism. The war in Ukraine was a
despicable and cynical crime for which our
country was paying with the blood of our
citizens, with an economic crisis and with
international isolation. No one in Russia
needed this war except for Putin and his
entourage.
Boris did not live to write the text of this
report. On February 27, 2015, he was
murdered on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky
Bridge, directly outside the Kremlin walls.
His colleagues, friends and others who
considered this work important joined
together to complete Nemtsov’s project.
The materials that Boris had prepared
formed the basis for this report. The table of
contents, hand-written notes, and
documentation – everything that he left
behind was used in the preparation of this
text.
Our task is to tell the truth about the
Kremlin’s interference in Ukrainian
politics which led to the war between our
peoples. It led to a war that must be
immediately stopped.
T

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