Andriy Biletsky

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Andriy Biletsky
Андрій Білецький
Commander of the Azov Battalion
In office
5 May 2014 – October 2014
Succeeded byIhor Mykhaylenko
Personal details
Born (1979-08-05) 5 August 1979 (age 44)
Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
CitizenshipUkrainian
Political partyTryzub (2002–2005)
Patriot of Ukraine (2005–2008)
Social-National Assembly (2008–2016)
National Corps (since 2016)
Spouse
Yulia Biletska
(m. 2003; div. 2016)
Special Tasks Patrol Police
) (2014)

National Guard

War in Donbas

Russian invasion of Ukraine

AwardsOrder for Courage, III class[8]
25 Years of Independence of Ukraine Medal

Andriy Yevheniyovych Biletsky (

Azov Battalion,[4][1] which he founded in 2014, and a co-founder of the nationalist movement Social-National Assembly.[10][11][12][13][14][15] From 2014 until 2019, Biletsky was a People's Deputy of Ukraine
.

Biography

Andriy Biletsky was born in 1979 in

Decembrist Vasiliy Lukashevich (Vasyl Lukashevych) who founded the "Little-Russian Secret Society".[9]

In his youth, Biletsky practiced several types of martial arts and boxing. Unlike many Ukrainians, he declined to join the

pressured the university administration to expel Biletsky from the institution.

Political activism (2002–2013)

In 2002 Biletsky became a leader of the Kharkiv branch of the political organization Tryzub, and was a member of the Kharkiv section of the Social-National Party of Ukraine (SNPU), but opposed the idea of its transformation into Svoboda.[3]

After the transformation of SNPU into Svoboda and liquidation of the original Patriot of Ukraine, in 2005 Biletsky initiated a revival of the

UNA-UNSO, Tryzub, and former SNPU. Since 2005, Biletsky also cooperated with the newly established Ukrainian Conservative Party.[citation needed
]

In the

Patriot of Ukraine, Azov Battalion (2014)

Biletsky interviewed by Ukrainian TV after a mission near Mariupol.

During the

Ukrainian parliament adopted a decision on the freedom of political prisoners. The next day, Biletsky and other prisoners were completely acquitted of all charges and freed from custody.[citation needed
]

On 12 March 2014, Biletsky became a party leader in special operations for the "Right Sector - East," which included such regions as

Little green men".[16] It would be transformed from a militia into a regular regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine
on 20 November 2014.

On 13 June 2014, Biletsky led his detachment in the successful

Order For Courage (III degree)[20][non-primary source needed] and promoted to lieutenant colonel of police[6][7]
on 15 August 2014.

On 10 September 2014, Biletsky was admitted to the military council of the People's Front, yet did not become a member of the party. On 27 September 2014, he ran as an independent candidate in the 217th electoral district (Kyiv) for the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election and won by receiving 31,445 votes (33.75%). In parliament, he joined the inter-factional group UKROP.[21] In October 2014, Ihor Mykhailenko replaced Biletsky as commander of Azov Battalion.[citation needed]

In an interview to LB.ua (Left Bank) given on 10 December 2014, Biletsky announced that the

Azov Battalion.[22] In the same interview Biletsky said that the logo of the battalion is different from the German Wolfsangel and symbolizes Ukrainian national idea.[22]

Elected official (2016–2019)

On October 14, 2016, Biletsky was voted as the leader of the newly formed party National Corps.[23] In October 2016 Biletsky officially left the Ukrainian National Guard because Ukrainian elected officials were barred from military service, but he vowed to continue his military career "without titles".[4]

Andriy Biletsky on the march on the Day of the Defender of Ukraine. Kyiv. 2020.

During his first three years of work in Verkhovna Rada Biletsky participated only in 2% of votes,[24] He took part in only 229 votings, taking the fifth place in the rating of deputies with the fewest votings.[25] He missed 328 sittings of the Ukrainian parliament.[26][27] He missed all sittings of the Verkhovna Rada in 2016 and did not appear in parliament as of March 2017.[28][29][30] According to a research of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, published in August 2017, Biletsky did not write any laws that were adopted in the Verkhovna Rada. With 30 unsuccessful projects, he is in the first place among the deputies who submitted unsuccessful draft laws.[31][32][33]

In the

Governmental Initiative of Yarosh and Right Sector.[34] His party did not win enough votes to clear the 5% election threshold and thus did not gain any parliamentary seats.[35]

2020–present

In 2022 he and Azov veterans organized 3-d Assault Brigade, Biletsky becoming the commander of the "Azov Tactical Group" at first, which is part of the

3rd Special Operations Brigade, and soon after a full commander of brigade itself.[36] The brigade constantly appears in news due to impressively successful combat results, most successful recruiting and training system,[37] along with military operations of highest quality, which are often presented on brigade's widely renowned YouTube channel.[38][39][40][5]

Political views

In 2010, Biletsky reportedly said that the Ukrainian nation's mission is to "lead the white races of the world in a final crusade...against Semite-led

Untermenschen".[41][42][43] Biletsky denied ever making such remarks.[44]

In a 2007 article, Biletsky stated that "Ukrainian racial social-nationalism" was the ideology of Patriot of Ukraine.[45] During his speech at a 2009 general meeting of the party he said: "How then can we describe our enemy? The general regime in power are oligarchs. Is there anything they have in common? Yes, one thing in common – they are Jews, or their true bosses – Jews – are behind them. Out of one hundred published richest people in Ukraine 92 are Jews, and some others of Tatar origin".[46]

Until 2011 Biletsky was in favour of forming a confederation between Russia and Ukraine, with Kyiv as its capital, according to BBC News Ukrainian.[47]

In 2013 he wrote a brochure called The Word of the White Leader («Слово білого вождя»).[48] The BBC in 2014[49] and The Moscow Times[50] in 2015 described Biletsky as a white supremacist. In 2014, he was accused of being an "actual neo-Nazi" by sociologist Volodymyr Ishchenko because of his involvement in Patriot of Ukraine and Azov.[51]

In 2018, The Guardian reported that Biletsky "has toned down his rhetoric in recent years".[43] Freedom House initiative Reporting Radicalism reported as of 2022 that he has not publicly made racist remarks since 2014, but he does "invoke anti-LGBT+ rhetoric frequently".[52] Umland and Fedorenko wrote in 2021 that he still publicly objects to multiculturalism, but has stated "to be a Ukrainian nationalist today is to believe in values, not racial prejudice", and announced that his party does not use ethnicity to define who can, or cannot, be part of the nation Ukraine.[53]

In 2022, however, The Independent still described him as a white supremacist, while The Daily Telegraph reported that he was known as the White Leader.[54][55] According to a 2021 paper by political scientists Umland and Fedorenko, he had been known as white leader before 2014, but subsequently claimed that "if someone called me white leader face-to-face, [that person] would have been beaten".[53]

Earnings

According to the electronic declaration, in 2015, Biletsky received 58,990 (US$2,087) as salary in the Verkhovna Rada. He had ₴ 250,000 (US$8,846) in cash.[2][56] The declaration also indicated an apartment in Kyiv (see below), which was recorded as belonging to Biletsky's spouse Yuliya.[2][57][58] In the declaration for 2016, Biletsky indicated 115,652 hryvnia (US$4,423) as deputy salary, and ₴ 250,000 in cash.[59]

Personal life

From 2003 to 2016, Andriy Biletsky was married to Yuliya Oleksandrivna Biletska (née Brusenko); their son was born in 2007. In April 2016, the couple divorced.[60][61]

References

  1. ^
    Ukrayinska Pravda
    (30 October 2016)
  2. ^ a b c Білецький Андрій Євгенійович. Декларація (щорічна) (in Ukrainian). Unified State Register of Declarations. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  3. ^
    Hromadske.TV
    (13 October 2016)
  4. ^
    Ukrayinska Pravda
    (18 October 2016)
  5. ^ a b c d e New Voice of Ukraine (12 May 2023). "Ukrainian military reveals garbage and ammunition left by invaders during retreat from Bakhmut positions". news.yahoo.com.
  6. ^ a b "Andriy Biletsky", Національний Кореспондент [National Correspondent] nackor.org, 8 December 2015
  7. ^ a b "Ukraine's Interior Ministry elaborates on duties of newly created 'national militia units' (Video)", Unian, 30 January 2018
  8. ^ Decree of the President of Ukraine from 2 серпня 2014 year № 631/2014 «Про відзначення державними нагородами України» (in Ukrainian)
  9. ^ a b "Андрій Білецький" [Andriy Biletsky]. Національний Кореспондент [National Correspondent] nackor.org (in Ukrainian). 8 December 2015. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  10. S2CID 155079439
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  11. ^ Shekhovstov, Anton (2013). "17: Para-Militarism to Radical Right-Wing Populism: The Rise of the Ukrainian Far-Right Party Svoboda.". In Wodak (ed.). Right-Wing Populism in Europe. Bloomsbury Academic.
  12. ^ Anton Shekhovtsov, Andreas Umland Ukraine's Radical Right // Journal of Democracy. Volume 25, Number 3 July 2014
  13. .
  14. .
  15. ^ Ghosh, Mridula (2013). Ralf Melzer (ed.). The Extreme Right in Ukraine's Political Mainstream: What Lies Ahead?. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
  16. ^ a b c d e Bereza, A. Andriy Biletsky. How war changed a political prisoner into a commander of the Azov Battalion. "Novoye Vremya". 22 October 2014
  17. ^ "Ukrajinci se na Košarama borili na srpskoj strani". Balkanska bezbednosna mreža. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Ukrajinci se na Košarama borili na srpskoj strani, i komandant Azova se prijavio". N1 (in Serbian). 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Андрій Білецький: "Наші хлопці – українофіли, а не ксенофоби»". konkurent.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  20. ^ "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №631/2014". president.gov.ua.
  21. ^ Justice Ministry registered the party Kolomoisky, Korrespondent.net (18 June 2015)
  22. ^ a b Shvets, Ye. Andriy Biletsky: Half of Azov speaks the Russian language. But they die and kill for Ukraine. LB.ua. 10 December 2014
  23. ^ Talant, Bermet (15 October 2016). "Nationalist Azov Battalion starts political party". Kyiv Post.
  24. Ukrayinska Pravda
    . 14 November 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  25. ^ КВУ склав рейтинг ТОП-10 депутатів, які ігнорують голосування у ВР (in Ukrainian). Committee of Voters of Ukraine. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  26. ^ Опубликован рейтинг наибольших депутатов-прогульщиков Верховной Рады за 3 года (in Russian). 24 Channel. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  27. ^ Ярош, Билецкий, Добкин: Топ-10 прогульщиков Рады за три года (in Russian). TSN / 1+1. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  28. Ukrayinska Pravda
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  29. Ukrayinska Pravda
    . 9 September 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  30. ^ Топ-5 нардепов-прогульщиков: КИУ назвал фамилии избранников, пропустивших все заседания ВР в 2017 году (in Russian). Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  31. Ukrayinska Pravda
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  33. ^ "Півсотні депутатів досі не стали авторами жодного прийнятого закону". Committee of Voters of Ukraine. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  34. ^ "Ярош, Тягнибок та Білецький таки сформували єдиний список на вибори". 9 June 2019.
  35. ^ CEC counts 100 percent of vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections, Ukrinform (26 July 2019)
  36. ^ "Андрій Білецький: Росіяни стерли свої кадрові частини в Україні в нуль". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  37. ^ "Новий алгоритм рекрутингу до ЗСУ: як записатися і які бригади найпопулярніші". ТСН.ua (in Ukrainian). 17 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  38. ^ "«У нас максимум результативності та мінімум втрат», — бійці 3-ї ОШБр про переваги служби у своїй бригаді - 20 хвилин". vn.20minut.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  39. ^ "Білецький: Втрати 3 штурмової біля Авдіївки за два місяці менші за російські у більш ніж 10 разів". LIGA (in Ukrainian). 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  40. ^ "3-тя окрема штурмова бригада - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  41. ^ Tom Parfitt (11 August 2014). "Ukraine crisis: the neo-Nazi brigade fighting pro-Russian separatists". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  42. .
  43. ^ a b "Ukraine's National Militia: 'We're not neo-Nazis, we just want to make our country better'". the Guardian. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  44. ^ "Anti-Semitism is no vote-winner even for Ukraine's far-right". Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group. 2 October 2015.
  45. ^ "Open Letter from KHPG regarding the organization "Patriot of Ukraine"". helsinki.org.ua.
  46. OSCE
    .
  47. ^ "Національний корпус в обличчях: хто ці люди і звідки". BBC News Україна (in Ukrainian).
  48. ^ Штогрін, Ірина (28 May 2017). "Хто нацист? Особливості українських праворадикалів". Радіо Свобода.
  49. ^ "Ukraine vote could push the country into chaos". BBC News. 24 October 2014. Andrei Biletsky, a white supremacist commander
  50. ^ Cohen, Josh (20 July 2015). "Ukraine Should Beware the Azov Extremists". The Moscow Times.
  51. ^ "Ukraine has ignored the far right for too long – it must wake up to the danger | Volodymyr Ishchenko". the Guardian. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  52. ^ "Andrii Biletskyi - Head of the National Corps party - Reporting Radicalism in Ukraine". reportingradicalism.org. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  53. ^
    ISSN 0090-5992
    .
  54. ^ Sommerlad, Joe (24 March 2022). "Who are Ukraine's neo-Nazi Azov Battalion?". The Independent. Retrieved 5 May 2022. It was organised by Andriy Biletsky, a white supermacist former football hooligan
  55. ^ "Inside Azov, the far-Right brigade killing Russian generals and playing a PR game in the Ukraine war". The Telegraph. 18 March 2022. Mr Biletsky, also known as the White Leader
  56. ^ "Страна" Экс-командир полка «Азов» Андрей Билецкий заполнил самую маленькую декларацию (in Russian). Strana.ua. 30 October 2016. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  57. ^ "Страна" Семья командира «Азова» Билецкого во время боев за аэропорт купила квартиру в киевском новострое (in Russian). Strana.ua. 23 May 2016. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  58. ^ Экс-комбат «Азова» Белецкий удивил своей декларацией (in Russian). Channel 24. 30 October 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
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  60. ^ Alexey Romanov (14 October 2016). "Страна" Квартирный вопрос вождя Билецкого - жилье за 4 миллиона в Киеве и развод с женой (in Russian). Strana.ua. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  61. ^ Андрей Билецкий: почему украинский националист не голосует в Раде (in Russian). Politeka.net. 4 August 2018. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.

External links