Russell Bentley: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|American soldier in Russian military (1960–2024)}}

{{update|date=April 2024}}

{{moreref|date=April 2024}}

{{Infobox military person

| image = Рассел Бентли (cropped).jpg

| caption = Bentley in 2015

| native_name =

| birth_date = {{birth year|1960}}

| birth_place = [[Austin, Texas|Austin]],{{cn|date=April 2024}} [[Texas]], U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|4||1960|||}}

| death_place = [[Donetsk]], Ukraine

| allegiance = Russia

*** {{flagicon image|Flag of the Vostok Battalion (Donetsk People's Republic).svg}} [[Vostok Brigade|Vostok Battalion]]

| serviceyears = 2014–2024

'''Russell Bonner Bentley III'''<ref name="Independent">{{cite web |last1=Sengupta |first1=Kim |title=Ukraine crisis: Meet the foreign nationals fighting for the Donetsk People's Republic |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-meet-the-foreign-nationals-fighting-for-the-donetsk-people-s-republic-10514796.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=24 September 2015 |access-date=27 March 2024}}</ref> ({{lang-ru|Рассел Бентли|Rassel Bentli}}; 1960 – April 2024), also known as '''Texas''' and the '''[[Donbas|Donbass]] Cowboy''', was an American man who served in Vostok Battalion and XAH Spetsnaz Battalion in 2014, 2015 and 2017 on the side of the [[Donetsk People's Republic]]. He was a [[YouTuber]] until his channel was deleted in early 2022.<ref name="newsweek">{{cite news | title=Exclusive: Russell Bentley, Texas Man in Russian Army, Says He's 'Liberating' Ukraine | website=[[Newsweek]]| date=3 March 2022 | url=https://www.newsweek.com/russell-texas-bentley-interview-pro-russia-donbas-ukraine-1684450| access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2024}} He also worked for the Russian state-owned [[Sputnik (news agency)|Sputnik news agency]] as a [[war correspondent]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2024-04-19 |title=US citizen who fought with pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine reported dead |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/19/us-citizen-dead-russia-separatists-ukraine |access-date=2024-04-20 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Prior to his activities in the Donbas, he was a [[marijuana]] activist and smuggler who was later convicted of drug smuggling and spent five years in prison.

Bentley, a self-declared [[communist]], came to global attention in 2022{{fact|date=April 2024}}, with a series of statements, and videos, about his intention to "liberate Ukraine from Nazis". By July 2016, he had been baptized into the [[Russian Orthodox Church]].{{cn|date=July 2023}}

==Biography==

===Early life===

Bentley was born in 1960 in Austin, and grew up in [[Highland Park, Texas]] until he was eight. Bentley began reading leftist literature as a teenager and became a [[socialist]]. At 16, he attended high school for one semester before dropping out. Bentley later got his [[General Educational Development|GED]], and at age 20, was convinced by his father to join the [[U.S. Army]]. He served in the army for three years, and was stationed in Louisiana and Germany. After being honorably discharged from the army, he moved to [[South Padre Island, Texas|South Padre Island]] where he worked as a waiter.<ref name="smith">{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Sonia |title=War of Words: Meet the Texan Trolling for Putin |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/son-wealthy-businessman-foot-soldier-vladimir-putin-russia-hacking/ |website=Texas Monthly |access-date=15 April 2024 |language=en |date=21 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="dickinson">{{cite magazine |last1=Dickinson |first1=Tim |title=The Bizarre Story of How a Hardcore Texas Leftist Became a Frontline Putin Propagandist |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russell-texas-bentley-putin-propaganda-ukraine-interview-1315433/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=15 April 2024 |date=3 March 2022}}</ref>

===Marijuana activism, drug conviction and imprisonment===

In 1990, Bentley moved to Minneapolis. Initially working as a [[lumberjack]], he found it easier to sell marijuana instead. He became a marijuana activist, joining the [[National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws]] and the pro-legalization [[Grassroots Party]]. At age 30, he ran as a [[U.S. Senate]] third-party candidate for the Grassroots Party in the 1990 election, gathering 1.65% of the vote. In the mid 1990s, Bentley would also visit communist [[Cuba]], where he was convinced to switch from being a socialist into a communist.<ref name="smith" /><ref name="dickinson" /> In February 1996, Bentley's house was raided by the police and he was arrested for felony trafficking. He received a sentence of five years and three months. Although he was supposed to be released at the end of 1999, in August 1999, Bentley escaped from prison. He lived as a fugitive until 2007, when he was captured and sent to a maximum-security prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. He was released from prison the following summer.<ref name="smith" /><ref name="dickinson" />

===Pro-Russian activism===

By 2014, Bentley was working as an arborist in [[Round Rock, Texas]].<ref name="burton">{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/who-russell-bentley-texas-man-pro-russia-ukraine-1683618 |title=Who is Russell Bonner Bentley? Texas Man 'On the Front With Russian Troops' in Ukraine |date=1 March 2022 |access-date=2024-03-27 |publisher=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref> Bentley left his life in the United States, including a relationship with a yoga instructor, to join pro-Russian forces in [[Donetsk]] in Ukraine, motivated by a desire to combat Ukrainian forces.<ref name="dickinson" /> He arrived in Donetsk on December 7, 2014.<ref name="newsweek" /> He utilized crowdfunding platforms to finance his involvement in the [[Ukraine conflict]], setting up a [[GoFundMe]] campaign to finance his move to the Donbas on a self-described "Fact Finding Mission to Donbass".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-40647061 |title=The communist soldier using charity sites to fund his war |date=24 July 2017 |access-date=2024-03-27 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

===Military and political stance===

Bentley decided to fight for the Donetsk People's Republic. He expressed a strong commitment to what he perceived as a "battle against [[fascism]]", driven by the desire to take a stand against what he saw as "injustices in Ukraine". ''[[The Independent]]'' wrote that his involvement highlights the complex motivations behind foreign participation in the conflict.<ref name="Independent"/>

===Disappearance and death===

According to the local Russian police and his wife, Bentley went missing on April 8, 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=American missing in Russian-controlled east Ukraine, say local police |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-journalist-missing-russian-controlled-eastern-ukraine-say-local-police-2024-04-12/ |website=Reuters |access-date=15 April 2024}}</ref> On April 12, 2024, Russian media reported that he was missing in Donetsk. The [[Combatants of the war in Donbas#Vostok_Battalion|Vostok Battalion]] confirmed his death on April 19, 2024, via social media.<ref>[https://t.me/batalyon_vostok/306 Батальон Восток]</ref><ref name=":0" /> According to information that appeared on social networks after his death, Bentley was detained by men in military uniform (presumably{{weasel inline|date=April 2024}} soldiers of the 5th Tank Brigade from Buryatia) while filming the aftermath of a Ukrainian bomb attack on a military unit, being mistaken for a spy, after which he was tortured and killed. [[Alexander Khodakovsky]], one of the leaders of the self-proclaimed DPR, demanded in his telegram channel that “those who killed Russell Bentley” be punished, but they quickly deleted their message.<ref>[https://meduza.io/news/2024/04/20/amerikanets-rassel-bentli-rabotavshiy-na-rossiyskuyu-propagandu-pogib-v-donetske-rossiyskie-tankisty-zaderzhali-ego-posle-udara-po-voennoy-chasti Американец Рассел Бентли, работавший на российскую пропаганду, погиб в Донецке.]</ref><ref>[https://war.obozrevatel.com/v-dnr-rossijskie-tankistyi-ugnali-i-ubili-izvestnogo-amerikanskogo-kommunista-foto.htm В "ДНР" российские танкисты выкрали и убили известного американского коммуниста.]</ref><ref>[https://www.unian.net/russianworld/rassel-bentli-ubit-v-donecke-veroyatno-rossiyskimi-soldatami-12610872.html В Донецке российские военные убили американца, воевавшего за "ДНР" с 2014 года]</ref><ref>[https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-april-20-2024 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 20, 2024] [[Institute for the Study of War]], April 20, 2024. Retrieved 21 April 21, 2024.</ref>

==Electoral history==

{{Election box begin no change

| title = 1990 United States Senate election in Minnesota<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3513|title = Our Campaigns - MN US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1990}}</ref>}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party

| candidate = [[Paul Wellstone]]

| votes = 911,999

| percentage = 50.49%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Independent-Republicans of Minnesota

| candidate = [[Rudy Boschwitz]] (incumbent)

| votes = 864,375

| percentage = 47.86%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Grassroots Party

| candidate = Russell B. Bentley

| votes = 29,820

| percentage = 1.65%

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 1,806,194

| percentage = 100.00%

}}

{{Election box end}}

* {{Telegram|TXDPR}}

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cA9cGUGr00 Russell Bentley, VICE interview] on [[YouTube|Youtube]]

[[Category:2024 deaths]]

[[Category:American communists]]

[[Category:Date of birth missing]]

[[Category:Formerly missing people]]

[[Category:Grassroots Party politicians]]

[[Category:American cannabis traffickers]]

[[Category:American cannabis activists]]

[[Category:American people convicted of drug offenses]]

[[Category:Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy]]