Interview with Igor Strelkov in the Russian penal colony (machine translated)
December 25, 2024 by (interview with the media resource URA.ru, which was never published by them).
First of all, how is your health, how do you feel? Do you need anything, do you have enough of everything?
I.S.: My health leaves much to be desired, but I hope for the best. I need what most prisoners need, if not all.
How is your life arranged now? What do you do most of the time, what job did you choose? How are your relationships with other prisoners? Those who live with you – are they serving sentences for what articles? How are your relations with the colony administration?
I.S.: Those who have not been in prison will not understand. I am in the zone 24 hours a day, you can choose a job outside, and in prison I am employed as a handyman in a sewing shop (chalkboard worker) and in my free time from this noble occupation I am learning the profession of an electrician. Relations in the team are quite smooth, there are no conflicts, I maintain friendly relations with many, there are no people in the colony convicted of serious articles, but, unfortunately, many are serving time under Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. I try to follow the regime, not to violate the PVR, I do not feel any nitpicking.
Are there any of your supporters among other convicts in the colony?
I.S.: In the colony, so to speak, “on both sides of the barricade” there are people who read my blog, however, since I am not involved in political activities, I did not find out who of them is my supporter.
How do you maintain contact with the outside world? Where do you get news? Do they write you letters, who writes them?
I.S.: Many people write to me using the Zonatelecom service, I receive information for analysis from my correspondents and relatives.
What exactly is stopping you from going to the front now? Many people leave places of detention during the investigation stage, what is your reason?
Will you challenge your sentence further?
I.S.: I will challenge the court’s sentence for the rest of my life.
Do you think you will be able to be released early?
Do you think a Russian penal colony can reform a convicted person?
I.S.: It can form in many people an acute reluctance to end up there again, whether this is a reform is a controversial and rather philosophical question.
What do you dream about? How do you hold on, what really helps in the colony?
I.S.: Dreaminess and pathos are not my style, there have been worse periods in my life, and the work was harder, and the responsibility was higher, it was easier for me morally when I led large teams at war.
Since the beginning of August, part of the Kursk region has been occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, thousands of residents of Sudzha are still searching for their missing relatives. How soon, in your opinion, will the Russian army be able to liberate the Kursk territories?
I.S.: I cannot speculate on the fate of the Kursk region, there is not enough information, the main question is different – how soon will our army completely defeat the Armed Forces of Ukraine, I emphasize, completely, a partial defeat is not enough.
In November, Donald Trump won the presidential election in the United States. How do you think his new term in office will change the situation in the world? Is it possible to improve relations with Russia? Trump promised that he would end the war on the first day of his presidency – do you think his return to power will change the course of the SVO?
I.S.: I have no illusions about Trump, I believe that he will put forward such conditions for a truce that they will be unacceptable even for the most ardent supporters of the “freeze”. And besides, we greatly underestimate the degree of stubbornness of Nezalezhnaya. I will refer to V.O. Klyuchevsky: “A Russian is a smart person who pretends to be a fool, and a Ukrainian is a fool who pretends to be smart.”
On November 21, Vladimir Putin addressed the Russians. He said that in response to the use of long-range missiles (ATACMS, Storm Shadow and HIMARS) in the Kursk and Bryansk regions, the Russian army launched a retaliatory strike with a new ballistic missile in a non-nuclear hypersonic warhead. The missile is called “Oreshnik”. The strike hit the Yuzhmash enterprise in Dnepropetrovsk. According to Putin, the new Russian medium-range missile attacks targets at a speed of 10 Mach (2.5-3 kilometers per second), and there is currently no countermeasure to such weapons. In addition, “Oreshnik” can hit targets in Europe. How do you see the course of development of the SVO after Russia’s use of “Oreshnik”?
I.S.: About “Oreshnik” – wars are not won by missile strikes, so I do not expect any consequences from its use, with the exception of those described in the old Soviet cartoon called “Plasticine Crow”.
Is it possible that Russia and Ukraine will start negotiations or will the escalation escalate?
I. S. The question is not addressed to the right person, not within the framework of the SVO, and I cannot know what the SVO will ultimately develop into and I will not “read the tea leaves”, it is possible and necessary to fear a nuclear war.
How long, in your opinion, will the SVO last?
I.S.: The SVO ended a long time ago in the spring of 2022 and has developed into a full-fledged war not for life but to the death, in which one of the parties will win. Victory must be ours, otherwise Russia will perish.
Many fighters and supporters of the Wagner PMC believe that Yevgeny Prigozhin is alive. What do you think about this?
I.S.: I believe that Prigozhin is dead.
In early December, the Bashar al-Assad regime fell in Syria, and power in the country passed into the hands of Islamist groups. The cities that were the subject of fierce battles with the support of Russian troops and the Wagner PMC are now lost, and Assad has received asylum in Moscow. What do you think about this? What does the loss of control in Syria mean for Russia?
I.S.: The Syrian story is a reincarnation of the fire in the stable from Utesov’s miniature entitled “Everything is fine, beautiful marquise…”. First of all, we should not have refused to liberate Novorossiya in 2014. Now we can only hope that we will be able to find a way to minimize the consequences of Assad’s flight, and I am afraid that we will not be able to save the base in Tartus.
Igor Ivanovich, how do you think the events that happened to you have influenced you? Have you developed any new thoughts, ideas? Or, on the contrary, have you become even more convinced of your commitment to your views?
I.S.: I have remained myself regardless of external conditions.
What would you like to convey to the Russians, to your supporters? Would you like to address something? What is your attitude to the possible truce that is now being talked about from every iron?
I.S.: Firstly, I persist in my forecast – most likely there will be no truce, and if there is, it will be very short-lived and soon a new “turmoil” will begin… Now our dear “Western partners” have not yet decided on the main thing – does “Ukraine” need a break or can they continue to cynically “grind down” the Slavs against each other without regard for their “shrinkage and shrinkage”. In any case, the authorities in Kyiv are not going to observe or implement anything that has been signed, we have already seen all this in the story with the Minsk agreements.
Secondly, there is no benefit for Russia in the “freeze”. From a military point of view, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are close to a crisis. Giving them a break now is a crime. They will recover with Western help, “preen their feathers” and go back to battle, and the “trigger” will be a new series of provocations.
For our country, a truce not only means a short-term reduction in combat potential, but, most importantly, celebrating the imaginary “victory” with propaganda will be extremely dangerous and corrupting. Moreover, an influential group of traitors remains in the highest echelons of power, who are deliberately leading the cause to the defeat of Russia. They continue to live by the motto “let’s drink Bavarian wine” and dream of the physical extermination of patriots. No matter how hard it is, we need to maintain a strategic course for the total defeat of Ukraine, the mirage of a “freeze” leads to a catastrophe. Believe me, I do not enjoy the fact that many of my predictions are coming true. I am not a “doomsayer” or a “whiner”, I just feel sick watching how some people’s “mustache has come unglued” time after time again.
By the way, during my last visit, the lawyer told me about a Karelian punk band with the strange name “Gromyka”. So, they have a hit that consists entirely of one phrase: “I told you, you didn’t listen, and that’s how it turned out” (https://youtu.be/3Szc_pOz9fw?si=QRD8oH3hoUjliCwF). It’s both funny and sad.
Last question. Do you think Strelkov is still remembered or is he a “shot down pilot”?
I.S.: In connection with your last question, I remembered an old joke – a clown is sitting in a park near the circus and drinking. A drinking buddy comes up to him and asks why he is not going to the party in honor of the circus’s 107th anniversary.
– They didn’t invite him…
– Forgot?
– They remember!
Sent from my iPad
