Igor Girkin, a prominent Russian nationalist and vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, was taken into custody on Friday on charges of inciting extremism.
His arrest earlier in the day by his former employer, the FSB state security service, suggests authorities have wearied of his criticism of what they call Russia's “special military operation”.
It follows an abortive mutiny last month led by another outspoken critic, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group mercenary force, who is still free but has sharply curtailed his own verbal attacks.
The charge brought by FSB prosecutors carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, state news agencies Tass and Ria Novosti reported.
The RBC news site said the Meshchansky district court in Moscow had ordered Girkin, 52, be detained in investigative custody until September 18.
Girkin, a former FSB officer and battlefield commander also known as Igor Strelkov, helped Russia to annex Crimea in 2014 and, soon after, to organise pro-Russian militias.
He was also handed a life sentence in absentia by a Dutch court in 2022 for his alleged role in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, with the loss of 298 passengers and crew.
In footage from court posted by the popular Telegram channel Shot, Girkin stood almost motionless in a glass cage, with his arms folded, staring straight ahead.
He had been regarded by many as untouchable due to his history and ties to the establishment, but had become more outspoken in recent months.
Girkin announced in May that he and others had set up the “Club of Angry Patriots” to save Russia.
Asked at the time if he was naive to launch a political movement without the assent of the Kremlin, he said: “I hope you would not call me a naive person.”
In one of his most outspoken tirades, in a post on July 18 on his official Telegram channel – followed by more than 760,000 people – Girkin peppered Mr Putin with personal insults and urged him to pass power “to someone truly capable and responsible”.
RBC, citing two unnamed law enforcement sources, said Girkin's Moscow home had been searched.
Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the R.Politik analysis firm, said the men who run Russia's law enforcement and power ministries had long wanted to arrest Girkin.
“Strelkov [Girkin] had overstepped all conceivable boundaries a long time ago,” she said. “This is a direct outcome of Prigozhin's mutiny: the army's command now wields greater political leverage to quash its opponents in the public sphere.”
Ms Stanovaya said Girkin's detention was a signal that any of the bitterest critics of Moscow's approach to the war could face prosecution
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
