Valery Bolotov facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Valery Bolotov
Valery Bolotov in 2014.
Head of the Luhansk People's Republic
In office 18 May 2014 – 14 August 2014
Prime Minister	Vasily Nikitin Marat Bashirov (acting)
Deputy	Sergey Tsyplakov
Preceded by	Himself as People's Governor
Succeeded by	Igor Plotnitsky
Personal details
Born	(1970-02-13)13 February 1970 Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, Russian SFSR or Kadiivka, Voroshilovgrad Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
Died	27 January 2017(2017-01-27) (aged 46) Moscow, Russia
Nationality	Lugansk
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union  Luhansk People's Republic
Branch/service	Airborne Troops
Years of service	1988–90 2014–17
Rank	Senior sergeant (see staff sergeant)

Valery Dmitrievitch Bolotov (Russian: Вале́рий Дми́триевич Бо́лотов, IPA: [vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbolətəf]; Ukrainian: Вале́рій Дми́трович Бо́лотов; 13 February 1970 – 27 January 2017) was a Ukrainian leader known for his involvement in the Donbas war in eastern Ukraine, and as the leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic.

Biography

Little is known about Bolotov's life prior to 2014; in a video of him voting in a local referendum, he presents a Ukrainian passport which indicates that he was born in Taganrog, Rostov Oblast on 13 February 1970. In 1974, he moved to Kadiivka, in the Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine.

Bolotov claimed to be a senior sergeant of the Soviet Airborne Troops in Vitebsk (presumably the 103rd Guards Airborne Division), and between 1989 and 1990 participated in a number of conflicts, including those in Tbilisi, Yerevan and Karabakh. He later became the head of the airborne veterans group, while no one of the Luhansk Oblast group cell can confirm it.

Bolotov worked as a manager and director at a meat factory and used to run a small business.

Before the pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, Bolotov was a representative of Oleksandr Yefremov who supervised illegal mining in the region.

In 2014, Bolotov became a leader of an armed group during the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine. On May 13, 2014, Bolotov survived an assassination attempt as assailants fired automatic weapons towards his car, wounding the militant leader. Bolotov was then briefly captured by the Ukrainian army on May 17 after he attempted to re-enter Luhansk following his having received treatment for his injury at a hospital in Russia. However, armed supporters of the Luhansk People's Republic attacked the Ukrainian army checkpoint where Bolotov was being held shortly afterwards and successfully freed the "People's Governor". He resigned from the position on 14 August 2014.

Death

Bolotov was found dead on 27 January 2017 in his own home in Moscow, Russia. Investigators tried to determine the cause of his death as the preliminary results of clinical tests showed an acute heart failure as the cause of his death.

His widow has two children.

See also

In Spanish: Valeri Bólotov para niños