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Today, a Russian court in Crimea convicted Lenur Islyamov, a Crimean Tatar businessman who participated in the blockade of the peninsula five years ago and was photographed against the backdrop of blown up power lines.
The court determined that it was Islyamov who organized the undermining of power lines on the border with Crimea. That deenergized the peninsula and forced Moscow to urgently complete construction of the energy bridge.
Lenour himself denied his involvement in the attack. But he promoted in every possible way in context and urged not to supply electricity to Crimea. And it also interfered with repairing busted lines.
However, today it is already obvious that the Ukrainian authorities were behind the organization of these events. As later in Donbass, after the undermining of power lines and the blockade of supplies by “activists”, Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk legalized the blockade. And those who started it were not brought to justice (although they did open four criminal cases for undermining the pillars at the same time).
Furthermore, who exactly carried it out is a separate story. In addition to the representatives of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars and the nationalists of the radical right-wing structures, the figure of Lenur Islyamov himself is interesting, who during the annexation of Crimea had a Russian passport and entered the first “government” of the de facto Russian peninsula.
“Strana” recalled the events of five years ago and gathered information about its organizer.
The Crimean blockade and the weakening of power lines. What was it
On September 20, 2015, representatives of the Crimean Tartar organizations of Ukraine initiated an action to block the transport of goods, which was heading to Crimea with food and goods.
The participants in the blockade, the Mejlis and Islyamov, who joined him, as well as the “Right Sector” and “Azov”, announced in November that the food blockade would be followed by an “energy blockade” of Crimea.
And soon it started. On November 20, unknown persons blew up two power transmission towers in the Genichesk and Chaplinsky districts of the Kherson region, causing a blackout on the Crimean peninsula. Two more – Kakhovskaya – Ostrovskaya and Kakhovskaya – Dzhankoy – were out of service as a result of the November 22 explosion.
Russia’s Energy Ministry reported that all domestic consumers in Crimea and Sevastopol (about 1.8 million people) were without electricity. Socially important facilities were connected to diesel generator sets and backup power supplies were used.
Until mid-2016, Crimea was forced to live in an emergency situation, until a normal electricity supply was established on the peninsula. Thus appeared an energy bridge to Crimea. However, the main supply problems were resolved in December.
Due to the weakening of the power pillars, Russia stopped sending coal to Ukraine, which was necessary for the operation of seven thermal power plants. Now the power transmission line, which transmitted up to 250 megawatts to Crimea, has been restored, but electricity is not supplied to Crimea, as the contract for the supply of electricity to the peninsula has expired.
In the context of blown up power transmission towers, 2015. Center – Lenur Islyamov and Amina Okueva. Photo: KP
During all this time, Islyamov, the coordinator of the Crimean blockade, was not held responsible for the collapsed power transmission towers. Although the Interior Ministry opened four criminal cases at the same time. It is true that there are still no suspects or perpetrators of them.
Islyamov denied in all possible ways his involvement in the explosion: “Anyone could have done this, but we have nothing to do with this,” he said, however defending the interruption of the electricity supply to the peninsula and blocking in all possible ways repair of damaged power transmission towers.
And stating on TV channels that until Russia releases the arrested Crimean Tatars, they will not power Crimea.
They told police that the power transmission poles “fell by themselves” and in every possible way prevented the police from taking over the damaged power towers.
“We will blockade, because we are interested in participating in the blocking process itself, and not in the process of undermining … Crimean Tatar activists, Avtomaydan, Aydar Battalion and Right Sector will participate in this … Headquarters Crimea’s “civil blockade” is here, and we will block repairs on all four lines, “Islyamov said.
Interestingly, in December, the Ukrainian authorities legalized the blockade of Crimea and introduced it by decree of the Cabinet of Ministers. In 2017, a similar story was repeated with Donbass: first, “activists” blocked the flow of goods to the region, after which Kiev officially followed suit.
Islyamov’s verdict
In Crimea, a criminal case was opened for the destruction of power transmission towers under Part 2 of art. 281 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (sabotage). The sanction of this article provides for a punishment in the form of imprisonment of up to 20 years.
The case came to a legal end only five years later, on December 10, 2020. Lenur Islyamov was found guilty of organizing the energy blockade of Crimea in 2015. The decision was made by the Supreme Court of the Peninsula (under Russian jurisdiction) . Sentence in absentia: 19 years in a strict regime colony.
Islyamov was charged under three articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:
– Art. 208 – organization of an illegal armed formation (IAF) or participation in it,
– Art. 280 – public calls for extremist activity,
– Art. 281 – sabotage.
An illegal armed group means a battalion named after Noman Chelebidzhikhan.
The investigation believes that in November 2015, Lenur Islyamov developed a plan to blow up power lines in the Kherson region that transmitted electricity to Crimea and Sevastopol. According to the investigation, he was preparing the Crimean blockade together with Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov.
As a result of the undermining of the Kakhovka – Ostrovskoye and Kakhovka – Dzhankoy power transmission towers, all life support facilities in Sevastopol and 876 ARC settlements were disconnected from the power supply.
The electrical system has been operating in isolation for more than a week, as previous supplies arrived from Ukraine, but were completely stopped. According to the Russians, the damage caused by the power bloc was one billion rubles, and the lost profits – one thousand five hundred million rubles.
The first court hearing in this case took place at the end of May 2020. Islyamov did not appear in court; in recent years he has constantly been on the territory of Ukraine. And the verdict commented as expected:
“The decisions of the“ Russian ”courts in the occupied Ukrainian Crimea are legally null and void!
He supported the annexation of Crimea. Who is Lenur Islyamov?
Interestingly, Islyamov was tried as a Russian citizen. He had had a Russian passport for 19 years, Lenur himself admitted in media comments.
A native of Uzbekistan, Lenur Islyamov had a construction business in Moscow for a long time. In Crimea, while still under Ukraine, he launched the ATR television channel.
Interestingly, after the annexation of Crimea, he was acting from April 2 to May 28, 2014. Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea, he was subordinate to Sergei Aksenov. He was later replaced by Ruslan Balbek.
“We will be able to do what we have not been able to do for many years, being part of Ukraine,” Islyamov said in an interview with ATR television channel. “This is a historic opportunity, if we don’t do it, if we adopt a populist attitude, we, they say, will not recognize [вхождения Крыма в состав РФ]… This can only be done if people are irresponsible and we are responsible people! “
He did not hold high office for long: he was fired. The reason is the claims against Islyamov for the performance of his duties: the development of programs for the settlement of the deported peoples of Crimea, housing and water supply problems and political ties with the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.
Islyamov himself later claimed that Mejlis himself delegated him to the government of annexed Crimea and left because he did not want to carry out the orders of the Russian authorities.
After his dismissal, he moved to Kiev. As Islyamov later claimed, at that time he already had a Ukrainian passport.
In Ukraine, Islyamov participated in “activism” (such as the one that took place on the border with Crimea) and also continued to sponsor the ATR television channel, which became one of the spokesmen for Poroshenko’s propaganda. Thanks to this, the channel received funding from the state.
When Zelensky came to power, the idea of separating this channel from state money was first raised. However, in February 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers found money for the APR.
In other words, the state continues to pay for its satellite communication services, equipment rental, premises and services for the use of copyrighted objects. Interestingly, one of the television channel’s front men, journalist Ayder Muzhdabaev, once called for an armed uprising against Zelensky and to shoot those who voted for him.
