1. Between 1999 and 2001, Pavel Gubarev was a member of the neo-Nazi Russian National Unity paramilitary group, that later took part in the war in Donbas on the side of pro-Russian forces.
14 Facts About Pavel Gubarev
1. 2.
Pavel Gubarev has publicly given thanks to this group for providing him with military training.
3.
On 3 March 2014, Pavel Gubarev led pro-Russian protesters who blockaded and occupied the Donetsk Regional State Administration building.
4.
Pavel Gubarev was later charged with wanting to damage "the territorial integrity and independence of the state".
5.
Pavel Gubarev appeared in then separatist-held Slavyansk to give a defiant speech on Victory Day, calling for all 'Ukrainian Nazis to be eliminated'.
6.
However, in the time of his detention, other senior separatist figures had emerged, notably Igor Girkin, and Alexander Borodai, meaning that freed, Pavel Gubarev had an uncertain position in the separatist hierarchy going forward.
7.
Pavel Gubarev was sanctioned by the United Kingdom on 25 July 2014 in relation to his actions from earlier in 2014.
8.
In October 2014, Pavel Gubarev's car came under gunfire in a planned attack.
9.
Pavel Gubarev lost control of the car, and sustained a head injury in the resulting crash.
10.
Pavel Gubarev had planned to stand in November's 2014 Donbas parliamentary elections representing his Novorossiya party, however he excluded by the election commission from participating "because his party was not able to hold a founding conference".
11.
However, Pavel Gubarev was excluded from standing after being accused of having forged signatures on his nomination papers, with it said that his candidacy had displeased Denis Pushilin, who at that time was acting head of the DNR, and favourite to take the post permanently, which he duly did.
12.
In 2022, Pavel Gubarev signed a short-term contract with the Russian Armed Forces, as a private, in order to participate in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
13.
In May 2023, Pavel Gubarev became one of the leaders of the newly-founded Russian pro-war ultranationalist group the Club of Angry Patriots.
14.
Pavel Gubarev spoke in detail on how the Donetsk People's Republic was created and managed under full control of Moscow represented by Vladislav Surkov, with local members of the criminal fraternity appointed as its "officials", such as Alexander Zakharchenko.