In Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, four members of the Transfiguration of The Lord (Ukrainian: Преображення Господнього, Russian: Преображение Господне) Pentecostal church were captured and killed in June 2014, allegedly by members of the Russian Orthodox Army.[1] The reason for the killings is disputed. Although Ukrainian officials believe that the victims were killed for sending supplies and information to the Ukrainian army, church officials believe that it was an act of religious persecution.
The Transfiguration of The Lord Pentecostal church in Sloviansk was formed in 2003, and belonged to the Church of Christians of Evangelic Faith of Ukraine. The church used a former Palace of Culture building for its services. Its senior pastor was Alexander Pavenko (Ukrainian: Олександр Павенко, Russian: Александр Павенко).[2]
On April 12, 2014, a group of armed men seized government buildings in Sloviansk with the intention of incorporating the Donbas region into Russia. According to the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the US State Department, this began a period of persecution of Protestant denominations in pro-Russian separatist-controlled regions.
Timelineedit
Pro-Russian militants on a Sloviansk street
On June 8, 2014, during a Pentecost service, members of the Russian Orthodox Army took four church members to an unknown destination:[1]
Volodymyr Olexandrovych Velychko (Ukrainian: Володимир Олександрович Величко, Russian: Владимир Александрович Величко), born in 1973, a married father of eight
Viktor Ivanovych Bradarskiy (Ukrainian: Віктор Іванович Брадарський, Russian: Виктор Иванович Брадарский), born in 1974, a married father of three
Ruvym Olexandrovych Pavenko (Ukrainian: Рувим Олександрович Павенко, Russian: Рувим Александрович Павенко), born in 1984, the son of a pastor
Albert Olexandrovych Pavenko (Ukrainian: Альберт Олександрович Павенко, Russian: Альберт Александрович Павенко), born in 1990, the married son of a pastor
The paramilitary troops may have planned to capture the senior pastor (who was not at the church), and seized four cars belonging to the men.[3] The detainees were charged with a "crime against the DPR", support of the Ukrainian army.[3][4]
They were detained in the basement of the city's fire department. Slavyansk's deputy prosecutor, who escaped from DPR captivity, testified that he heard cries from detainees who were tortured during interrogation.[5]
At 3 am on June 9, the four detainees were ordered to get into a car and were driven toward Mount Karachun; they were followed by two cars containing militants. About 4 am, the car with the detainees was shot by the rebels; it is believed that to hide the extent to which the men were tortured, the car was burned.[1]Ministry of Internal Affairs advisor Anton Gerashchenko theorized that the attackers were trying to make it appear that the detainees were killed by Ukrainian military mortar fire.[6]
Sloviansk deputy mayor for humanitarian affairs Freedon Vekua (Ukrainian: Фрідон Векуа, Russian: Фридон Векуа) announced the deaths that morning at a closed meeting of DPR leaders.[7] According to Anton Gerashchenko, rebel leader Igor Strelkov condemned the murders and their perpetrators were reprimanded.[6][8][better source needed][9]
Bradarskiy's widow, Natalia, said that on June 10 she was told by Sloviansk police that her husband was among the detainees and she could provide him food and medicine. She said that a rebel spokesperson told her that the detainees were digging trenches near the village of Semenovka (a Kramatorsk suburb) and would be released soon. In early July, relatives of the detainees reported that the four men had been released.[10]
According to Yulia Gorbunova (Ukrainian: Юлія Горбунова, Russian: Юлия Горбунова‘) of Human Rights Watch, local residents said that the bodies of unidentified people were brought to the morgue; they remained until June 11, when they were buried in a mass grave.[11] Anton Gerashchenko said that the burned car was later identified as Bradarskiy's. The rest of the detainees' cars were seized by rebels and driven out of Sloviansk during the withdrawal of DPR forces.[8] On July 7, after Sloviansk was again controlled by Ukrainian forces, Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov and deputy Vasyl Pascal (Ukrainian: Василь Паскаль, Russian: Василий Паскаль) arrived in the city. Natalia Bradarskaya asked them to help her find the missing men.[10]
A week later, Gerashchenko said that bodies exhumed from the mass grave had signs of torture and abuse.[12] Among the 14 bodies were the Pavenko brothers and Bradarsky, identified by their clothing; Velichko's charred body was later identified by DNA profiling. The bodies were reburied where they were found, near a children's hospital, on July 20 after the identification process was completed.[13][14]
According to Minister of Internal Affairs advisor Anton Herashchenko, the murdered men were accused of sending food to checkpoints of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and the National Guard, and suspected of informing the Ukrainian military about insurgent activities.[8][15] There were rumors that the victims brought chemical or biological weapons to Sloviansk,[10] but their relatives denied that the men cooperated with the Ukrainian army.[16][14]
Although it was theorized that the men were kidnapped for ransom, church officials believed that religion was the only cause of their deaths.[17] The Pavenko brothers' father was a businessman who owned two factories. Shortly before the abduction, steel was delivered to one factory; this may have been the source of rumors about weapons being delivered to the Ukrainian army.[18]
Reactionedit
The murders are cited as a prominent example of religious persecution in the DPR.[19][20][21] The religious-persecution theory was documented by the Russian philosopher Nicholas Karpitsky (Russian: Николай Карлицкий), who lives in Ukraine.[22]
After the Charlie Hebdo shooting, when Je suis Charlie (French: I am Charlie) spread on the Internet, Ukrainian blogger and public figure Denis Kazansky posted "We are all Protestants from Sloviansk" in solidarity. The slogan was reprinted by a number of media and bloggers.[23][24][25][26][27]
^ abcФионик Д. Восхождение. Кто убил четырёх христиан в осаждённом Славянске. Focus (29 August 2014). Retrieved 12 February 2016.
^Куриленко В. П. Наша «Новая Жизнь». История церкви, 1947-2007 гг.. — Славянск: Ездра, 2007. — С. 294—295. — 546.
^ abМихайло Паночко: «Висловлюємо співчуття сім'ям загиблих братів служителів церкви ХВЄ у Слов'янську» 2016-06-04 at the Wayback Machine // ЦХВЄУ, 17 July 2014
^Паночко выразил соболезнования семьям погибших братьев церкви ХВЕ в Славянске» 2016-09-10 at the Wayback Machine. Информационнo-аналитический портал «Мир Вам!» (30 July 2014). Retrieved 12 February 2016.
^ abВ Славянске террористы «Стрелкова» замордовали протестантского пастора и его детей. iPress (21 July 2014). Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^Рингис А. Славянск. Год после «ДНР». Українська правда (15 апреля 2015). Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^ abcГеращенко А. >Ю. Русский православный фашизм в действии ! // Facebook. — 20.07.2014. из первоисточника 26 May 2016.
^Опубликованы детали убийства пророссийскими боевиками протестантских служителей в восточноукраинском Славянске.
^ abcКрасовский Б. Чужая религия как оправдание убийства. 6262.com.ua — Сайт города Славянска (29 May 2015). Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^Gorbunova Y. Dispatches: Mass Grave Found in Eastern Ukraine.
^МВС України заявляє, що виявило могилу двох замучених бойовиками священиків зі Слов'янська // РБК-УкраЇна, 14.07.2014.
^В Славянске похоронили протестантов, захваченных в церкви после богослужения и расстрелянных боевиками ДНР.
^ abcScott Peterson (2014-08-12). "A Ukrainian murder mystery ensnares a church in former rebel stronghold". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2016-05-24. That pro-Russia separatists kidnapped and murdered four members of a Pentecostal church in Slaviansk seems sure. But very little else about the incident is [...] In mid-July, for example, state-run Voice of Russia reported that the "mutilated bodies" of two priests had been found in the Slaviansk grave. It purported to quote Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, saying the churchmen "were tortured and killed by the Ukrainian nationalists." He was misquoted, however, and told the Monitor in Kyiv that the "terrorist" killers were in fact pro-Russian separatists, not Ukrainians.
^Обнаружены изувеченные тела двух священников из Славянска. Взгляд.ру (14 July 2014). Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^Сергей Ваганов, Ирина Горбасева. Восхождение. Кто убил четырёх христиан в осаждённом Славянске. Портал «Религия в Украине» (2 сентября 2014). Retrieved 24 May 2016.
^"Пастора из Славянска с сынами могли убить как за веру, так и из-за денег". podrobnosti. July 15, 2014.
^Мария Василь На телах замученных священников были страшные следы пыток и издевательств // гл. ред. Александр ШвецФакты и комментарии : газета. — Киев, 2014. — 26 July
^. Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
^. Archived from the original on 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
^Луганский Радар — Охота на ведьм: террор «новой власти» Донбасса на религиозной почве
^Karpitsky 2015, p. 11-13. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKarpitsky2015 (help)
^Денис Казанский. Мы все - протестанты из Славянска. Портал Релігія в Україні (19 января 2015). Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^Денис Казанский. Мы все - протестанты из Славянска. Интернет-издание «Аргумент» (9 января 2015). Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^Денис Казанский. Почему фанатики, убившие французов, поставили на уши всю Европу, а фанатики, убившие украинцев, раздают в Москве интервью? 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine. Главком, ООО «Украинские медийные системы» (9 января 2015). Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^Мы все — протестанты из Славянска 2016-03-01 at the Wayback Machine.
^8 прихожан, убитых в Славянске 2016-03-02 at the Wayback Machine. Інститут Трансформації Суспільства (9 января 2015). Retrieved 13 February 2016.
Bibliographyedit
Nikolai Nikolayevich Karpitsky (2015). Persecution of Christians in the Donbas (Eastern Ukraine, 2014)(PDF). К.: Mission Eurasia. ISBN978-966-96156-9-5.
Богдан Красовский (2015-06-09). "Годовщина трагедии в Славянске: Чужая религия как оправдание убийства". Деловой Славянск. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
Дмитрий Фионик (2014-08-29). "Восхождение. Кто убил четырёх христиан в осаждённом Славянске". ООО «Фокус Медиа». Retrieved 2016-02-12.
External linksedit
Между небом и землей on YouTube (Between Heaven and Earth), a documentary film about Victor Bradarskiy (in Russian)
November 01, 2023
murder, pentecostals, sloviansk, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, j. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Murder of Pentecostals in Sloviansk news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message In Sloviansk Donetsk Oblast Ukraine four members of the Transfiguration of The Lord Ukrainian Preobrazhennya Gospodnogo Russian Preobrazhenie Gospodne Pentecostal church were captured and killed in June 2014 allegedly by members of the Russian Orthodox Army 1 The reason for the killings is disputed Although Ukrainian officials believe that the victims were killed for sending supplies and information to the Ukrainian army church officials believe that it was an act of religious persecution Murder of Pentecostals in SlovianskPart of Russo Ukrainian WarMount Karachun where the Pentecostals were killedLocation of Sloviansk in UkraineLocationSloviansk Donetsk Oblast UkraineDateJune 2014Attack typeMurderDeaths4PerpetratorsRussian Orthodox Army alleged Contents 1 Background 2 Timeline 3 Media coverage 4 Causes 5 Reaction 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External linksBackground editMain article Siege of Sloviansk The Transfiguration of The Lord Pentecostal church in Sloviansk was formed in 2003 and belonged to the Church of Christians of Evangelic Faith of Ukraine The church used a former Palace of Culture building for its services Its senior pastor was Alexander Pavenko Ukrainian Oleksandr Pavenko Russian Aleksandr Pavenko 2 On April 12 2014 a group of armed men seized government buildings in Sloviansk with the intention of incorporating the Donbas region into Russia According to the Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor of the US State Department this began a period of persecution of Protestant denominations in pro Russian separatist controlled regions Timeline edit nbsp Pro Russian militants on a Sloviansk streetOn June 8 2014 during a Pentecost service members of the Russian Orthodox Army took four church members to an unknown destination 1 Volodymyr Olexandrovych Velychko Ukrainian Volodimir Oleksandrovich Velichko Russian Vladimir Aleksandrovich Velichko born in 1973 a married father of eight Viktor Ivanovych Bradarskiy Ukrainian Viktor Ivanovich Bradarskij Russian Viktor Ivanovich Bradarskij born in 1974 a married father of three Ruvym Olexandrovych Pavenko Ukrainian Ruvim Oleksandrovich Pavenko Russian Ruvim Aleksandrovich Pavenko born in 1984 the son of a pastor Albert Olexandrovych Pavenko Ukrainian Albert Oleksandrovich Pavenko Russian Albert Aleksandrovich Pavenko born in 1990 the married son of a pastorThe paramilitary troops may have planned to capture the senior pastor who was not at the church and seized four cars belonging to the men 3 The detainees were charged with a crime against the DPR support of the Ukrainian army 3 4 They were detained in the basement of the city s fire department Slavyansk s deputy prosecutor who escaped from DPR captivity testified that he heard cries from detainees who were tortured during interrogation 5 At 3 am on June 9 the four detainees were ordered to get into a car and were driven toward Mount Karachun they were followed by two cars containing militants About 4 am the car with the detainees was shot by the rebels it is believed that to hide the extent to which the men were tortured the car was burned 1 Ministry of Internal Affairs advisor Anton Gerashchenko theorized that the attackers were trying to make it appear that the detainees were killed by Ukrainian military mortar fire 6 Sloviansk deputy mayor for humanitarian affairs Freedon Vekua Ukrainian Fridon Vekua Russian Fridon Vekua announced the deaths that morning at a closed meeting of DPR leaders 7 According to Anton Gerashchenko rebel leader Igor Strelkov condemned the murders and their perpetrators were reprimanded 6 8 better source needed 9 Bradarskiy s widow Natalia said that on June 10 she was told by Sloviansk police that her husband was among the detainees and she could provide him food and medicine She said that a rebel spokesperson told her that the detainees were digging trenches near the village of Semenovka a Kramatorsk suburb and would be released soon In early July relatives of the detainees reported that the four men had been released 10 According to Yulia Gorbunova Ukrainian Yuliya Gorbunova Russian Yuliya Gorbunova of Human Rights Watch local residents said that the bodies of unidentified people were brought to the morgue they remained until June 11 when they were buried in a mass grave 11 Anton Gerashchenko said that the burned car was later identified as Bradarskiy s The rest of the detainees cars were seized by rebels and driven out of Sloviansk during the withdrawal of DPR forces 8 On July 7 after Sloviansk was again controlled by Ukrainian forces Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov and deputy Vasyl Pascal Ukrainian Vasil Paskal Russian Vasilij Paskal arrived in the city Natalia Bradarskaya asked them to help her find the missing men 10 A week later Gerashchenko said that bodies exhumed from the mass grave had signs of torture and abuse 12 Among the 14 bodies were the Pavenko brothers and Bradarsky identified by their clothing Velichko s charred body was later identified by DNA profiling The bodies were reburied where they were found near a children s hospital on July 20 after the identification process was completed 13 14 Media coverage editChristian Science Monitor correspondent Scott Peterson said that the killers were not Ukrainians but pro Russian separatists 14 Causes editAccording to Minister of Internal Affairs advisor Anton Herashchenko the murdered men were accused of sending food to checkpoints of the Armed Forces of Ukraine AFU and the National Guard and suspected of informing the Ukrainian military about insurgent activities 8 15 There were rumors that the victims brought chemical or biological weapons to Sloviansk 10 but their relatives denied that the men cooperated with the Ukrainian army 16 14 Although it was theorized that the men were kidnapped for ransom church officials believed that religion was the only cause of their deaths 17 The Pavenko brothers father was a businessman who owned two factories Shortly before the abduction steel was delivered to one factory this may have been the source of rumors about weapons being delivered to the Ukrainian army 18 Reaction editThe murders are cited as a prominent example of religious persecution in the DPR 19 20 21 The religious persecution theory was documented by the Russian philosopher Nicholas Karpitsky Russian Nikolaj Karlickij who lives in Ukraine 22 After the Charlie Hebdo shooting when Je suis Charlie French I am Charlie spread on the Internet Ukrainian blogger and public figure Denis Kazansky posted We are all Protestants from Sloviansk in solidarity The slogan was reprinted by a number of media and bloggers 23 24 25 26 27 See also editVolodymyr Ivanovych Rybak Ukrainian politician murdered by pro Russian militants Stepan Chubenko Volnovakha bus attack January 2015 Mariupol rocket attack Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Izolyatsia prison February 2015 Kramatorsk rocket attack Donetsk Donetskhirmash bus station attackReferences edit a b c Fionik D Voshozhdenie Kto ubil chetyryoh hristian v osazhdyonnom Slavyanske Focus 29 August 2014 Retrieved 12 February 2016 Kurilenko V P Nasha Novaya Zhizn Istoriya cerkvi 1947 2007 gg Slavyansk Ezdra 2007 S 294 295 546 a b Mihajlo Panochko Vislovlyuyemo spivchuttya sim yam zagiblih brativ sluzhiteliv cerkvi HVYe u Slov yansku Archived 2016 06 04 at the Wayback Machine CHVYeU 17 July 2014 Smert sluzhiteliv u Slov yansku ukr Blagovisnik zhurnal Luck 2014 Vip 85 No 3 S 41 Panochko vyrazil soboleznovaniya semyam pogibshih bratev cerkvi HVE v Slavyanske Archived 2016 09 10 at the Wayback Machine Informacionno analiticheskij portal Mir Vam 30 July 2014 Retrieved 12 February 2016 a b V Slavyanske terroristy Strelkova zamordovali protestantskogo pastora i ego detej iPress 21 July 2014 Retrieved 13 February 2016 Ringis A Slavyansk God posle DNR Ukrayinska pravda 15 aprelya 2015 Retrieved 13 February 2016 a b c Gerashenko A gt Yu Russkij pravoslavnyj fashizm v dejstvii Facebook 20 07 2014 Arhivirovano iz pervoistochnika 26 May 2016 Opublikovany detali ubijstva prorossijskimi boevikami protestantskih sluzhitelej v vostochnoukrainskom Slavyanske a b c Krasovskij B Chuzhaya religiya kak opravdanie ubijstva 6262 com ua Sajt goroda Slavyanska 29 May 2015 Retrieved 13 February 2016 Gorbunova Y Dispatches Mass Grave Found in Eastern Ukraine MVS Ukrayini zayavlyaye sho viyavilo mogilu dvoh zamuchenih bojovikami svyashenikiv zi Slov yanska RBK UkraYina 14 07 2014 V Slavyanske pohoronili protestantov zahvachennyh v cerkvi posle bogosluzheniya i rasstrelyannyh boevikami DNR a b c Scott Peterson 2014 08 12 A Ukrainian murder mystery ensnares a church in former rebel stronghold The Christian Science Monitor Retrieved 2016 05 24 That pro Russia separatists kidnapped and murdered four members of a Pentecostal church in Slaviansk seems sure But very little else about the incident is In mid July for example state run Voice of Russia reported that the mutilated bodies of two priests had been found in the Slaviansk grave It purported to quote Anton Gerashchenko an adviser to Ukraine s Minister of Internal Affairs saying the churchmen were tortured and killed by the Ukrainian nationalists He was misquoted however and told the Monitor in Kyiv that the terrorist killers were in fact pro Russian separatists not Ukrainians Obnaruzheny izuvechennye tela dvuh svyashennikov iz Slavyanska Vzglyad ru 14 July 2014 Retrieved 13 February 2016 Sergej Vaganov Irina Gorbaseva Voshozhdenie Kto ubil chetyryoh hristian v osazhdyonnom Slavyanske Portal Religiya v Ukraine 2 sentyabrya 2014 Retrieved 24 May 2016 Pastora iz Slavyanska s synami mogli ubit kak za veru tak i iz za deneg podrobnosti July 15 2014 Mariya Vasil Na telah zamuchennyh svyashennikov byli strashnye sledy pytok i izdevatelstv gl red Aleksandr Shvec Fakty i kommentarii gazeta Kiev 2014 26 July newsru ua Protestanty na Donbasse zhaluyutsya na presledovaniya so storony terroristov Archived from the original on 2016 07 01 Retrieved 2016 10 29 informator lg ua Kogda Bog stanovitsya oruzhiem doklad pravozashitnikov o religioznom presledovanii v LNR DNR Archived from the original on 2016 01 09 Retrieved 2016 10 29 Luganskij Radar Ohota na vedm terror novoj vlasti Donbassa na religioznoj pochve Karpitsky 2015 p 11 13 sfn error no target CITEREFKarpitsky2015 help Denis Kazanskij My vse protestanty iz Slavyanska Portal Religiya v Ukrayini 19 yanvarya 2015 Retrieved 13 February 2016 Denis Kazanskij My vse protestanty iz Slavyanska Internet izdanie Argument 9 yanvarya 2015 Retrieved 13 February 2016 Denis Kazanskij Pochemu fanatiki ubivshie francuzov postavili na ushi vsyu Evropu a fanatiki ubivshie ukraincev razdayut v Moskve intervyu Archived 2016 03 06 at the Wayback Machine Glavkom OOO Ukrainskie medijnye sistemy 9 yanvarya 2015 Retrieved 13 February 2016 My vse protestanty iz Slavyanska Archived 2016 03 01 at the Wayback Machine 8 prihozhan ubityh v Slavyanske Archived 2016 03 02 at the Wayback Machine Institut Transformaciyi Suspilstva 9 yanvarya 2015 Retrieved 13 February 2016 Bibliography editNikolai Nikolayevich Karpitsky 2015 Persecution of Christians in the Donbas Eastern Ukraine 2014 PDF K Mission Eurasia ISBN 978 966 96156 9 5 Bogdan Krasovskij 2015 06 09 Godovshina tragedii v Slavyanske Chuzhaya religiya kak opravdanie ubijstva Delovoj Slavyansk Retrieved 2016 02 12 Dmitrij Fionik 2014 08 29 Voshozhdenie Kto ubil chetyryoh hristian v osazhdyonnom Slavyanske OOO Fokus Media Retrieved 2016 02 12 External links editMezhdu nebom i zemlej on YouTube Between Heaven and Earth a documentary film about Victor Bradarskiy in Russian Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Murder of Pentecostals in Sloviansk amp oldid 1182847900, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
