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{{Short description|American soldier in Russian military (1960–2024)}}
{{Short description|American soldier in Russian military (1960–2024)}}
{{about||the American politician from Kentucky|Russell Bentley (politician)}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{update|date=April 2024}}
{{moreref|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox military person
{{Infobox military person
| name = Russell Bentley
| name = Russell Bentley
| image = Рассел Бентли (cropped).jpg
| image = Рассел Бентли (cropped).jpg
| caption = Bentley in 2015
| caption = Bentley in 2015
| native_name =
| native_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year|1960}}
| birth_date = 20 June 1960
| birth_place = [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Texas]], [[United States]]<ref name="smith" />
| birth_place = [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Texas]], [[United States]]<ref name="smith" />
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|4||1960|||}}
| death_date = {{circa}}8 April 2024
| death_place = [[Donetsk]], Ukraine
| death_place = [[Donetsk]], Russian-occupied Ukraine
| allegiance = Russia
| nickname = {{plainlist|
*Texas
⚫
| branch = {{Tree list}}
*The Donbass Cowboy
}}
| birth_name = Russell Bonner Bentley III
| allegiance = Russia
⚫
| branch = {{Tree list}}
* {{flagicon image|War flag of Novorussia.svg}} [[Russian people's militias in Ukraine]]
* {{flagicon image|War flag of Novorussia.svg}} [[Russian people's militias in Ukraine]]
** {{flagicon image|Flag of Donetsk People's Republic.svg}} [[Donetsk People's Republic#Military|Donetsk People's Militia]]
** {{flagicon image|Flag of Donetsk People's Republic.svg}} [[Donetsk People's Republic#Military|Donetsk People's Militia]]
*** [[Vostok Brigade|Vostok Battalion]]
*** [[Vostok Brigade|Vostok Battalion]]
{{tree list/end}}
{{tree list/end}}
| serviceyears = 2014–2024
| serviceyears = 2014–2024
| rank =
| rank =
| unit =
| unit =
| battles = {{Tree list}}
| battles = {{Tree list}}
* [[Russo-Ukrainian War]]
* [[Russo-Ukrainian War]]
** [[War in Donbas]]
** [[War in Donbas]]
Line 31: Line 35:
}}
}}


'''Russell Bonner Bentley III'''<ref name="Independent">{{cite web |last1=Sengupta |first1=Kim |title=Ukraine crisis: Meet the foreign nationals fighting for the Donetsk People's Republic |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-meet-the-foreign-nationals-fighting-for-the-donetsk-people-s-republic-10514796.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=24 September 2015 |access-date=27 March 2024}}</ref> ({{lang-ru|Рассел Бентли|Rassel Bentli}}; 1960 – April 2024), also known as '''Texas''' and the '''[[Donbas|Donbass]] Cowboy''', was an American man who served in Vostok Battalion and XAH Spetsnaz Battalion in 2014, 2015 and 2017 on the side of the [[Donetsk People's Republic]]. He was a [[YouTuber]] until his channel was deleted in early 2022.<ref name="newsweek">{{cite news | title=Exclusive: Russell Bentley, Texas Man in Russian Army, Says He's 'Liberating' Ukraine | website=[[Newsweek]]| date=3 March 2022 | url=https://www.newsweek.com/russell-texas-bentley-interview-pro-russia-donbas-ukraine-1684450| access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2024}} He also worked for the Russian state-owned [[Sputnik (news agency)|Sputnik news agency]] as a [[war correspondent]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2024-04-19 |title=US citizen who fought with pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine reported dead |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/19/us-citizen-dead-russia-separatists-ukraine |access-date=2024-04-20 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Prior to his activities in the Donbas, he was a [[marijuana]] activist and smuggler who was later convicted of drug smuggling and spent five years in prison.
'''Russell Bonner Bentley III''' ({{langx|ru|Рассел Бентли|Rassel Bentli}}; 20 June 1960 – 8 April 2024), also known as '''Texas''' ({{langx|ru|Техас}}, pronounced in Russian like "Tekhas") and the '''[[Donbas]]s Cowboy''', was an American man who served in the [[Vostok Brigade|Vostok Battalion]] and XAH Spetsnaz Battalion in 2014, 2015 and 2017 on the side of the [[Donetsk People's Republic]].<ref name="smith">{{cite web |title=War of Words: Meet the Texan Trolling for Putin |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/son-wealthy-businessman-foot-soldier-vladimir-putin-russia-hacking/ |website=[[Texas Monthly]]|last1=Smith |first1=Sonia |access-date=15 April 2024 |language=en |date=21 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="Independent">{{cite web |last1=Sengupta |first1=Kim |title=Ukraine crisis: Meet the foreign nationals fighting for the Donetsk People's Republic |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-meet-the-foreign-nationals-fighting-for-the-donetsk-people-s-republic-10514796.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=24 September 2015 |access-date=27 March 2024}}</ref> He was a [[YouTuber]] until his channel was deleted in early 2022.<ref name="newsweek">{{cite news| title=Exclusive: Russell Bentley, Texas Man in Russian Army, Says He's 'Liberating' Ukraine | website=[[Newsweek]]| date=3 March 2022 | url=https://www.newsweek.com/russell-texas-bentley-interview-pro-russia-donbas-ukraine-1684450| access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref><ref name="NYT">{{cite news|title=Pro-Kremlin Texan Russell Bentley, who fought for Russia, found dead in Ukraine|work=[[New York Times]]| url=https://nypost.com/2024/04/20/world-news/pro-kremlin-texan-russell-bentley-found-dead-in-ukraine/|date=20 April 2024|access-date=19 October 2024}}</ref> He also worked for the Russian state-owned [[Sputnik (news agency)|Sputnik news agency]] as a [[war correspondent]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2024-04-19 |title=US citizen who fought with pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine reported dead |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/19/us-citizen-dead-russia-separatists-ukraine |access-date=2024-04-20 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> He became a Russian citizen via [[naturalization]] in 2021. Prior to his activities in the Donbas, he was a [[marijuana]] activist and smuggler who was later convicted of drug smuggling and spent five years in prison.


==Biography==
==Biography==
===Early life===
===Early life===
Bentley was born in 1960 in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], and grew up in [[Highland Park, Texas]] until he was eight. Bentley began reading leftist literature as a teenager and became a [[socialist]]. At 16, he attended high school for one semester before dropping out. Bentley later got his [[General Educational Development|GED]], and at age 20, was convinced by his father to join the [[U.S. Army]]. He served in the army for three years, and was stationed in Louisiana and Germany. After being honorably discharged from the army, he moved to [[South Padre Island, Texas|South Padre Island]] where he worked as a waiter.<ref name="smith">{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Sonia |title=War of Words: Meet the Texan Trolling for Putin |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/son-wealthy-businessman-foot-soldier-vladimir-putin-russia-hacking/ |website=Texas Monthly |access-date=15 April 2024 |language=en |date=21 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="dickinson">{{cite magazine |last1=Dickinson |first1=Tim |title=The Bizarre Story of How a Hardcore Texas Leftist Became a Frontline Putin Propagandist |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russell-texas-bentley-putin-propaganda-ukraine-interview-1315433/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=15 April 2024 |date=3 March 2022}}</ref>
Bentley was born in 1960 in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], and grew up in [[Highland Park, Texas]] until he was eight. Bentley began reading leftist literature as a teenager and became a [[socialist]]. At 16, he attended high school for one semester before dropping out. Bentley later got his [[General Educational Development|GED]], and at age 20, was convinced by his father to join the [[U.S. Army]]. He served in the army for three years, and was stationed in Louisiana and Germany. After being honorably discharged from the army, he moved to [[South Padre Island, Texas|South Padre Island]] where he worked as a waiter.<ref name="smith"/><ref name="dickinson">{{cite magazine |last1=Dickinson |first1=Tim |title=The Bizarre Story of How a Hardcore Texas Leftist Became a Frontline Putin Propagandist |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russell-texas-bentley-putin-propaganda-ukraine-interview-1315433/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=15 April 2024 |date=3 March 2022}}</ref>


===Marijuana activism, conviction and imprisonment===
===Marijuana activism, conviction and imprisonment===
In 1990, Bentley moved to Minneapolis. Initially working as a [[lumberjack]], he later sold marijuana instead. He became a marijuana activist, joining the [[National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws]] and the pro-legalization [[Grassroots Party]]. At age 30, he ran as a [[U.S. Senate]] third-party candidate for the Grassroots Party in the 1990 election, gathering 1.65% of the vote. In the mid 1990s, Bentley would also visit communist [[Cuba]], where he deepened his leftist convictions, becoming a communist himself.<ref name="smith" /><ref name="dickinson" /> In February 1996, Bentley's house was raided by the police and he was arrested for felony trafficking of marijuana. He received a sentence of five years and three months. Although he was supposed to be released at the end of 1999, in August 1999, Bentley escaped from prison. He lived as a fugitive until 2007, when he was captured and sent to a maximum-security prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. He was released from prison the following summer.<ref name="smith" /><ref name="dickinson" />
In 1990, Bentley moved to [[Minneapolis]]. Initially working as a [[lumberjack]], he later sold marijuana instead. He became a marijuana activist, joining the [[National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws]] and the pro-legalization [[Grassroots Party]]. At age 30, he ran as a [[U.S. Senate]] third-party candidate for the Grassroots Party in the 1990 election, gathering 1.65% of the vote. In the mid 1990s, Bentley would also visit communist [[Cuba]], where he deepened his leftist convictions, becoming a communist himself.<ref name="smith" /><ref name="dickinson" /> In February 1996, Bentley's house was raided by the police and he was arrested for felony trafficking of marijuana. He received a sentence of five years and three months. Although he was supposed to be released at the end of 1999, in August 1999, Bentley escaped from prison. He lived as a fugitive until 2007, when he was captured and sent to a maximum-security prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. He was released from prison the following summer.<ref name="smith" /><ref name="dickinson" />


===Pro-Russian activism===
===Pro-Russian activism===
By 2014, Bentley was working as an arborist in [[Round Rock, Texas]].<ref name="burton">{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/who-russell-bentley-texas-man-pro-russia-ukraine-1683618 |title=Who is Russell Bonner Bentley? Texas Man 'On the Front With Russian Troops' in Ukraine |date=1 March 2022 |access-date=2024-03-27 |publisher=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref> Bentley left his life in the United States, including a relationship with a yoga instructor, to join pro-Russian forces in [[Donetsk]] in Ukraine, motivated by a desire to combat Ukrainian forces.<ref name="dickinson" /> He arrived in Donetsk on December 7, 2014.<ref name="newsweek" /> He utilized crowdfunding platforms to finance his involvement in the [[Ukraine conflict]], setting up a [[GoFundMe]] campaign to finance his move to the Donbas on a self-described "Fact Finding Mission to Donbass".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-40647061 |title=The communist soldier using charity sites to fund his war |date=24 July 2017 |access-date=2024-03-27 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>
By 2014, Bentley was working as an arborist in [[Round Rock, Texas]].<ref name="burton">{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/who-russell-bentley-texas-man-pro-russia-ukraine-1683618 |title=Who is Russell Bonner Bentley? Texas Man 'On the Front With Russian Troops' in Ukraine |date=1 March 2022 |access-date=2024-03-27 |publisher=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref> Bentley left his life in the United States, including a relationship with a yoga instructor, to join pro-Russian forces in [[Donetsk]] in Ukraine, motivated by a desire to combat Ukrainian forces.<ref name="dickinson" /> He arrived in Donetsk on December 7, 2014.<ref name="newsweek" /> He utilized crowdfunding platforms to finance his involvement in the [[Russo-Ukrainian war]], setting up a [[GoFundMe]] campaign to finance his move to the Donbas on a self-described "Fact Finding Mission to Donbass".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-40647061 |title=The communist soldier using charity sites to fund his war |date=24 July 2017 |access-date=2024-03-27 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> During his time he nicknamed himself "Texas," described by Benoît Vitkine of ''[[Le Monde]]'' as a "[[nom de guerre]]".<ref>{{cite web|last=Vitkine|first=Benoît|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/05/05/russell-texas-bentley-the-life-and-death-of-an-american-from-donetsk_6670456_4.html|title=Russell 'Texas' Bentley: The life and death of an American from Donetsk|newspaper=[[Le Monde]]|place=[[Paris]]|date=2024-05-05|access-date=2024-09-23}}</ref> He was also known as the "Donbass Cowboy," with the word "Donbas" written with the Russian orthography instead of the Ukrainian one.<ref name=SmithTXMonth>{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Sonia|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/russell-bentley-russian-propagandist-death/|title=How a Texan Trolling for Putin Met His End|magazine=[[Texas Monthly]]|place=[[Austin, Texas]]|date=2024-05-16|access-date=2024-09-23}}</ref>

He received a Donetsk People's Republic passport,<ref name="smith"/> and in 2021 he received Russian citizenship.<ref name=SmithTXMonth/>


===Military and political stance===
===Military and political stance===
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===Disappearance and death===
===Disappearance and death===
According to the local police and his wife, Bentley went missing on April 8, 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=American missing in Russian-controlled east Ukraine, say local police |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-journalist-missing-russian-controlled-eastern-ukraine-say-local-police-2024-04-12/ |website=Reuters |access-date=15 April 2024}}</ref> His wife reported he had been detained by unidentified Russian military personnel.<ref name=":0" /> The [[Combatants of the war in Donbas#Vostok_Battalion|Vostok Battalion]] confirmed his death on April 19, 2024, via social media.<ref>[https://t.me/batalyon_vostok/306 Батальон Восток]</ref><ref name=":0" /> [[Alexander Khodakovsky]], one of the leaders of the self-proclaimed DPR, demanded in his telegram channel that “those who killed Russell Bentley” be punished, but later deleted this message.<ref>[https://meduza.io/news/2024/04/20/amerikanets-rassel-bentli-rabotavshiy-na-rossiyskuyu-propagandu-pogib-v-donetske-rossiyskie-tankisty-zaderzhali-ego-posle-udara-po-voennoy-chasti Американец Рассел Бентли, работавший на российскую пропаганду, погиб в Донецке.]</ref><ref>[https://war.obozrevatel.com/v-dnr-rossijskie-tankistyi-ugnali-i-ubili-izvestnogo-amerikanskogo-kommunista-foto.htm В "ДНР" российские танкисты выкрали и убили известного американского коммуниста.]</ref><ref>[https://www.unian.net/russianworld/rassel-bentli-ubit-v-donecke-veroyatno-rossiyskimi-soldatami-12610872.html В Донецке российские военные убили американца, воевавшего за "ДНР" с 2014 года]</ref><ref>[https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-april-20-2024 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 20, 2024] [[Institute for the Study of War]], April 20, 2024. Retrieved 21 April 21, 2024.</ref>
According to the local police and his wife, Bentley went missing on April 8, 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=American missing in Russian-controlled east Ukraine, say local police |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-journalist-missing-russian-controlled-eastern-ukraine-say-local-police-2024-04-12/ |website=Reuters |access-date=15 April 2024}}</ref> His wife reported he had been detained by unidentified Russian military personnel.<ref name=":0" /> The [[Combatants of the war in Donbas#Vostok Battalion|Vostok Battalion]] confirmed his death on April 19, 2024, via social media.<ref>[https://t.me/batalyon_vostok/306 Батальон Восток]</ref><ref name=":0" /> [[Alexander Khodakovsky]], one of the leaders of the self-proclaimed DPR, demanded in his telegram channel that “those who killed Russell Bentley” be punished, but later deleted this message.<ref>[https://meduza.io/news/2024/04/20/amerikanets-rassel-bentli-rabotavshiy-na-rossiyskuyu-propagandu-pogib-v-donetske-rossiyskie-tankisty-zaderzhali-ego-posle-udara-po-voennoy-chasti Американец Рассел Бентли, работавший на российскую пропаганду, погиб в Донецке.]</ref><ref>[https://war.obozrevatel.com/v-dnr-rossijskie-tankistyi-ugnali-i-ubili-izvestnogo-amerikanskogo-kommunista-foto.htm В "ДНР" российские танкисты выкрали и убили известного американского коммуниста.]</ref><ref>[https://www.unian.net/russianworld/rassel-bentli-ubit-v-donecke-veroyatno-rossiyskimi-soldatami-12610872.html В Донецке российские военные убили американца, воевавшего за "ДНР" с 2014 года]</ref><ref>[https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-april-20-2024 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 20, 2024] [[Institute for the Study of War]], April 20, 2024. Retrieved 21 April 21, 2024.</ref>{{excessive citations inline|date=September 2024}}


According to Stephen Hall, a researcher on Russian affairs at the [[University of Bath]], the "most likely scenario is that [Bentley] was killed by Russian soldiers who mistook him for an American spy."<ref name="Seibt">{{cite news |title=Who was the 'Donbass Cowboy', the pro-Russian Texan who died in Donetsk? |last=Seibt |first=Sebastion |url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240427-who-was-the-donbass-cowboy-the-pro-russian-texan-who-died-in-donetsk |work=France 24 |location=Paris |date=27 April 2024 |access-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816195920/https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240427-who-was-the-donbass-cowboy-the-pro-russian-texan-who-died-in-donetsk |archive-date=16 August 2024}}</ref>
According to Stephen Hall, a researcher on Russian affairs at the [[University of Bath]], the "most likely scenario is that [Bentley] was killed by Russian soldiers who mistook him for an American spy."<ref name="Seibt">{{cite news |title=Who was the 'Donbass Cowboy', the pro-Russian Texan who died in Donetsk? |last=Seibt |first=Sebastion |url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240427-who-was-the-donbass-cowboy-the-pro-russian-texan-who-died-in-donetsk |work=France 24 |location=Paris |date=27 April 2024 |access-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816195920/https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240427-who-was-the-donbass-cowboy-the-pro-russian-texan-who-died-in-donetsk |archive-date=16 August 2024}}</ref>


Al Jazeera 360 has documented Bentley’s story in ''A Diary of a Fighter''.<ref>https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/29/russell-bentley-pro-russia-fighter-from-texas-disappears-in-donetsk</ref>
Al Jazeera 360 documented Bentley’s story in ''A Diary of a Fighter''.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Russell Bentley: Pro-Russia fighter from US dies after Donetsk 'abduction' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/29/russell-bentley-pro-russia-fighter-from-texas-disappears-in-donetsk |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

In September 2024, four Russian servicemen, Vitaly Vasnyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin and Andrey Yordanov, were charged with abuse of authority resulting in Bentley's death (article 286 of [[Criminal Code of Russia|Criminal Code]]), desecration of his body (article 244) and concealment of crimes (article 33 and 316). The [[Investigative Committee of Russia]] found that Agaltsev and Yordanov killed Bentley on 8 April, placed his body in a vehicle which was subsequently blown up in an attempt to cover up the murder, then moved his remains to "another location" with the assistance of the other two soldiers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Мотызлевская |first=Полина |date=20 September 2024 |title=СКР установил всех причастных к убийству военкора Рассела Бентли |trans-title=The Investigative Committee of Russia has identified all those involved in the murder of war correspondent Russell Bentley |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/7168318?from=top_main_1 |access-date=20 September 2024 |website=[[Kommersant]] |language=ru}}</ref> The suspects were said to be members of the Russian Army's 5th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade based in Donetsk Oblast and under the command of Major General [[Pavel Klimenko]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/11/08/russian-general-alleged-to-have-organized-torture-camp-killed-in-ukraine-reports-a86946 |title=Russian General Alleged to Have Organized Torture Camp Killed in Ukraine – Reports |publisher=[[The Moscow Times]] |date=2024-11-08 |access-date=2024-11-08 |language=en}}</ref>


==Electoral history==
==Electoral history==
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{{Election box end}}
{{Election box end}}


== See also ==
== See also ==
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦--->
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦--->
*[[Russian information war against Ukraine]]
*[[Russian information war against Ukraine]]
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{Telegram|TXDPR}}
* {{Telegram|TXDPR}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cA9cGUGr00 Russell Bentley, VICE interview] on [[YouTube|Youtube]]
* {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cA9cGUGr00|title=Meet the Texan Fighting for the DPR: Russian Roulette (Dispatch 107)|publisher=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]|date=2015-04-23|via=[[YouTube]]}} - Russell Bentley, VICE interview on YouTube


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Russell}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Russell}}
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[[Category:American bloggers]]
[[Category:American bloggers]]
[[Category:American communists]]
[[Category:American communists]]
[[Category:Russian bloggers]]
[[Category:Russian communists]]
[[Category:Activists from Texas]]
[[Category:Activists from Texas]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:Date of birth missing]]
[[Category:Date of birth missing]]
[[Category:People murdered in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas]]
[[Category:Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas]]
[[Category:Pro-Russia foreign volunteers in the Russian invasion of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Pro-Russia foreign volunteers in the Russian invasion of Ukraine]]
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[[Category:Military of the Donetsk People's Republic]]
[[Category:Military of the Donetsk People's Republic]]
[[Category:American male bloggers]]
[[Category:American male bloggers]]
[[Category:Russian male bloggers]]
[[Category:2020s missing person cases]]
[[Category:2020s missing person cases]]
[[Category:Formerly missing people]]
[[Category:Formerly missing people]]
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[[Category:American people convicted of drug offenses]]
[[Category:American people convicted of drug offenses]]
[[Category:Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy]]
[[Category:Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of Russia]]


{{Russia-mil-bio-stub}}

Revision as of 22:14, 3 December 2024

For the American politician from Kentucky, see Russell Bentley (politician).

Russell Bentley
Bentley in 2015
Birth nameRussell Bonner Bentley III
Nickname(s)
  • Texas
  • The Donbass Cowboy
Born20 June 1960
Austin, Texas, United States[1]
Diedc.8 April 2024
Donetsk, Russian-occupied Ukraine
AllegianceRussia
Service / branch
Years of service2014–2024
Battles / wars

Russell Bonner Bentley III (Russian: Рассел Бентли, romanized: Rassel Bentli; 20 June 1960 – 8 April 2024), also known as Texas (Russian: Техас, pronounced in Russian like "Tekhas") and the Donbass Cowboy, was an American man who served in the Vostok Battalion and XAH Spetsnaz Battalion in 2014, 2015 and 2017 on the side of the Donetsk People's Republic.[1][2] He was a YouTuber until his channel was deleted in early 2022.[3][4] He also worked for the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency as a war correspondent.[5] He became a Russian citizen via naturalization in 2021. Prior to his activities in the Donbas, he was a marijuana activist and smuggler who was later convicted of drug smuggling and spent five years in prison.

Biography

Early life

Bentley was born in 1960 in Austin, and grew up in Highland Park, Texas until he was eight. Bentley began reading leftist literature as a teenager and became a socialist. At 16, he attended high school for one semester before dropping out. Bentley later got his GED, and at age 20, was convinced by his father to join the U.S. Army. He served in the army for three years, and was stationed in Louisiana and Germany. After being honorably discharged from the army, he moved to South Padre Island where he worked as a waiter.[1][6]

Marijuana activism, conviction and imprisonment

In 1990, Bentley moved to Minneapolis. Initially working as a lumberjack, he later sold marijuana instead. He became a marijuana activist, joining the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the pro-legalization Grassroots Party. At age 30, he ran as a U.S. Senate third-party candidate for the Grassroots Party in the 1990 election, gathering 1.65% of the vote. In the mid 1990s, Bentley would also visit communist Cuba, where he deepened his leftist convictions, becoming a communist himself.[1][6] In February 1996, Bentley's house was raided by the police and he was arrested for felony trafficking of marijuana. He received a sentence of five years and three months. Although he was supposed to be released at the end of 1999, in August 1999, Bentley escaped from prison. He lived as a fugitive until 2007, when he was captured and sent to a maximum-security prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. He was released from prison the following summer.[1][6]

Pro-Russian activism

By 2014, Bentley was working as an arborist in Round Rock, Texas.[7] Bentley left his life in the United States, including a relationship with a yoga instructor, to join pro-Russian forces in Donetsk in Ukraine, motivated by a desire to combat Ukrainian forces.[6] He arrived in Donetsk on December 7, 2014.[3] He utilized crowdfunding platforms to finance his involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian war, setting up a GoFundMe campaign to finance his move to the Donbas on a self-described "Fact Finding Mission to Donbass".[8] During his time he nicknamed himself "Texas," described by Benoît Vitkine of Le Monde as a "nom de guerre".[9] He was also known as the "Donbass Cowboy," with the word "Donbas" written with the Russian orthography instead of the Ukrainian one.[10]

He received a Donetsk People's Republic passport,[1] and in 2021 he received Russian citizenship.[10]

Military and political stance

Bentley decided to fight for the Donetsk People's Republic. He expressed a strong commitment to what he perceived as a "battle against fascism", driven by the desire to take a stand against what he saw as "injustices in Ukraine". The Independent wrote that his involvement highlights the complex motivations behind foreign participation in the conflict.[2]

Disappearance and death

According to the local police and his wife, Bentley went missing on April 8, 2024.[11] His wife reported he had been detained by unidentified Russian military personnel.[5] The Vostok Battalion confirmed his death on April 19, 2024, via social media.[12][5] Alexander Khodakovsky, one of the leaders of the self-proclaimed DPR, demanded in his telegram channel that “those who killed Russell Bentley” be punished, but later deleted this message.[13][14][15][16][excessive citations]

According to Stephen Hall, a researcher on Russian affairs at the University of Bath, the "most likely scenario is that [Bentley] was killed by Russian soldiers who mistook him for an American spy."[17]

Al Jazeera 360 documented Bentley’s story in A Diary of a Fighter.[18]

In September 2024, four Russian servicemen, Vitaly Vasnyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin and Andrey Yordanov, were charged with abuse of authority resulting in Bentley's death (article 286 of Criminal Code), desecration of his body (article 244) and concealment of crimes (article 33 and 316). The Investigative Committee of Russia found that Agaltsev and Yordanov killed Bentley on 8 April, placed his body in a vehicle which was subsequently blown up in an attempt to cover up the murder, then moved his remains to "another location" with the assistance of the other two soldiers.[19] The suspects were said to be members of the Russian Army's 5th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade based in Donetsk Oblast and under the command of Major General Pavel Klimenko.[20]

Electoral history

1990 United States Senate election in Minnesota[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Paul Wellstone 911,999 50.49%
Ind.-Republican Rudy Boschwitz (incumbent) 864,375 47.86%
Grassroots Russell B. Bentley 29,820 1.65%
Total votes 1,806,194 100.00%

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Smith, Sonia (March 21, 2018). "War of Words: Meet the Texan Trolling for Putin". Texas Monthly. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Sengupta, Kim (September 24, 2015). "Ukraine crisis: Meet the foreign nationals fighting for the Donetsk People's Republic". The Independent. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Exclusive: Russell Bentley, Texas Man in Russian Army, Says He's 'Liberating' Ukraine". Newsweek. March 3, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  4. ^ "Pro-Kremlin Texan Russell Bentley, who fought for Russia, found dead in Ukraine". New York Times. April 20, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "US citizen who fought with pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine reported dead". The Guardian. April 19, 2024. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Dickinson, Tim (March 3, 2022). "The Bizarre Story of How a Hardcore Texas Leftist Became a Frontline Putin Propagandist". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  7. ^ "Who is Russell Bonner Bentley? Texas Man 'On the Front With Russian Troops' in Ukraine". Newsweek. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  8. ^ "The communist soldier using charity sites to fund his war". BBC News. July 24, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  9. ^ Vitkine, Benoît (May 5, 2024). "Russell 'Texas' Bentley: The life and death of an American from Donetsk". Le Monde. Paris. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Smith, Sonia (May 16, 2024). "How a Texan Trolling for Putin Met His End". Texas Monthly. Austin, Texas. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  11. ^ "American missing in Russian-controlled east Ukraine, say local police". Reuters. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  12. ^ Батальон Восток
  13. ^ Американец Рассел Бентли, работавший на российскую пропаганду, погиб в Донецке.
  14. ^ В "ДНР" российские танкисты выкрали и убили известного американского коммуниста.
  15. ^ В Донецке российские военные убили американца, воевавшего за "ДНР" с 2014 года
  16. ^ Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 20, 2024 Institute for the Study of War, April 20, 2024. Retrieved 21 April 21, 2024.
  17. ^ Seibt, Sebastion (April 27, 2024). "Who was the 'Donbass Cowboy', the pro-Russian Texan who died in Donetsk?". France 24. Paris. Archived from the original on August 16, 2024. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  18. ^ "Russell Bentley: Pro-Russia fighter from US dies after Donetsk 'abduction'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  19. ^ Мотызлевская, Полина (September 20, 2024). "СКР установил всех причастных к убийству военкора Рассела Бентли" [The Investigative Committee of Russia has identified all those involved in the murder of war correspondent Russell Bentley]. Kommersant (in Russian). Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  20. ^ "Russian General Alleged to Have Organized Torture Camp Killed in Ukraine – Reports". The Moscow Times. November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  21. ^ "Our Campaigns - MN US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1990".
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