Talk:Vladimir Antyufeyev

"High official"

If we know that he was a "high official" then that implies that we have a source. If we have a source then we ought to be able to specify the rank. It would be great if we could be less vague here, please. A rank (perhaps with a year or range of years in parenthesis) would make for a more useful article. - Mauco 04:12, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Bogdan's new source in Russian answered the rank issue, and added several other info. I've added all of this now, so this item, regarding rank in Riga, is now settled. - Mauco 12:36, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

It's appreciated that you identified Antjufeev's rank and added Alksnis as the initiator of his ingress to the PMR. However, you also eliminated the historical references and context, specifically, that his PMR presence was orchestrated from a larger previously Baltic-focused contingent, and that Antjufeev's characterization of his presence was as part of "Russian freedom forces." (Antjufeev quote reference is Latvian website, Noziegumi pret cilvēci.) I'm assuming that removing that he supervised the OMON forces in Riga was an oversight in the editing process. That said, I haven't had a chance to look through all the Transnistrian articles—was your edit meant to imply that information eliminated was better suited for inclusion elsewhere? Otherwise I'll be putting it back in to supplement your change. —Pēters J. Vecrumba 18:24, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Antyufeev - same person as Vadim Shevtsov?

This is what I heard, but don't remember the source. Can anybody confirm?--MariusM 11:37, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

"...the notorious head of the Ministry of State Security (MGB – Ministerstvo gosudarstvennoi bezopasnosti), Vadim Shevtsov. His real identity is Vladimir Antufeev, former head of Soviet special police in Riga at the time of a massacre of nationalist protesters [7]. To some, Shevtsov in effect runs the TDMR and its criminal rackets: even by 1996, for example, former TDMR Prosecutor Boris Luchik—who had just been sacked on the MGB’s insistence—was warning that ‘Shevtsov’s gang’ was ‘in full control of the region’..."

from this article, by Mark Galeotti bogdan 11:39, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

I am very familiar with Galeotti's article. There is no "Vadim Shevtsov". This was apparently an operative name which he used during his initial years with the security ministry. Please note that all field assigned security agents in all countries (even Moldova, guys) have two names: The real one, and another one which they may, either all the time or in some circumstances, use for work. Also: Do we have a confirmation source for the above, preferably in Russian? Reason is that English sources, especially those before 2002, are notoriously wrong on many counts. Many of these older references (including several references by Mark Galeotti's paper) are extremely poorly sourced for an academic paper and we have in other parts of Wikipedia already proven at least two of them to be plain wrong. - Mauco 11:57, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

From the Jamestown Foundation (February 16, 1998)—

Fifteen members of the former OMON detachment in Riga are going on trial before a district court in the Latvian capital today. The crack unit of the USSR Internal Affairs Ministry was involved in attacks on Latvian customs and police posts during 1990-91, when Moscow and its local supporters attempted to crush the Latvian independence movement. Most of the defendants are charged with involvement in armed attacks that resulted in homicide and other crimes.

Another forty-eight members of the detachment, including its senior officers, are wanted for this trial but are known to have found a haven in Russia and in the breakaway Transdniester region of Moldova. Some have been granted Russian citizenship. Some have been reemployed by Russia's Internal Affairs Ministry. Moscow has turned down Latvia's requests to extradite them. (BNS, Itar-Tass, February 14)

A group of senior former OMON and KGB officers from Riga hold senior posts in Transdniester. The head of this group, ex-OMON Major Vladimir Antufeev, became state security minister of Transdniester under the assumed name of Vadim Shevtsov and currently holds the rank of lieutenant general, overseeing Transdniester's security, internal affairs and intelligence bodies.

To the first point of use of the Shevtsov identity, Antyufeev took an "official" position in the PMR government under an assumed identity (regardless of its origin). Second, and not yet mentioned here, he is wanted in Latvia for trial for criminal conduct. —Pēters J. Vecrumba 18:41, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Антюфеев Владимир Юрьевич (он же - Шевцов Владимир Георгиевич, он же - Александров Владимир Георгиевич) родился 19 февраля 1951 года в Новосибирске в семье рабочего и машинистки. С 1956 года семья жила в Магадане. Учился в Рижском институте гражданской авиации, со второго курса ушел. Служил в Эстонии в Советской Армии. Вернулся в Ригу, женился, пошел в милицию. Через десять лет - в звании капитана стал начальником отдела уголовного розыска города, затем были взлеты и падения, последняя должность - заместитель начальника управления уголовного розыска Риги, майор милиции. В 1990 году награжден орденом «За личное мужество».

По воспоминаниям самого Антюфеева, «после того, как нас продал подонок Бакатин, 24 августа 1991 года приехал в Москву с 200 рублями в кармане, затем метался по стране, в сентябре по рекомендации Алксниса прибыл в Тирасполь. Был одним из шести первых сотрудников УВД ПМР. По поручению Президента приступил к созданию органов госбезопасности ПМР, а затем и министерства госбезопасности. Мы представляем действительную проблему для Молдовы. Цель моей жизни - сохранить эту землю для России.

from http://www.olvia.idknet.com/razlom/glava_4.htm

So, yes, he was a police chief in Riga at that time. Should I assume that the «За личное мужество» Order was given to him for massacring nationalist protesters...? :-) bogdan 12:14, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

It doesn't take much personal courage to slaughter people. If he had entered politics, that would show balls. Anyway, thanks for adding this source. I will rewrite the bio now, and re-add the MariusM info now that we have source. We also need a stub on "Black colonel" Viktor Alknis - could you perhaps start it? - Mauco 12:22, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Just a note, it should be created under his Latvian name, Viktors Alksnis. (There are other pointers out there already for this expected page.) —Pēters J. Vecrumba 19:13, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

No. See Wikipedia naming policy. The stub should be Viktor Alknis, with redirects for Viktors Alknis and Victor Alknis (also used, see Google test) so that he can be found on Wiki under all three monikers. - Mauco 13:21, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm sorry for my confusion, but since he is of Latvian origin, and his native name is Viktors Alksnis, is not that the one to which the others should redirect? I appreciate the "Google test," but popularity is not an indicator of correctness. —Pēters J. Vecrumba 20:54, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

Then, my mistake. I did not know that he was Latvian, and it is my turn to apologize. Wikipedia naming policy for articles state that we use the original name, which then in this case would be Viktors Alknis. Then for the other names we will have redirects. - Mauco 02:27, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

Mauco, you can now emphasize the Latvian origin of Alksnis, in Transnistrian referendum, 2006 article, in order to show that not only Russians are convinced that Transnistria is a true democracy :-) But better, agree to mediation in that case. I would like to work on other articles, but you keep me busy with endless discussions in Transnistria-related articles and refuse mediation.--MariusM 13:06, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

Vecrumba, be bold and include in the page the informations you have.--MariusM 21:55, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Bad advice. Be bold specifically does not apply to controversial subjects. Prior discussion and consensus is always the best policy in such cases, to avoid reverts (as you have no doubt learned by now... else keep learning). - Mauco 13:21, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

I don't believe I've added anything without also citing appropriate sources. I think you may mistake MariusM's intent. :-) —Pēters J. Vecrumba 20:54, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

In this case, I wasn't referring to lack of sources but to inherent bias/POV. In that, intent has been made perfectly clear on other pages, thus the caveat. Even on this page, to jump right in and label Antyufeev as a high ranking KGB officer was a bit irresponsible, if I may say so, and only meant that some of us had to find the proper sources (a big thank you to Bogdan in particular) and clean up afterward. As a side note, I hope that we are all aware of Wikipedia's special policy on bios of living people. - Mauco 02:27, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

My apologies for not citing "high ranking" sooner and supervisor of the Riga OMON, that was from "Noziegumi pret cilveci" (Latvian Crimes Against Humanity) site, so absolutely not my POV. While the article discusses Antjufeev as among those wanted, I haven't gathered enough good citable sources to pass the Wiki litmus test yet--that is, either point to a specific list of specific crimes related to him personally or official citable confirmation he is (still) wanted in conjunction with the overall investigation of the killings by the Black Berets. —Pēters J. Vecrumba 13:22, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

"Wanted" in Latvia?

Is a fact that Antyufeev is wanted by Latvian authorities "charged with involvement in armed attacks that resulted in homicide"? If yes, it should be included in the article. We shouldn't write in the article if Latvian authorities are right or wrong, but we should mention the facts.--MariusM 13:10, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

I agree with MariusM. It is relevant. It must certainly be included. Here's how to do it, so you do it right: Find the Interpol listing, then use that as the source. If he is wanted for homicide, and since he is not on Latvian soil, then surely they have filed a request with Interpol. Later, it is up to the courts (in an extradition case, in whatever country he is apprehended in) to review whether or not they will extradite based on the Latvian file or if they deem this to be a trumped-up political charge. That is not for Wikipedia to pass judgment on. We must merely state that he is wanted, and if we can point to the wanted page on the Interpol website, then we are on solid ground. As for anything less, we should be a bit careful and should discuss it first. This is not because of any great love on my part for Antyufeev but merely because I want to follow Wikipedia's criteria for biographies of living people, which is quite a bit stricter than other articles in general. - Mauco 14:33, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

I have to remove the murder charge if it is only substantiated with hearsay from Romanian newspapers. Sorry, guys, but you need to know how strict Wikipedia's rules are on biographies of living people. If this charge is real, surely there is an Interpol record somewhere. Bring it on. Find it, let us have it in the article. In fact, if it is real, it is such an important part of the public persona that the accusation should have a prominent place in the beginning of the article. - Mauco 02:40, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

OK, then we can use the BBC report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/romanian/news/story/2004/09/040927_moldova.shtml bogdan 08:32, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Much better, thanks. And if someone can please find the Interpol thing, that would be great too. - Mauco 14:30, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

I thought it would help to set this off as its own "talk" section. I did find another report on the Jamestown Foundation site: "Antyufeyev's public appearance and confident speech are especially noteworthy. Now holding a general's rank, Antyufeyev was an OMON major in Soviet Latvia, played a leading role in the 1991 abortive Soviet crackdown in Riga, and is wanted by Latvia on criminal charges arising from those events. Shortly afterward he resurfaced in Tiraspol, under the assumed name Vadim Shevtsov, to head Transdniester's security apparatus. Antyufeyev is considered the key leader in Tiraspol, more powerful than the official leader Smirnov." (September 11, 2000) — My emphasis, the assessment of Antyufeev being the one with the "power" also appears in Latvian news reports. I've made an initial inquiry to find out if he's still wanted by the Latvian authorities. —Pēters J. Vecrumba 15:03, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

"Is considered" by whom? By the author of the article? By the U.S. State Department? By Russia? By an official statement issued by Moldova's foreign ministry? By a U.N. report? Just so you all know, there was talk of firing him in August and he gave a rambling news conference (reported in the press) that lasted for several hours, he was clearly desperate to hold onto his job, so maybe some of these reports should be considered in light of recent events. - Mauco 15:11, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

I have some photos of the August panic. He looks like he is unravelling. He does not look like someone who is the power behind the power. - Mauco 04:00, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

I've given your response some thought. On the one hand, I have the Jamestown Foundation, one of the preeminent think tanks and research institutions saying Anyufeyev is the power behind the throne. On the other, I have you saying, "The guy was on TV, there's talk of firing him, he's coming apart at the seams." I will be expanding the article to indicate that he has been reliably reported as the power behind the throne (something less colorful). If you wish to dispute based on observances, that qualifies as original research. If you say, no it's not original research, then we'll have to revisit the referendum page, where people have indicated that Transnistrians (family members) were told to go vote and told how and put it in the article. You can't claim original research when it disputes your position but then claim observation (original research) to dispute that which doesn't suit your own position. —Pēters J. Vecrumba 00:14, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

I was not observing on anything that I wanted included in the article, Vecrumba. I was merely commenting in general, for the benefit of other Transnistria-watchers who might follow this thread. I am sure that informed observers know the real score on Anyufeyev AND the real score on Vladimir Socor. So whatever you include, be sure to state specifically that this is what Jamestown's writer thinks. His analysis has a history of being wrong more often than being right. I base this on having reviewed more than a decade of his writings, and even having read his old book (from back in the seventies) on Romanian politics. - Mauco 15:52, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm not going to disavow Jamestown Foundation materials as POV the same way one would need to disavow BHHRG materials. Let's be serious here. It's your personal analysis (original research) that the Jamestown Foundation (regarded as a NPOV organization) information is flawed. If you structure your contributions less on your personal analysis of the situation and what you personally want to portray and stick to sources widely regarded as (a) reputable and (b) non-partisan, then you could spend more time contributing and less time disputing. Jamestown Foundation says X but Mauco says Y is not appropriate for an encyclopedia article. I can be just as much of a self-appointed expert, so let's not go there. And to date, Shmulevich as an example, you have not been impressive in your scholarly thoroughness. I don't mean that as an attack, I think we both know you're capable of better. —Pēters J. Vecrumba 19:28, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

In what regards Transnistria, Jamestown's only voice is Socor. If you follow him, you know who he is and what he uses his pulpit for. Shmulevich almost compares favorably. I rest my case. - Mauco 19:51, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Are we using the most accurate transliterated spelling?

I'm a bit concerned that in transliterating (it looks to be one-for-one to Latin alphabet, and I think I recall seeing a Wiki mapping table somewhere), the last name isn't quite right. The double vowel is not pronounced like a "long e" in English, which is how Antyufeev reads. In the Baltic/Slavic languages it's been transliterated to Antjuvejev, and in English (including on official EU sites), to "Antyufeyev." I would move that we add the "second 'y'" and rename the article (with a redirect from the old) to "Vladimir Antyufeyev." Thoughts? —Pēters J. Vecrumba 02:37, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

I agree. However, do a redirect so he can be found under both spellings. (The last thing we want is for this international master criminal to slip through the cracks of Wikipedia, never to be found again. By the way, did anyone ever find out if there is REALLY an Interpol file on him or if that is just bad press?) - Mauco 03:58, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm up to my eyeballs but will get to that in the next day or two. On Interpol, I've found more (past) references to him being wanted by Interpol, but have held off posting anything while I try to get some more details. Unfortunately, neither the Interpol nor the Latvian State Police web sites lend themselves to any sort of investigating. (Rather odd, but then again, I suppose it's a case of not tipping off the bad guys to what information you really have.) —Pēters J. Vecrumba 16:33, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

Could be, but the FBI has huge success with their "FBI 10 Most Wanted" webpage. It is one of the most visited law enforcement pages in the world, and the Internet has helped catch criminals. If you find the Interpol entry for Antyufeev we can and should of course link to it. Either as a reference (to text in the article) or as an external link. - Mauco 16:49, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

Couple of quick updates. I changed the transliteration in English to Antyufeyev (and also Galina Antyufeyeva), and tracked down and corrected all the double redirects. Also, on Interpol, I received a reply from them, they categorically do not release any information to the public directly, they only publish the red list at the request of the various national police (so, the "most wanted" list that can be viewed on their site). I have not had any response from the Latvian authorities yet. —Pēters J. Vecrumba 02:31, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

Do they at least publish their "red" or "most wanted" list? Where? And is he on it? - Mauco 19:52, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Interpol's web site has a hand-full of most wanted (genocide, terrorists and the ilk), that's about it. Put another way, assuming the allegation of murder against Antyufeyev is valid and still in force, he wouldn't have killed enough to even rate being on the list. Interpol shows nothing systematic by all participating countries, or most wanted in each country, etc., etc. Unfortunately, the Interpol response was quite clear that the only recourse for information is to contact the respective country authorities. So this will take a while. —Pēters J. Vecrumba 21:36, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

OK, thanks for letting us know. Good luck with that, and please keep us posted when you hear something, even if it takes a while. - Mauco 23:24, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

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