Falkov, Mikhail

Mikhail Falkov was born in 1977 in Latvia . ^{[4] [1]} Repatriated to Israel with his brother and parents in 1990. About childhood impressions after arriving in Israel, Falkov wrote:

After the Soviet schools, we were placed in the local “monkeys”, instructing us in every possible way to forget the Russian language, and everything else that we were taught in the totalitarian system (here freedom - everything is possible for children!). Intrusive pressure, which forced one to abandon one's self, provoked a natural protest. But for the fact that we remained “different,” the indigenous peers beat mercilessly - in heaps against one. There was no one to complain - the parents had enough of their problems. At the factories and at the cleaning of the entrances, the certified Soviet engineers, who were in charge of huge workshops and even entire enterprises there, paid a penny. And we, 12 - 13-year-old boys, had to wash cars of important uncles for a scanty fee, clean garbage on the beaches, while their children frolic nearby, clean the sewers. The “Russian” boys were exploited, but neither the liberal press nor public organizations noticed this. ^[five]

In May 1992, Falkov became one of the main participants in the massacre of Russian and Ethiopian teenage groups at the Mikve Israel boarding school. Wanted for this by the police. ^{[6] [7]} Before and during military service, he was associated with Georgian criminal groups in southern Israel. ^[6]
In 1995-1999 he served in the Israeli army. Falkov later wrote about the beginning of his service:

... After being drafted into the army, we were accused of violating discipline and even inciting a riot for speaking Russian to each other. I really wanted to protest the apparent discrimination, but we did not know where to turn. ^[five]

A few months later, he was sentenced to military service by a military tribunal for lengthy imprisonment. He served time in a military prison in a strict regime unit for soldiers who committed criminal offenses. He was released from prison ahead of schedule. ^[6] After that, he was an instructor in operational intelligence of the Israeli army in southern Lebanon. ^{[6] [8]}

Regional Security Expert

In 2000-2004, Falkov worked in the Israeli newspaper Novosti Nedeli and in the Moscow weekly Versia ( Top Secret Holding), was the editor of the Middle East department of Agentura.ru, published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta , Russian Journal , on the website of Utro.ru . ^[9] Most of his publications were devoted to special services and security issues in the Middle East , Central Asia , and the Caucasus . In August 2000, the media first published a dossier on the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and its leaders, authored by Falkov. ^[10] It was cited in documents from Western research centers of the RAND Corporation , The American Foreign Policy Council , the Brussels-based International Crisis Prevention Group (ICG).

In 2003-2005, Falkov acted as an expert on Israel Plus and RTVi security channels in the Middle East; Israel TV Channel 10 expert   Video and the state radio station Reshet Bet ^[11] on security issues in Central Asia and the Caucasus. ^[9]

In 2003-2005, Falkov was a speaker at expert forums in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on security issues in Central Asia , organized by the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KISI) under the President of Kazakhstan and the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies (ISMI) under the President of Uzbekistan . ^[9]

Putin Scandal

In February 2004, the Israeli newspaper "News of the Week" published scandalous material signed by a certain Shimon Alexandrov. ^{[12] The} article began as follows:

A number of Russian oligarchs who opposed the Kremlin are most actively using Israel for personal political purposes. Their aspirations not only have nothing to do with the state interests of our country, but they often openly contradict them. This situation, in particular, is detrimental to the relations between Jerusalem and Moscow . This during recent bilateral contacts was unofficially announced by its senior representatives. They cited a number of examples testifying to the activity of opposition Russian businessmen in Israel. In some cases, it aims to replace the existing government in the country of origin. Moscow also has information about the connections of some disgraced oligarchs with influential figures in the financial and political establishment of the Jewish state. In at least two cases, we are talking about the environment of the Israeli prime minister, which is extremely alarming for the Kremlin.

The Israeli newspaper Globus reported that this article was written in the interests of Russian President Putin, and its author was Mikhail Falkov, who is hiding under the pseudonym Shimon Alexandrov. ^[13]
The newspaper Haaretz wrote:

The mystery surrounding the publication of a journalistic investigation in Israel, as well as the date of publication of the article - on the eve of the Russian elections, attracted attention in both countries ...

The main idea of ​​this article is as follows: Jewish oligarchs such as Vladimir Gusinsky , Boris Berezovsky , Vladimir Dubov and Leonid Nevzlin (the latter two are senior representatives of the Russian oil giant Yukos , whose chairman Mikhail Khodorkovsky is currently in a Russian prison) are trying to establish control over the world of politics , science and media in Israel to influence the relationship between Jerusalem and Moscow, as well as domestic Russian politics ...

The author quotes a Kremlin official who told the Israeli minister two months ago (presumably Avigdor Lieberman , as he is the only one who visited Russia at that time) that “as long as Israel serves as the basis for Russian political immigration, no progress should be expected in bilateral relations between the two countries. "

The Haaretz commentary emphasized:

The author provides detailed documentation on complex frauds, starting with a reference to Jewish roots and the purchase of property and ending with the penetration and occupation of influential posts in the Prime Minister’s office. As expected, the Prime Minister’s Office denied any involvement in this or in attempts to influence.
David Shekhter , adviser to Minister Nathan Sharansky , during a meeting with the Russian consul in Tel Aviv, heard from the latter's lips a refutation of any involvement of the Kremlin or the Russian embassy in Israel in the preparation of the article. However, even this statement did not end the wave of rumors about the Kremlin’s direct participation in the preparation of the material. ^[14]

The press service of the Office of the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon officially denied a message by Shimon Alexandrov (Mikhail Falkov) about the Prime Minister’s secret ties with disgraced Russian oligarchs. ^[15]

Work in Our Home Israel Party

From October 2004 to February 2005, Falkov worked as strategic adviser to the chairman of the Our Home Israel party Avigdor Lieberman and his adviser on press relations in Russian and Hebrew. ^[16] According to the official version, he served as head of the party press service. ^[17] According to The Jerusalem Post , Falkov was a party strategist. ^[18] He later wrote about this:

As for my work as an adviser to Lieberman, I admit - it was like that. But not in 2003-2004, but from October 1, 2004 to February 1, 2005. Four months later, it became clear that we clearly did not agree on the characters, and I preferred to leave. This can be confirmed by the then general director of NDI Faina Kirshenbaum, whom I submitted my resignation letter on January 25, 2005. ^[five]

AIA English Project

In 2005-2006, under the pseudonym Michel Elbaz, Falkov founded and directed the American information and analytical center Axis Information and Analysis (AIA). AIA worked in the EU , the Balkans , the South Caucasus , Central Asia , Russia , Turkey , and Israel . ^[19] The AIA staff included journalists, former diplomats, and former secret service officers from several countries in Asia and Eastern Europe . ^{[20] The} AIA provoked a series of scandals in Eastern Europe , especially in the Baltic republics. In October 2005 , Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip publicly responded to AIA publication, ^{[21] [22]} in March 2006 - Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga . ^[23] In April 2006, in connection with one of the publications, a special meeting was held ^{[24] of the} Latvian Constitution Protection Bureau SAB. ^{[25] The} Latvian television channel LNT devoted three special reports to AIA in April-May 2006. In January 2006, Falk (under the pseudonym Michel Elbaz) advised BBC Two (Newsnight) on one of the publications, and in April 2006, the Australian television channel SBS. On December 9, 2006, an interview with Falkov (who performed under the pseudonym Sami Rozen) was broadcast by CNN on World News. ^[25] Martin Helme, editor for foreign policy of the Estonian DELFI publication, evaluated the AIA as follows:

They have a very extensive network of sources in different countries. I think this is a kind of cover for some kind of CIA operation or other special services. They rely on people who are well versed in specific topics. ^[25]

British journalist Edward Lucas has investigated the activities of Falkov and the AIA he created. In his book Spies, Lies and How Russia Dupes the West, he suggested that it was a FSB project.

The assumed role of the AIA as an active participant in the intelligence operation was very short ... An important combination was probably not the last time used, the anonymity provided by the Internet, and the human resources that the Russian diaspora provides to Moscow in the field of intelligence and security. ^[26]

Advisor to the Likud Party Chairman

In 2007-2008, Falkov worked as an adviser on Russian affairs to the chairman of the Likud party , Benjamin Netanyahu . Falkov developed the Likud strategy for working with Russian-language media, and was engaged in the consolidation of inner-party groups of Russian-speaking activists. ^[27]

In October 2007, the newspapers Yediot Aharonot , Maariv , Haaretz and almost all major Hebrew websites accused Falkov of pursuing a right-wing policy in the work of the Russian website of the Likud party and with Russian-speaking activists. The party’s press service on behalf of Netanyahu apologized for the extremist materials on the Russian site, and the site was closed. Netanyahu’s office stopped working with Russian-speaking activists. ^{[27] [28] [29] [30]}

According to Likud activists, the scandal was provoked by the Kadima party , whose leadership was afraid of the growing popularity of Likud among Russian-speaking voters. ^[31]

Liberman's

In 2008, Falkov founded and led the Israeli Russian-language site Izrus. The Haaretz newspaper called it the "mouthpiece of Lieberman" (chairman of the party " Our Home Israel "). ^[32] The Maariv newspaper wrote about Falkov’s new work:

Falkov is much more than just a journalist, just as he was much more than just a media relations adviser when he worked with the chairman of Our Home Israel Party Avigdor Lieberman and the Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu . The network of sources and connections that he created reaches the offices of the presidents in the post-Soviet space. Mikhail Falkov also has a network of quality sources in Israeli special services such as Shabak , Mossad , and the former Nativ intelligence structure, which is responsible for repatriation from the Soviet Union . From his point of view, any Russian-speaking person who has achieved something in this country, including the oligarchs, is an object of interest for him. ^[four]

In July 2009, a scandalous article was published on Falkov’s website about the lecherous behavior of Israeli diplomats. The article claimed that the situation at the Foreign Ministry was appalling, “until a new minister appeared” Avigdor Lieberman . ^[33] The Maariv newspaper reported that this publication aroused the indignation of the Foreign Ministry employees. Outraged letters from employees were sent to the general director of the ministry. The newspaper recalled that an article on the Izrus website appeared after Foreign Ministry officials opposed Lieberman’s decision to appoint his candidate as ambassador to Cairo . The Haaretz newspaper noted that the Izrus editorial board was acting on Lieberman’s order. ^[34] In September 2009, Falkov’s lawyer filed a lawsuit in Tel Aviv with a libel lawsuit against Haaretz . ^[16] In May 2010, in accordance with a court decision, the Haaretz newspaper published a refutation of its information about Falkov and his website. ^[35] The Israel TV Channel 9 website reported:

For the first time, one of the central Israeli publications fulfilled its obligations as a result of a lawsuit filed by a Russian-language media resource, including publicly acknowledging its own mistakes. ^[36]

Zeev Elkin , head of the parliamentary coalition and Likud faction, Robert Ilatov , head of the Our Home Israel parliamentary faction, Marina Solodkina and Robert Tivyaev , president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia ( FEOR ) Alexander Boroda , expressed their satisfaction with the court verdict. the leadership of the Russian Jewish Congress ( REC ), the head of the Department of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress ( EAJC ) in public relations and media Roman Spektor. ^{[37] [38]} There were cases when Falkov’s publications provoked scandals in the republics of the former USSR . The last such incident, in August 2011, was triggered by Falkov’s announcement of the Israeli citizenship of Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky . Website NEWSru.co.il wrote that this publication “has become one of the most cited ... news in the Ukrainian segment of the Internet.” ^[39] Using Falkov’s message, the opposition in the Kiev City Council demanded early elections for mayor, while the then Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Nikolai Tomenko announced that he would initiate changes to the law on the election of deputies of all levels and the filling of posts in state bodies. ^{[40] [41]}

After the parliamentary elections in Israel in January 2013, Falkov stopped public activities. At the end of April 2013, a message was posted on the website of the Association of Russian-speaking Journalists of Israel:

Mikhail Falkov resigned as CEO of IzRus LTD and chief editor of the portal of the same name. According to the editorial statement, this step is due to personal reasons. ^[42]

Disappearance

The host of the program “Ha-makor” of the 10th channel of the Israeli TV Razi Barkai:

A well-known person with connections in the higher realms suddenly disappears. Once it was as if the earth swallowed it. From that moment, over the course of months, they talk about this person exclusively in a whisper and make legends about him: alive or dead, does he carry out secret missions of the special services? In this particular case, this is not a screenplay, it is a reality. This person has a name. His name is Misha Falkov. He was the owner of a news site in Russian, but primarily an adviser to Lieberman, worked in the office of the head of government, and was very close to Naftali Benet .   Video

On August 25, 2014, the Russian news agency REGNUM , citing a source in the information-analytical center of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine ( NSDC ), reported the death of Falkov:

Two weeks ago, during the fighting for Pervomaisk, the personnel of the Ukrainian volunteer battalion Donbass discovered a charred corpse bearing an Israeli passport No. 10933029 in the name of Falkov Michael, born in 1977 ... Security officials in Kiev suspect that the death of an Israeli did not occur as a result of a gunshot or fragmentation wound, but as a result of torture. The command of the " anti-terrorist operation " (ATO) was reported on the corpse with an Israeli passport almost a week after discovery.

REGNUM presented this version of Falkov’s death:

It was found that the deceased is not the most ordinary Israeli. In the recent past, Mikhail Falkov, born 1977, was a full-time adviser to the chairman of the Likud party, Benjamin Netanyahu, who currently holds the post of Israeli Prime Minister. Earlier, Falkov was a strategic adviser to another influential Israeli politician - Avigdor Liberman, who now holds the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. Falkov had friendly relations with another member of the government - Minister of Economics Naftali Benet. He was the immediate superior of Falkov while working with Netanyahu. The NSDC does not exclude that this personal moment may play a role in the reaction of Tel Aviv to Ukrainian events. Until now, Israel has not supported Western sanctions against Russia. But Foreign Minister Lieberman maintains warm relations with the new Kiev authorities. Therefore, Ukrainian officials are trying to convince the Israelis that Falk allegedly became a victim of the Russian special services. " ^[1]

All major Israeli media reported the disappearance of Falkov, citing REGNUM, January 6-7, 2015 in connection with a police investigation into suspected corruption in the leadership of the party Our Home Israel. ^{[43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49]} Most converged to two versions: Falkov died or staged his death. It was reported that five months have passed since the REGNUM report, but the authorities did not refute or confirm the death of Falkov. ^[50] It was also reported that Falkov "is not the only witness who has" evaporated "or disappeared in stories related to the name of Lieberman." There were already six people, including those living in Russia and Moldova , who were supposed to testify against Lieberman, but "died, disappeared or forgot the details." ^[51] On January 7, 2015, Foreign Minister Lieberman called media reports about the disappearance of Falkov delirium and fiction. He declared:

Two years ago, Falkov divorced his wife - journalist Natalya Kanevskaya, and after that, both Mikhail and Natalya left Israel - in different countries and for different reasons. ^[52]   Video

January 15, 2015. A documentary about Mikhail Falkov was released. In the plot of the documentary investigation, the correspondent of the newspaper “ Ediot Ahronot ” in Ukraine, Eduard Doks, gives an interview to Channel Ten :

Since the official authorities in Israel and Ukraine did not react in any way to reports of the death of Falkov, I had no doubt that this was true. Therefore, I tried to collect additional information. A lawyer friend of mine told me that he met someone who served in the Donbass battalion and said that he had seen Falkov’s body and his passport. And that person has no doubt that this is Falkov’s corpse. A very strange story. They found him on the street ...   This video starts at 6 min 13 s , starting at 6:13

The author of the film Raviv Drucker:

... For two years now, a man who possessed a huge amount of information disappeared. He disappeared for a reason, but against the backdrop of a break with one of the country's leading politicians ( Avigdor Liberman ) ... What I know of Shabak and Mossad . But at least the law enforcement agencies do not know where he is and what happened to him. This suggests that he covered up the tracks very well, if he himself wanted to cover the tracks ... And all this has been happening for two years, and no one has an answer where this person is. His brother works in counterintelligence, but he said that he didn’t contact him personally, but only spoke with someone high-ranking ...   This video starts at 16 min 44 s , starting at 16:44

After the 2015 parliamentary elections , Lieberman stated that the story of Falkov’s disappearance was used against the Our Home Israel party during the election campaign:

Every day there was another batch of wild delirium ... Some kind of detective stories appeared: then, behold, Falkov, was kidnapped, killed. Some complete nonsense. And so, despite the avalanche of this nonsense, we survived and scored six mandates, which I consider an achievement. ^[53]

The last attempt to track down Falkov was made in June 2016 by The Marker reporters. The article says that it was not possible to find the former adviser to Lieberman. ^[54]

Corruption Scandal

In January 2015, the Israeli police put Falkov on the list of suspects in the corruption case in the Our Home Israel party. The party’s functionaries, including Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Faina Kirshenbaum and former Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov, were involved in the scandal. Falkov was suspected of laundering money by publishing advertisements on the Izrus website, and then transferring funds to various organizations and individuals. ^[55] Raviv Drucker, author of the Falkov documentary:

So why did Misha Falkov disappear? This is not related to the current investigation into the corruption case in the Our Home Israel Party. He disappeared long before the start of the investigation. It is also true that the police are looking for Falkov. His successor at the head of the Izrus site, Alexander Goldenstein, was also arrested.   This video starts at 12 min 17 s starting at 12:17

Political blackmail and racketeering charges

According to the newspaper “ Yediot Ahronot ”, in November 2012, Falkov demanded that the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Daniel Ayalon pay monthly payments of 15 thousand shekels, as if for PR. The article said that the leadership of the Our Home Israel party was putting pressure on Ayalon to agree with Falkov’s demands. But Ayalon refused to pay. According to Ediot Ahronot , this was the reason that in December 2012 he was not included in the list of candidates for the Our Home Israel party in the upcoming parliamentary elections. After the parliamentary elections in January 2013, Ayalon’s political career was over.

Falkov denied these allegations and immediately after their publication filed a libel suit against Ediot Ahronot . ^[56] But the trial was not developed, apparently because in the spring of 2013 Falkov disappeared.

The REGNUM news agency reported on the death of Falkov:

Falkov also used this site (Izrus) as a cover for collecting incriminating information about officials and businessmen in Russia and Ukraine who have Israeli citizenship, real estate or relatives in this country. Another object of his interests were Israeli officials, politicians, businessmen - immigrants from the former Soviet Union. With customers of confidential information, Falkova was usually driven by Kirshenbaum. For this, her activities were covered on Falkov’s website more often than other Israeli politicians ... Several years ago, deputy Elkin told a colleague from the Federation Council that the so-called. Falkov’s archive consists of hundreds of folders containing information about thousands of Russian-speaking Israelis and hundreds of Russian and Ukrainian officials and businessmen. ^[one]

Political Relations

Raviv Drucker, the author of the documentary film of the 10th channel of Israel ’s TV about Falk, described him as follows:

The person who had the closest relationship with the top officials of the state.   This video starts at 16 min 23 s , starting at 16:23

In the film, Drucker interviews Israeli political strategist David Adelman:

In the film, Drucker refers to the former deputy of Falkov, Alexander Goldenstein.

Relations with Karimov's regime

In December 2004, Falkov was the official representative of the Our Home Israel party in the parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan . ^[17] He praised the regime of Islam Karimov in his appearances on the Israeli state radio station Reshet Bet ^[17] and in the government media in Uzbekistan. ^[57]

From March 2004 to December 2005, Falkov formed a network of informants in East Jerusalem , Ramallah , Nablus with the aim of collecting information about the Islamic organization Hizb ut-Tahrir . For the same purpose, he formed a monitoring group for Palestinian, Jordanian and Lebanese open sources. Based on the information collected, Falkov prepared current reports and analytical reviews, which were then transmitted to the Ambassador of Uzbekistan in Israel Oybek Usmanov. In February 2005, Falkov handed over to Usman a file cabinet with Hizb ut-Tahrir activist files in the Middle East , England , and Central Asia . Usmanov was also given the translation and analysis of the documents of the General Intelligence Service of Jordan on the strategy and tactics of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the period 1952-1967. (with extrapolation to the current activities of this organization, including in Central Asia ). ^[58]

On May 8, 2005, Falkov informed Usmanov of upcoming riots in Andijan that began on May 12. Falkov received information about this from the Israeli secret services. ^{[58] [59]}

With the start of the unrest in Andijan , on the initiative of Usmanov, Falkov and his assistants conducted coverage of these events from the positions of the Uzbek authorities in the Israeli, Russian and international media in English. ^[58]

At the request of Usmanov, Falkov convinced the chairman of the Our Home Israel party, Lieberman, to send a personal message to President Karimov expressing support for the events in Andijan. ^[58] Lieberman was the only Western politician to support the Uzbek authorities in connection with the events in Andijan. ^[59]

In June-July 2005, Falkov recruited ^[58] Reuven Dinel, former representative of Mossad intelligence in the CIS, to participate in a campaign in support of Karimov’s regime. His speeches were published in the media in Hebrew ^[60] and in English.

Since 2009, Falkov has been a Lieberman consultant for Central Asia . In March 2009, two weeks before taking office, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lieberman, in the presence of Falkov, said:

“ Central Asia should be a priority in terms of Israeli foreign policy. For us, the region is the most important. The key to Central Asia is certainly Uzbekistan ... "   This video starts from 0 min 28 s , starting at 28

Falkov’s publications, published in different years in Russia and Israel , were referred to by reports of American think tanks:
RAND Corporation

• Faultlines of Conflict in Central Asia and the South Caucasus
• The Muslim world after 9/11

The heritage foundation

• A Threat to the West: The Rise of Islamist Insurgency in the Northern Caucasus and Russian Inadequate Response

The jamestown foundation

• The de-baathification of Iraq

The american foreign policy council

• Uzbekistan

In the WikiLeaks documents, Falkov is mentioned two dozen times by the name of Michael Falkov , Mikhail Falkov or Mik hail Falkov . In all cases, this is due to the information that he published when he was the head of the Izrus website.