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485:, where he deepened his leftist convictions, becoming a communist himself. 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.
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campaign to finance his move to the Donbas on a self-described "Fact
Finding Mission to Donbass". During his time he nicknamed himself "Texas," described by Benoît Vitkine of
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in
Ukraine, motivated by a desire to combat Ukrainian forces. He arrived in Donetsk on December 7, 2014. He utilized crowdfunding platforms to finance his involvement in the
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Four
Russian servicemen, Vitaly Vasnyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin and Andrey Yordanov, were charged with abuse of authority resulting in death (article 286 of
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According to the local police and his wife, Bentley went missing on April 8, 2024. His wife reported he had been detained by unidentified
Russian military personnel. The
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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
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Bentley decided to fight for the
Donetsk People's Republic. He expressed a strong commitment to what he perceived as a "battle against
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declared
Bentley was killed on 8 April, his body placed in his car and blown up, then his remains moved to "another location".
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wrote that his involvement highlights the complex motivations behind foreign participation in the conflict.
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activist and smuggler who was later convicted of drug smuggling and spent five years in prison.
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He received a
Donetsk People's Republic passport, and in 2021 he received Russian citizenship.
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877:"The Bizarre Story of How a Hardcore Texas Leftist Became a Frontline Putin Propagandist"
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902:"Who is Russell Bonner Bentley? Texas Man 'On the Front With Russian Troops' in Ukraine"
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until he was eight. Bentley began reading leftist literature as a teenager and became a
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until his channel was deleted in early 2022. He also worked for the
Russian state-owned
58:
Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
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801:"Exclusive: Russell Bentley, Texas Man in Russian Army, Says He's 'Liberating' Ukraine"
771:"Ukraine crisis: Meet the foreign nationals fighting for the Donetsk People's Republic"
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1136:"Russell Bentley: Pro-Russia fighter from US dies after Donetsk 'abduction'"
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1106:"Who was the 'Donbass Cowboy', the pro-Russian Texan who died in Donetsk?"
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955:"Russell 'Texas' Bentley: The life and death of an American from Donetsk"
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Russian military personnel killed in the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
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According to Stephen Hall, a researcher on Russian affairs at the
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Pro-Russia foreign volunteers in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
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This biographical article related to the Russian military is a
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In 1990, Bentley moved to Minneapolis. Initially working as a
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928:"The communist soldier using charity sites to fund his war"
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confirmed his death on April 19, 2024, via social media.
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in 2021. Prior to his activities in the Donbas, he was a
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National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 20, 2024
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1190:"Our Campaigns - MN US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1990"
740:"War of Words: Meet the Texan Trolling for Putin"
590:1990 United States Senate election in Minnesota
27:American soldier in Russian military (1960–2024)
493:By 2014, Bentley was working as an arborist in
461:Marijuana activism, conviction and imprisonment
30:For the American politician from Kentucky, see
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990:"How a Texan Trolling for Putin Met His End"
1160:Мотызлевская, Полина (September 20, 2024).
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1092:Institute for the Study of War
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1404:Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy
1389:American cannabis traffickers
1222:. April 23, 2015 – via
988:Smith, Sonia (May 16, 2024).
526:Military and political stance
457:where he worked as a waiter.
1384:Grassroots Party politicians
1257:. You can help Knowledge by
433:Bentley was born in 1960 in
32:Russell Bentley (politician)
1394:American cannabis activists
1339:United States Army soldiers
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334:Russian invasion of Ukraine
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355:Russell Bonner Bentley III
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279:Donetsk People's Militia
1379:Formerly missing people
1112:. Paris. Archived from
579:Investigative Committee
544:Disappearance and death
1364:American male bloggers
1369:Russian male bloggers
554:Alexander Khodakovsky
297:Years of service
1334:Activists from Texas
568:A Diary of a Fighter
489:Pro-Russian activism
439:Highland Park, Texas
99:improve this article
1319:American communists
665:Russell B. Bentley
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406:Sputnik news agency
312:Russo-Ukrainian War
1329:Russian communists
1116:on August 16, 2024
842:. April 19, 2024.
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455:South Padre Island
322:Battle of Mariupol
18:Russell B. Bentley
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1259:expanding it
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1172:. Retrieved
1170:(in Russian)
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1114:the original
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839:The Guardian
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704:Eva Bartlett
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676:Total votes
647:(incumbent)
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305:Battles/wars
231:(2024-04-00)
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97:Please help
92:verification
89:
61:
53:
36:
1309:2024 deaths
1304:1960 births
479:U.S. Senate
400:. He was a
1298:Categories
1167:Kommersant
1140:Al Jazeera
1120:August 17,
715:References
680:1,806,194
661:Grassroots
598:Candidate
467:lumberjack
429:Early life
243:Allegiance
229:April 2024
155:April 2024
125:newspapers
64:April 2024
1110:France 24
1030:April 15,
938:March 27,
912:March 27,
886:April 15,
853:April 20,
848:0261-3077
782:March 27,
751:April 15,
451:U.S. Army
443:socialist
424:Biography
418:marijuana
368:romanized
300:2014–2024
1210:Telegram
960:Le Monde
932:BBC News
906:Newsweek
806:Newsweek
693:See also
685:100.00%
650:864,375
626:911,999
512:Le Monde
507:GoFundMe
402:YouTuber
251:Service/
1224:YouTube
1025:Reuters
668:29,820
653:47.86%
631:50.49%
532:fascism
499:Donetsk
392:Donbass
383:Russian
370::
359:Russian
340:†
236:Donetsk
204: (
139:scholar
54:updated
846:
671:1.65%
601:Votes
595:Party
515:as a "
435:Austin
394:Cowboy
336:
253:branch
246:Russia
212:Austin
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965:Paris
408:as a
387:Техас
379:Texas
216:Texas
146:JSTOR
132:books
1255:stub
1220:VICE
1176:2024
1147:2024
1122:2024
1032:2024
1007:2024
972:2024
940:2024
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