On April 18th, I wrote about Russell Bentley, more-or-less of a loser from Texas who decided about ten years ago to make a radical change in his life by enlisting in the Russian army, where he was assigned to serve in the Russian-occupied region of Donetsk, Ukraine. He became a Russian citizen, married a Russian woman — Lyudmila — and, as a “combat veteran,” next reinvented himself as a journalist for the Kremlin-controlled media. As such, he spread propaganda about the alleged Nazi regime in Ukraine, and lived the life of a good little Putinist. The Russians didn’t care — or perhaps didn’t know — about his past drug conviction; he had successfully put that life behind him.

That is, until earlier this month, when Lyudmila reported — about a week after the fact — that her husband had been “brutally detained” and taken hostage by Russian troops on April 8th. Why? Well, they told her it was because he was accused of being a CIA mole operating in their midst for the past decade.

But where was Russell? At that point, no one knew . . . or, at least no one was admitting that they did. He was eventually reported by local officials, and by the battalion with which he had fought, as being dead. Oddly, this was confirmed — though without details — by editor-in-chief of Kremlin-controlled RT News, Margarita Simonyan . . . the same TV reporter who, as I mentioned in another, unrelated post on April 24th, is inexplicably fond of U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. So you may give her word as much credence as you think it’s worth.

Unconfirmed reports have been circulating among Russian military bloggers to the effect that Bentley “suffered a gruesome death at the hands of Russian troops who mistook him for a spy.” [Allison Quinn, Daily Beast, April 24, 2024.] And his wife, who says she has not yet seen his remains or had any proof at all of his death, stated on Telegram:

“I know that his remains have been seen. But then I’m told that there are no remains. How is that?” But, assuming the worst, she has gone directly to the top of the hierarchy in her appeal for help in retrieving “what’s left of his body”: to Vladimir Putin himself. Because, in her words:

“Everyone knows that as soon as you appeal directly to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, then all problems get solved. That’s why I want to appeal to the president of the Russian Federation with a request to provide maximum assistance to find my husband, either alive, if it’s possible, or to give me his remains so that I can bury him. . . . It’s more than hell. I beg you please, help.” [Daily Beast, id.]

Well, of course . . . that should do it. Your esteemed president didn’t have time to get involved in Alexei Navalny’s disappearance, but he will surely drop everything to help you find what’s left of your turncoat Texan. Good luck with that, Lyuda.

Seriously, I do sympathize with her. Life in Russia — and especially in the military — is not easy under the best of circumstances. As far as I can tell, this poor lady has done nothing wrong, other than marrying Russell Bentley. And now she lives with the delusion that the great Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin will put forth the effort to help her find Russell or his remains. It is truly a sad story, and I can’t imagine what will become of her. But I wish her well.

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As for Russell Bentley himself, only questions remain. Foremost, of course, is the issue of his whereabouts and his condition: is he dead or alive, and in what location? Is he really dead? And if so, why was he killed? Was he horribly mutilated as rumors suggest? Would his remains even be identifiable? Was it all a big, blundering, stupid mistake; or was he actually a CIA spy, successfully remaining undetected for ten long years? Of course, we’ll never know the answer to that last question. And finally, if he’s still alive and hiding out (or being hidden) somewhere . . . why? And again, in what condition?

As usual when dealing with the Russian government, we are left with nothing but questions. And, as so frequently happens, I’m not sure we really want the answers in the puzzling case of Russell Bentley.

Although for Lyudmila Bentley, knowing would surely be better than a lifetime of wondering.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/27/24