Valeriy Anisim
His Excellency
Valeriy Anisim | |
|---|---|
| File:Varanken.png President of the Republic of Oteki | |
| Assumed office 30 January 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Yorskov Lhego |
| Leader of the Otekian Christian Party | |
| Assumed office 20 November 2000 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 April 1949 Gusev, First Republic of Oteki |
| Political party | Christian Party |
Valeriy Anisim is the third and current president of the Government-in-exile of the Republic of Oteki (OGIE). Before that, he was solely the leader of the Christian Party - the religious fundamentalist faction in the Otekian exile community.
He was elected into office in January 30, 2015 as a result of a snap election announced by predecessor Yorskov Lhego, who resigned amid protests against his administration. Anisim and the Christian Party was able to win an overwhelming majority in the election due to the absence of the Otekian People's Association (OPA), which had been ejected from the government-in-exile by Lhego, and Demoteki's boycott of the election. Anisim took office during a time when the exile community is enduring increasing factionalism from within.
Anisim is viewed by many exiles as a charismatic, passionate and powerful leader who will fulfill the promise of redirecting the exile community to focus on the root cause of Otekian independence. However, some - liberal exiles and the Namorese government alike - question his integrity, and have times used his controversial actions and remarks to discredit him.
Biography
Valeriy Anisim was born in April 14, 1949 in Kusef (Gusev), capital of the region of Txotai (at that time ruled by the First Republic of Oteki). Anisim was born into a middle-class family that, despite having endured hardships from the Great Depression, managed to maintain a substantial standard of living. He was the second-oldest of three children - John (b. 1945), himself, and Jack (b. 1943).
Valeriy, John and Jack all took part in the Otekian rebellion against Namorese rule which lasted for four years. In 1969, during a battle with the Namorese Liberation Army, John was killed in action while Jack was captured by the Namorese. Valeriy never saw Jack again (he claimed that Jack was taken to a labor camp where he eventually died of starvation, although he does not know exactly where the camp was located). Not so long after, he was captured by the Namorese also, and he spent several weeks in a military prison. Valeriy later escaped from the prison to Luziyca on foot. This was possible, said Valeriy, because he was able to bribe prison guards to set him free. In Luziyca, he met with the other exiles, and since he wasn't able to return to Oteki he was unable to reach his family (Valeriy claimed that they were all executed by the Namorese). According to some analysts, Valeriy's experience in the rebellion helped shape his staunchly Namophobic stance on Otekian independence.
He grew up working with the government-in-exile, as well as armed groups working to end Namorese rule through lethal force. Anisim joined the Knights of Saint Luther in 1973, and remained a Knights member until 1978, when he was injured in the leg. He recovered from the injury, but decided that he could no longer assist the Knights by participating in its operations.
In 1980, Anisim formed the Oteki Libra Foundation (OLF), which remains one of the most influential charity foundations dedicated solely in contributing to the Otekian independence movement. This gained Anisim some early fame as one of the prominent figures in the exile community as the OLF raised up to $30 million a year in contributions worldwide by the year 1990. In spite of this, Anisim said he did not want to participate in the government-in-exile because he was "too preoccupied with other things." This stance changed in 2000 when Anisim formed the Christian Party, the religious fundamentalist faction in the government-in-exile. Anisim became the party's chairman and said that the party's goals was for Otekian independence to be realized "by Christian morality." The party gained a few thousand members, and was regularly accused of being the political wing of the Knights of Saint Luther due to its seemingly apologetic defenses of the Knights' activities into the 2000s although the government-in-exile began to distance itself from the group.
Anisim was criticized for his apologetic stance towards the June 28 Attacks in Namo, Namor, perpetrated by Knights operatives and killed hundreds of civilians, but some supported his remarks. He didn't respond to the death of Breuvi Chikmurdof, but criticized Luziyca's designation of the Knights as a terrorist group.
President of the OGIE
In late 2014 and early 2015, Anisim supported protests demanding the resignation of then-OGIE president Yorskov Lhego, who both liberals and hardliners accused of being incompetent. Lhego stepped down, and snap elections were announced. Anisim's Christian Party - which was formerly the second-largest party in OGIE when Mikhail Shumev's Otekian People's Association (OPA) still held seats in the Congress - was expected to win big in the election, and it did, taking 73.3% of all votes, ensuring Anisim's coming to the presidency. In January 30, he officially succeeded Lhego as president of the government-in-exile.
As president, Anisim presided over the creation of the Holy Defense Forces, the government-in-exile's militia. He deployed HDF militiamen to aid the All Saints Militia, an Qianrongese Otekian militia that was fighting in the Second Domestic Terror War. The Namorese government tried to obstruct the HDF from reaching Qianrong. In June, Namor forced a Yucheng-bound Air Luziyca flight to land and arrested several passengers who were affiliated with the OGIE.
Arrest and extradition to Namor
In November 22, Luziycan authorities raided the OGIE headquarters in Frontiersburg and arrested Valeriy Anisim, former president Yorskov Lhego and several other top officials of the government-in-exile. Anisim was charged with tax evasion, but this charge was widely disputed due to suspicions that Luziyca arrested Anisim to appease the Namorese ahead of the upcoming Namorese election. No evidence of tax evasion was ever found, but Anisim remained in custody.
In January 24, Luziycan president Sera Svensson announced that Anisim, Lhego and other officials would be extradited to Namor, where they would most likely face life in prison for terrorism and treason. The decision sparked protests, especially after Svensson acknowledged on Twitter that the tax evasion charges against Anisim had been "quietly dropped," leading to accusations that the Luziycan government had fabricated the charges from the start to remove the government-in-exile from power. Namor welcomed the extradition.
Amid protests against the Luziycan government over the allegedly fabricated charges, Anisim and Lhego were extradited to Namor in January 26, 2016. Upon arrival, they were arrested on charges of treason and terrorism at the order of the Regional Government of Txotai.
Controversies
Ties with the Knights
A report made by Namorese state media PTH claimed that part of the money raised by the Oteki Libra Foundation - which Anisim founded - went directly to the Knights of St. Luther. The "conservative estimate" of how much was funneled to the Knights was put at 30% of the organization's earnings. Later, independent media verified this claim, with Chorean newspaper The Orient stating that "while most of the OLF's contributions go to improving the lives of Otekians who fled their homes after the failed rebellion, a fraction of the money was used to buy weapons, supplies and other infrastructure for the Knights."
Knights commander Peter Ashmaev acknowledged that the group received contributions from the OLF, stating in a 1993 video that "we are grateful to have received support from several organizations in our struggle to expel the Namorese from our homeland...among them the good people of the Oteki Libra Foundation..."