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The Irish Sun
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
YouTuber seduction coach linked to Putin's oligarch pal probed after ‘urging fans to grope women and ask for sex'
A RUSSIAN YouTube seduction coach with links to one of Putin's close oligarchs is facing investigation - after he urged viewers to "grope women and ask for sex". Alexander Kirillov is being investigated on suspicion of inducement to rape after he instructed men to grab women in the street by the buttocks and demand sex . Advertisement 8 Alexander Kirillov, a self-styled sex guru, is being investigated Credit: YouTube/Алекс Лесли 8 Kirillov was detained in 2018 alongside Anastasia Vashukevich in Thailand after they hosted illegal "sex training" classes 8 Vashukevich claims Russian oligarch and Putin pal Oleg Deripaska (L) was once part on a conspiracy to help Trump win the 2016 election Credit: Getty Self-proclaimed "seduction guru" Kirillov, known online as Alex Lesley, gave the sickening advice to fans on his YouTube channel - which has nearly 100,000 subscribers. Following the depraved remarks, numerous complaints from women reached Russian authorities - claiming they had been harassed by his followers. Kirillov, who previously made headlines for being embroiled in a political scandal involving a female escort and a close Putin oligarch, currently lives outside Russia. The political controversy in question was linked to Belarusian escort Anastasia Vashukevich, 35, and Russian energy tycoon Advertisement READ MORE WORLD NEWS It came to light after Vashukevich claimed to have evidence that Deripaska and Russia 's deputy prime minister were part of a Kremlin conspiracy to skew the 2016 US presidential election in favour of Donald Trump. Vashukevich revealed on Instagram that she had been on Deripaska's yacht in 2016 alongside the deputy prime minister Sergei Prikhodko when a secret meeting was held concerning the plot. But both Deripaska and Prikhodko denied wrongdoing. Following her claims Vashukevich, who known online as Nastya Rybka, was arrested. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun At the time of her detention she was in Thailand, where she had been running a As part of the "sex seminars" - which participants reportedly paid £1,000 to take part in - the pair claimed they could teach people how to make their partners climax. Activists occupy £50m London house owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska They spent nine months in custody - before a Thai court handed them a suspended 18-month sentence for soliciting and running an illegal "sex training course". Advertisement Upon their arrival back in Russia, shocking footage showed Vashukevich, appearing to have been sedated, struggling as four men pushed her into a wheelchair and then carried her off. The current controversy came to light last week when at least 10 young women went public saying they had being groped by Kirillov's fans in Moscow. Some claimed that the encounters were filmed by accomplices as the men groped them and asked for sex. Two Russian MPs then complained to higher authorities before the Investigative Committee opened a case against Kirillov. Advertisement 8 Vashukevich, also known as Nastya Rybka, in Thailand before being deported to Russia Credit: AFP 8 Kirillov arrives at a holding cell to face trial at a court in Pattaya, Thailand Credit: AFP 8 Oleg Deripaska hosted Vashukevich on his yacht in 2016 Credit: AP They said he had 'induced his followers to commit illegal acts of a sexual character towards female residents of the capital'. Advertisement Two men have already been slapped with 15‑day jail terms for hooliganism following the reports, and a third suspect was remanded in custody in connection with the case against Kirillov. Twisted Kirillov, a Belarusian, told Moskva‑24 from an undisclosed location that he was not fazed by the allegations. He said: "If we lived in America or Germany, God forbid, then it could result in serious consequences. "Thankfully, we are in Russia." Advertisement Billionaire Deripaska, was once estimated to be Russia's wealthiest man by Forbes, became notorious in the US for his alleged ties to political consultant Manafort was convicted of tax fraud, bank fraud and failure to report foreign bank accounts. These convictions stemmed from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Deripaska was also previously reported to be tyrant Putin's "favourite" industrialist. Advertisement And the low-profile oligarch also once hosted Lord Peter Mandelson, now the British Ambassador to the US, on his private yacht in Corfu. But Deripaska was hit by UK sanctions following a response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 8 Oligarch Deripaska has close ties to Putin Credit: Getty 8 Vashukevich says she has proof of a Russian conspiracy to help Trump win his first election Advertisement
Observer
3 days ago
- Politics
- Observer
Police, clergy scuffle in Armenia as standoff escalates
YEREVAN: A scuffle broke out in Armenia on Friday between clergymen and police, part of an escalating standoff between the influential Church and the Caucasian nation's authorities. The Two sides have been at loggerheads since Catholicos Garegin II — the church's spiritual leader — began calling for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign over Armenia's military defeat to Azerbaijan in 2020. The loss of the disputed Karabakh region to Azerbaijan in 2023, Armenia's arch-foe, has divided the country and escalated the dispute. On Wednesday, the Armenian authorities said they had foiled a coup plot involving a senior cleric who had rallied opposition to Pashinyan and more than a dozen other suspects. The latest confrontation erupted after police arrived at the residence of the head of the Apostolic Church to arrest another senior figure, archbishop Mikael Adjapahyan. He is accused of publicly calling for the government to be overthrown. Masked police attempted to enter the residence of Garegin II to arrest Adjapahyan. Prosecutors had earlier charged him with "public calls aimed at seizing power... and violently overthrowing the constitutional order". Following the scuffle between priests and law enforcement officers, Adjapahyan said he would surrender to police but denied any wrongdoing. "This is a blatant act of lawlessness against me," he said. "I have never been a threat to our country. The real threat sits in government. I won't hide. I'll go with them." But locals and priests closed the gates of the residence, preventing Adjapahyan from leaving the premises and surrendering to police. Armenia's security service said it would deploy additional forces to detain Adjapahyan. Earlier this month, Pashinyan escalated the feud with the church by accusing Garegin II of fathering an illegitimate child and urging believers to oust him. That prompted calls for Pashinyan to be excommunicated. An Armenian court put an influential cleric into two months of pre-trial detention on coup attempt charges, a day after authorities claimed to have foiled a plot to overthrow the government. On Thursday, "a court of general jurisdiction in Yerevan decided to send Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan to a pre-trial detention for a period of two months," one of his lawyers, Hovhannes Khudoyan, told journalists. Armenia's Investigative Committee said the court granted motions for pre-trial detention for all the detained, adding that "15 suspects have been placed in custody". Later on Thursday, Armenia's prosecutor general office announced it had opened a criminal case against another senior cleric. — AFP
The Hill
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Crowds block Armenian security forces seeking to arrest a clergyman who criticized the government
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Security forces faced off with crowds Friday at the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the government sought to arrest a clergyman in the latest move against outspoken critics of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The tense confrontation in Etchmiadzin, outside the capital of Yerevan, ended with security forces withdrawing without arresting Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan to avoid escalating the situation, Armenia's National Security Service said. After the NSS urged him to appear before authorities, he was seen in video from local media entering the building of Armenia's Investigative Committee. Images on social media showed clergymen in black robes who had rushed to the scene jostling with police as members of the NSS stood by. Bells of a nearby cathedral in the complex, known as the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and home to church leader Catholicos Karekin II, rang out. Pashinyan was the focus of protests last year by tens of thousands of demonstrators after Armenia agreed to hand over control of several border villages to Azerbaijan and to normalize relations between the neighbors and bitter rivals. On Wednesday, authorities arrested Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who leads the Sacred Struggle opposition movement, accusing him of plotting to overthrow the government. Armenia's Investigative Committee alleged he was planning to carry out a sabotage campaign — charges that his lawyer described as 'fiction.' Members of Sacred Struggle accused the government of cracking down on their political rights. Another vocal critic of Pashinyan, Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, was arrested last week after being accused of calling for the government's overthrow that he denied. The NSS said in a statement that citizens should 'refrain from escalating the situation and not to hinder law enforcement agencies in the execution of their duties.' It also urged Ajapahyan to not hide from law enforcement agencies and to appear before authorities. Government prosecutors accuse Ajapahyan of calling for the ouster of the government in an interview on Feb. 3, 2024, according to his lawyer, Ara Zohrabyan. Ajapahyan initially said he would accompany police, but ultimately did not enter the awaiting car. 'I have never hidden and I am not going to hide now,' Ajapahyan said. 'I say that what is happening now is lawlessness. I have never been and am not a threat to this country, the main threat is in the government.' Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in territorial disputes since the early 1990s, as various parts of the Soviet Union pressed for independence from Moscow. After the USSR collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatist forces backed by the Armenian military won control of Azerbaijan's region of Karabakh and nearby territories. In 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured broad swaths of territory that were held for nearly three decades by Armenian forces. A lightning military campaign in September 2023 saw Azerbaijan fully reclaim control of Karabakh, and Armenia later handed over the border villages. Pashinyan has recently sought to normalize relations with Azerbaijan. Last week, he also visited Azerbaijan's top ally, Turkey, to mend a historic rift. Turkey and Armenia also have a more than century-old dispute over the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey. Historians widely view the event as genocide. Turkey vehemently rejects the label, conceding that many died in that era but insisting the death toll is inflated and resulted from civil unrest. Attempts to impeach Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018, were unsuccessful. Although territorial concessions were a core issue for Sacred Struggle, it has expanded to a wide array of complaints about Pashinyan as the Apostolic Church's relationship with the government deteriorated. On June 8, Pashinyan called for Karekin II to resign after accusing him of fathering a child despite a vow of celibacy. The church released a statement at the time accusing Pashinyan of undermining Armenia's 'spiritual unity' but did not address the claim about the child.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Crowds block Armenian security forces seeking to arrest a clergyman who criticized the government
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Security forces faced off with crowds Friday at the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the government sought to arrest a clergyman in the latest move against outspoken critics of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The tense confrontation in Etchmiadzin, outside the capital of Yerevan, ended with security forces withdrawing without arresting Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan to avoid escalating the situation, Armenia's National Security Service said. After the NSS urged him to appear before authorities, he was seen in video from local media entering the building of Armenia's Investigative Committee. Images on social media showed clergymen in black robes who had rushed to the scene jostling with police as members of the NSS stood by. Bells of a nearby cathedral in the complex, known as the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and home to church leader Catholicos Karekin II, rang out. Pashinyan was the focus of protests last year by tens of thousands of demonstrators after Armenia agreed to hand over control of several border villages to Azerbaijan and to normalize relations between the neighbors and bitter rivals. On Wednesday, authorities arrested Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who leads the Sacred Struggle opposition movement, accusing him of plotting to overthrow the government. Armenia's Investigative Committee alleged he was planning to carry out a sabotage campaign — charges that his lawyer described as 'fiction.' Members of Sacred Struggle accused the government of cracking down on their political rights. Another vocal critic of Pashinyan, Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, was arrested last week after being accused of calling for the government's overthrow that he denied. The NSS said in a statement that citizens should 'refrain from escalating the situation and not to hinder law enforcement agencies in the execution of their duties.' It also urged Ajapahyan to not hide from law enforcement agencies and to appear before authorities. Government prosecutors accuse Ajapahyan of calling for the ouster of the government in an interview on Feb. 3, 2024, according to his lawyer, Ara Zohrabyan. Ajapahyan initially said he would accompany police, but ultimately did not enter the awaiting car. 'I have never hidden and I am not going to hide now,' Ajapahyan said. 'I say that what is happening now is lawlessness. I have never been and am not a threat to this country, the main threat is in the government.' Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in territorial disputes since the early 1990s, as various parts of the Soviet Union pressed for independence from Moscow. After the USSR collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatist forces backed by the Armenian military won control of Azerbaijan's region of Karabakh and nearby territories. In 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured broad swaths of territory that were held for nearly three decades by Armenian forces. A lightning military campaign in September 2023 saw Azerbaijan fully reclaim control of Karabakh, and Armenia later handed over the border villages. Pashinyan has recently sought to normalize relations with Azerbaijan. Last week, he also visited Azerbaijan's top ally, Turkey, to mend a historic rift. Turkey and Armenia also have a more than century-old dispute over the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey. Historians widely view the event as genocide. Turkey vehemently rejects the label, conceding that many died in that era but insisting the death toll is inflated and resulted from civil unrest. Attempts to impeach Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018, were unsuccessful. Although territorial concessions were a core issue for Sacred Struggle, it has expanded to a wide array of complaints about Pashinyan as the Apostolic Church's relationship with the government deteriorated. On June 8, Pashinyan called for Karekin II to resign after accusing him of fathering a child despite a vow of celibacy. The church released a statement at the time accusing Pashinyan of undermining Armenia's 'spiritual unity' but did not address the claim about the child.
Euronews
4 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Armenian PM says he is not circumcised in ongoing duel with church
Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has implied he is willing to have his penis examined to settle an argument that he is uncircumcised amid an ongoing dispute with the head of the country's main church. Pashinyan made the proposal in response to Father Zareh Ashuryan, the spokesperson for the Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church Karekin II, who implied that the head of government was circumcised, therefore not a Christian. "I believe that our Apostolic Holy Church must immediately cleanse itself of those false 'believers' who are traitors to the nation, have dishonoured the memory of their ancestors, broken the vow of baptism and replaced the seal of the Holy Cross with the sign of circumcision," Father Ashuryan said. Pashinyan responded in a post on Facebook, saying he was ready to accept the challenge and prove he had nothing to do with being circumcised, a religious practice not common among Christians in the country. "Let him finally answer the question: did he break the covenant of partisanship or not? Does he have a child or not?" Pashinyan asked in his post, repeating a claim he had made in June in which he accused Karekin II of breaking his vow of celibacy and fathering a child. The church released a statement at the time accusing Pashinyan of undermining Armenia's "spiritual unity" but did not address the claim about the child. Claims of a coup plot This isn't the first time this week that Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church have gone head to head. On Wednesday, authorities arrested a prominent cleric, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, along with 14 others, charging them with orchestrating an alleged plot to overthrow the government. Armenia's Investigative Committee said in a statement it had filed criminal charges against the group, which they claim had "acquired the means and tools necessary to commit a terrorist attack and seize power." Galastanyan's lawyer described the charges as "fiction". In total, 14 individuals were arrested in connection with the alleged coup plot, but only Galastanyan was named publicly. The Investigative Committee said it carried out over 90 searches and recovered evidence that included firearms and ammunition. In a post on Telegram, Pashinyan wrote that authorities had thwarted a "large and sinister plan by the 'criminal-oligarchic clergy'" aimed at taking control of Armenia. Disclaimer: This article has been updated with further clarifications provided to Euronews by the Office of the Armenian Prime Minister.
