Sergei Sternenko
Biography of Sergei Sternenko
Date of Birth: 20.03.1995
Sergei Vyacheslavovich Sternenko - Ukrainian activist, lawyer, head of the NGO 'Not Indifferent', former member and head of the regional department of the Right Sector in Odessa (2014-2017, under the pseudonym 'Beria'), active participant in the Revolution of Dignity, one of the founders of the 'People's List', video blogger.
Place of Birth. Education. Sergei Sternenko was born on March 20, 1995, in the village of Sadovoe in the Belgorod-Dnestrovsky district of Odessa region. His father is a soldier, and his mother is a teacher.
In June 2016, he graduated from the Odessa College of Economics, Law and Hotel and Restaurant Business, specializing in 'Law' as a junior legal expert.
In 2019, he graduated from Odessa Mechnikov University with a degree in 'Law'.
Master's student at the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, specializing in 'International Law'.
Career. Since 2014, he has been involved in the administration and founding of network communities.
He worked as a legal consultant at 'Oscar T' company.
Euromaidan and Right Sector. In January 2014, Sergei Sternenko joined the Euromaidan in Odessa and later became its leader. He was actively involved in the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv. He took part in revolutionary events in Kyiv, including the confrontations on Hrushevsky Street on February 20, 2014.
After the establishment of the Right Sector on February 5, 2014, in Odessa, he took over the leadership of the regional center on March 22. He was a direct participant and organizer of the closure of drug sales points for Spice in Odessa. On September 30, 2014, along with other activists of the Right Sector, Automaidan, Euromaidan, and self-defense, he participated in the 'Trash Lustration' of Nestor Shufrich, who came to Odessa to attend a session of the Opposition Bloc party. At Sternenko's initiative, around 20 concerts by Russian and Ukrainian pop stars who supported the occupation of Crimea and performed there or in the occupied Donbas were canceled. In particular, concerts by Ani Lorak, Svetlana Loboda, Irina Bilyk, and Konstantin Raikin could not be held in Odessa.
On February 5, 2017, he resigned as head and left the Right Sector.
On November 18, 2017, Sergei Sternenko participated in an action against the construction of part of the city park in Odessa - the summer theater. He confronted the police when he learned that he was suspected of organizing mass riots during the anti-construction action. On November 24, the Primorsky District Court of Odessa ordered the activist's detention for 60 days or he would have to pay a bail of 600,000 hryvnias. The bail was posted by Maxim Stepanov, the governor of the Odessa region, but the appellate court revoked the bail and ruled on personal obligations.
In April 2018, he founded the civic organization 'Not Indifferent' in Odessa along with like-minded individuals.
He is the author and moderator of the YouTube channel STERNENKO, where he comments on daily news and occasionally holds livestreams for viewers. As of October 2023, his YouTube channel has 1.75 million subscribers and over 708 million views.
Attacks on Sternenko.
On February 7, 2018, Sergei Sternenko was attacked in Odessa in front of the house where he lived. Two unknown individuals were waiting for Sergei Sternenko, and as soon as he entered the staircase, the attackers assaulted and beat him. After the attack, Sergei Sternenko spent a week in the hospital. The attackers could not be found.
On May 1, 2018, Sergei Sternenko fell victim to an armed robbery in Odessa. The attacker shot him in the neck from behind and fired at witnesses of the incident during his arrest. The attacker was detained while trying to escape. The attacker was a resident of Kazakhstan, Abzal Baymukashev. It is only known about this person that he received Ukrainian citizenship in 2003. He is currently in custody, and his motives for the attack are still unclear, and there is no court verdict.
On May 24, 2018, the third attack on Sternenko and his girlfriend Natalia Usatenko occurred in Odessa. Sternenko was hospitalized with a skull fracture and a cut wound on his hand. One of the two attackers, Ivan Kuznetsov from the city of Chornomorsk, sustained knife wounds to the heart and abdomen and died. The other, Alexander Isaykul, managed to escape but was arrested by the police within a day. Kuznetsov and Isaykul were suspected of hooliganism in May. In June, the prosecutor's office dropped the charges against Kuznetsov, the court lifted the suspicion against him, and denied police detention for Isaykul.
Prosecution. On June 11, 2020, Sergei Sternenko was charged with murder and illegal possession of weapons. On June 15, the Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv placed him under house arrest for two months. Sternenko is charged under Article 115, Part 1 (Murder) and Article 263, Part 2 (Carrying a cold weapon without legally defined permission) of the Ukrainian Criminal Code. That day, clashes occurred between activists and the police in front of the Shevchenkivsky Court building. On June 26, the appellate court postponed the hearing.