The Official Word on the Death of Russell "Texas" Bentley

The Russian government has the last word on Bentley's death

If you’re relatively new to the issues related to Kremlin propaganda and how it’s affecting other countries (including the United States), I recommend reading some background posts I wrote that explains things in more detail along with links to other sites where you can read more to educate yourself.

It's time to once again bring out that meme I created earlier this year.

Way back in April I started writing about the death of Russell “Texas” Bentley, the American who bought the Kremlin propaganda about Ukraine being ruled by Nazis so much that he moved from his native Texas to the Russian-occupied Donbass region in Ukraine back in 2014. After fighting for Russia for a few months he moved into doing English language propaganda for the Russians. Along the way he obtained Russian citizenship and married a local Donetsk woman.

About a week or two after Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 Bentley made this video that went viral and briefly catapulted him to internet celebrity stardom.

His stardom was quickly squashed in the West when Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube all banned him. His name briefly resurfaced on social media in the West the following year when some released POWs accused the Russians of forcing them to make propaganda videos with Bentley during their time in captivity.

But then Bentley's name resurfaced again earlier this year when he went missing after a Ukrainian plane launched an air strike in Donetsk located near where Bentley and his wife were in an administrative office dealing with paperwork issues. Bentley ran in the direction of the smoke in an effort to help the locals. His wife lost communication with him and attempted to search for him but was unsuccessful.

The rumors of Bentley's death began circulating, with all of them naming the Russians as being responsible. At first they said he was beheaded. Then it was Bentley being shot in the head several times. Then it was Bentley being gang raped by a group of Russian soldiers before he was killed. The independent Russian media outlet Astra said that Bentley was kidnapped by a Russian battalion then taken to an abandoned coal mine where he was subjected to electric shock torture until his heart gave out.

Recently Russia's Investigative Committee announced that it had completed its investigation into the death of Russell Bentley. They confirmed that four Russian servicemen have been charged in the kidnap, torture, and murder of Bentley. The servicemen have been identified as Vitaly Vansyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin and Andrei Iordanov.

According to the Investigative Committee Vansyatsky, Agaltsev, and Iordanov had kidnapped and tortured Bentley to death. Vansyatsky and Agaltsev then put him in a Lada Samara car, which they blew up with blocks of TNT. The next day they ordered Bazhin to remove Bentley's remains and hide them. As of this writing Bentley's remains has not been found.

The only thing I found surprising about the investigation is that they didn’t try to pin this on Ukraine since Bentley's disappearance happened in the aftermath of that Ukrainian air strike.

This is basically the outcome of a series of choices that Bentley made. He chose to believe the Kremlin propaganda claiming that the Ukrainian government was ruled by Nazis. He chose to move from the US to Donetsk in 2014. He initially chose to fight on Russia's side before switching to churning out English language propaganda on Russia's behalf. He chose to obtain Russian citizenship and marry a local Donetsk woman. He chose all of it only to have it bite him in the ass at the end.

In the months after Bentley's death a few more Americans have moved to the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine where they currently fight on behalf of Russia. I wonder if Seth William Baker, Wilmer Puello-Mota, and Teddy Boy Greg ever pause and consider the fact that Russell “Texas” Bentley was killed by the same Russians that he was fighting for who also happen to be the same Russians that they are also currently fighting for. Are any of them even the slightest bit concerned about the possibility that the Russians could suddenly turn on them like they turned on Bentley? The fact that Bentley became a Russian citizen wasn't enough to save him from ultimately being killed by the Russians. The bottom line is that Russell “Texas” Bentley would probably still be alive today had he simply stayed in the United States.

In any case let's take a look at the Substack posts I wrote about Bentley, which documented the twists and turns of the mystery surrounding his disappearence and death:

Russell “Texas” Bentley: A Dead American Propagandist in Donetsk (April 13, 2024)

The Roundup (April 19, 2024)

I Was Correct About the American-Born Pro-Russian Propagandist Russell “Texas” Bentley Being Dead (April 20, 2024)

The Roundup (May 24, 2024)

The Latest About the Death of Russell “Texas” Bentley (August 17, 2024)

I'll just end this post with this song that Russell “Texas” Bentley performed called “Sweet Home Novorossiya,” whose melody was lifted from Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Sweet Home Alabama.”

He may have loved his sweet home Novorossiya but Novorossiya clearly didn't love him back considering what ultimately happened to him.

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