Russian Special Forces Blogger Throws in the Towel · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

A screenshot from a YouTube video posted from hardingush's account. A special forces soldier is about to fire a grenade launcher during an anti-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus.
The anonymous LiveJournal blog hardingush, run by a member of Russia's Ministry of the Interior special forces operating in Ingushetia, is now closed. RuNet Echo has previously highlighted [Global Voices report] this blog as part of its series that focuses on bloggers in the volatile North Caucasus. The blog had been ranked one the most popular in the North Caucasus’ blogosphere, and at the height of its popularity was one of the most highly rated LiveJournal blogs in Russia, receiving hundreds of comments per single blog entry.
Many had speculated about the hardingush's origins, with some bloggers wondering if the whole blog wasn't simply a very well made public relations stunt on the part of Russia's security apparatus. hardingush had previously closed his LiveJournal, but resumed blogging under a different account — molonlabe. Currently the original page shows only one post, about dogs. The link to the mirror site, molonlabe is in the comments. There, in his final post, HardIngush writes:
У меня для постоянных читателей блога есть не очень приятное известие. Ну, я, собственно, предупреждал об этом раньше. По ряду причин дальнейшие публикации в этом блоге невозможны. Короче, это последний пост в моем блоге. Никому не нужны проблемы, а я тем более их не люблю сам себе создавать.
I have not so good news for the regular readers of the blog. Well, actually, I was warned about it previously. For several reasons, further posts on this blog are impossible. In short, this is the last post on my blog. Nobody wants problems, and I especially do not like to create them for myself.
He is probably talking about the fact that his profile has become publicly visible —  to the point where there have been numerous attempts to deanonymize him. He concludes:
Спасибо вам, что были со мной все это время. И помните, пока мы есть – у террористов нет шансов в России. Дураки не погубили страну, куда там отмороженным фанатикам.
Thanks to all who have been with me all this time. And remember, as long as we exist – the terrorists do not have a chance in Russia. Fools couldn't not ruined the country where there are frostbitten fanatics.
Was hardingush a conscientious special forces officer who just wanted people to understand him and his work, as he portrayed himself? Or was he a successful media project? His true identity will probably never be known, and neither will his motivation for blogging.