MOSCOW – In Russia these days, Motorola is less commonly spoken of as a brand name for mobile devices than as the nom de guerre of a famous pro-Russian separatist commander in Ukraine. That Motorola, whose real name was Arsen Pavlov, was killed on Oct. 16, when a bomb exploded in the elevator of his apartment building in Donetsk, a rebel stronghold in eastern Ukraine.
The reason Motorola was killed remains murky. Some say factional disputes among eastern Ukrainian rebel leaders left some people wanting him dead. The separatist government in Donetsk blamed the Ukrainian government in Kiev. What is clear is that Motorola’s funeral on Oct. 19 was a major event, a mass demonstration of mourning in eastern Ukraine. And in their eulogies to Motorola, who originally came from the Komi region of northwestern Russia, the news media here have elevated him almost to the stature of a national hero. His popularity in Russia is nothing short of astonishing.
