Andrei Yevgenyevich Purgin (Russian: Андрей Евгеньевич Пургин, Ukrainian: Андрій Євгенович Пургін, romanized: Andriy Evhenovych Purhin, born 26 January 1972) is a Ukrainian pro-Russian activist, cofounder of the Donetsk Republic organization along with Aleksandr Tsurkan and Oleg Frolov.
[3] From the early 1990s until the mid-2000s he held about 70 jobs, including trading companies, charitable organizations and the Donetsk circus.
[3] On 23 February 2005 (Soviet Army and Navy Day) Purgin participated in a protest of the Union of the Born by Revolution that established a small tent city at the Lenin Square in Donetsk.
[5] In the interview to "Informbyuro" on May 18, 2014, Purgin stated that on March 27, 1994, there was a referendum in Donetsk and Luhansk regions where 90% of population voted for federalization of Ukraine.
[6] Purgin opposed some of the key points of the February 2015 Minsk II cease-fire agreement.