Vladimir Putin the support groups are currently running a spectacular presidential election campaign.
There is no excitement associated with the elections held in March, because Putin’s administration has become increasingly autocratic over the years. Numerous opposition politicians have been imprisoned or gone into exile.
At the end of December, Russia’s election committee published a list of 346 known people who belong to Putin’s official group of supporters. There are 25 sports names in the group, a large number of which are world-renowned winners in their respective fields.
Yevgeny Plushenko
The two-time Olympic figure skating champion and three-time world champion is one of the greatest legends of the sport. The multiple honors medalist dominated men’s figure skating in the early 2000s. The career culminated in the Olympic victory in Turin 2006.
After his skating career, Plushenko, 41, has focused on running his skating academy. The former top skater has been a vocal supporter of Putin for a long time. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Plyushchenko has, among other things, organized figure skating events spreading the regime’s propaganda.
– I respect the president, he fights for Russia. Only under his leadership I feel our country will develop, Plushenko comment for joining the supporter list in December.
Jelena Välbe
Chairman of the Russian Ski Federation Jelena Välbe, 55, achieved no fewer than 14 world championships and three relay Olympic victories in his active career. After his sports years, Välbe has led the Russian Ski Federation for almost 14 years. He emerged as a kind of national hero after the 2018 and 2022 Olympic success.
Välbe has been a visible supporter of Putin for several years. The support did not waver even with the war, although the former top skier has said that his father lives in Ukraine.
– I have voted for Vladimir Vladimirovich since the first elections and I have never regretted it, Välbe sapplied in the spring of 2023 to the Championat site.
Nikita Nagornyi
The multiple prize winner in gymnastics is active in Russian politics in addition to his sports career. 26-year-old Nikita Nagornyi is the head of Junarmija, a patriotic youth organization created by the Russian government.
Junarmija organizes, among other things, army camps where young people are trained in the use of weapons, first aid and national defense. The organization acts in the name of the interests of those in power and has visibly shown its support for, for example, Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Tatjana Navka
The Olympic ice dance champion and two-time world champion is known not only for his athletic achievements but also as Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov as a spouse.
So it’s no wonder that born in Dnipro, Ukraine Tatjana Navka, 48, has organized numerous pro-Kremlin events. Among other things, he has planned figure skating shows in the Russian-occupied Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
Sergei Tetjukhin
2012 Olympic champion Sergei Tetjukhin, 48, is Russia’s all-time leading male volleyball player. Tetjuhin has long been part of Putin’s supporters, and this year was no exception.
Today, Tetjuhin works, among other things, as the GM of the Russian national volleyball team. He was also in that role in the years 2019–2022, when he was the head coach of the national team Tuomas Sammelvuo. At the time, Tetjuhin praised Sammelvuo’s work.
Researcher familiar with Russian history Pia Koivunen The University of Turku says that the support of sports stars has a special meaning for Putin now that the country is at war.
– Because of the war, it is unclear what Putin’s support is like at the moment. We want as many public figures behind him as possible, so that they would guide people’s voting, Koivunen estimates.
– Athletes are the nation’s heroes, who have raised national sentiment. Their support is especially significant for Putin in the current situation.
More coming?
The official list of supporters may soon be joined by more athlete names, as many other athletes have openly supported Putin. For example, skiers Veronika Stepanova and Alexander Legkov and captain of the national football team Artyom Dzyuba have praised the president since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The NHL star who created the Putin Team movement for the 2018 elections Alexander Ovechkin has instead avoided making political statements since the start of a full-scale war. The captain of the Washington Capitals has been heavily criticized for, among other things, the fact that he still has a joint picture with Putin as his Instagram profile picture.
There are also famous opponents
Many Russian sports names remain silent about their political opinions for fear of consequences.
After February 2022, however, there have also been those in the sports world who have publicly criticized the actions of the Russian administration.
Nikita Zadorov
The Vancouver Canucks defenseman is the only Russian NHL player who has publicly condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine. Zadorov took to his social media accounts to call for an end to the war shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. In the fall of 2023, Zadorov criticized Putin’s administration in harsh terms as a journalist Yuri Dudin in the interview.
– I feel sorry for the young people. Instead of raising a new generation, we send them to die, the hockey player said.
Nadezhda Karpova
The 28-year-old national team soccer player who plays in Spain has been a prominent opponent of Putin’s regime. Nadezhda Karpova also includes a jailed opposition politician To Alexei Navalny to support groups.
– Putin took everything from us. He took our future. The administration did not face strong opposition. Most people turned a blind eye to the injustice and thought it was none of their business, Karpova said for the BBC in the summer of 2022.
Darja Kasatkina
– I want to be able to respect myself when I look in the mirror. If I have to deny Russia to become a good person, that’s my choice. When Russia invaded Ukraine, I couldn’t stay hidden anymore.
for The Times The interview given in the summer of 2023 was not the first time that the world number 15 in tennis Darja Kasatkina has taken a stand on events in his home country. Kasatkina, 26, has often condemned the war waged by Russia, but also, like Karpova, spoke strongly for the rights of sexual minorities.
Igor Denisov and Aleksandr Kerzhakov
Former captain of the Russian national football team said in the summer of 2022 supplier Nobel for Arustamjanithat Russia’s war in Ukraine cannot be accepted.
– I think what happened is a disaster. It’s just awful. Maybe I will be put in prison or killed for these words, but I say, as it is, 39-year-old Denisov commented.
Also Denisov’s colleague, the Russian national team’s all-time top scorer Alexander Kerzhakov41, condemned the war in an interview with Arustamjan.
Back in the 2012 elections, Kerzhakov was on Putin’s official list of supporters. Today he lives in Cyprus.
– I’m afraid. In every interview where I have been asked about my biggest wish, I have answered “that the war would end”. I don’t understand how this is possible in our modern society, Kerzhakov said to Arustamjani in the spring of 2023.