Another titled Russian athlete has been found to have supported Russian aggression and participated in genocidal activities in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

In early October, Russian professional boxer and former world boxing champion Fedor Chudinov illegally visited several cities in the occupied Luhansk Oblast.

In addition to illegally crossing the state border of Ukraine, Fedor also participated in a propaganda event with Ukrainian children. In particular, he held “master classes” that contained obvious elements of indoctrination and “re-education” of Ukrainian children in the occupied Starobilsk and Luhansk.

These events were organised by sanctioned Russian organisations, namely the Putin-funded People’s Front movement and the organisation Zdorovoye Otechestvo, which have been identified by Ukrainian intelligence services and Western sanctions institutions as involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children.

It is not the first time that Chudinov has been noted for his participation in Kremlin initiatives that are explicit broadcasters of imperial narratives. In particular, he has participated in indoctrination events for Ukrainian children taken from the occupied territories to Moscow and is an active member of the sanctioned Night Wolves. Watchers investigated the activities of the athlete Chudinov in indoctrinating teenagers in the occupied territories and his participation in re-education activities for illegally deported Ukrainian children.

What is the indoctrination of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories?

Russian authorities have created a comprehensive system of turning Ukrainian children into Russian loyalists in the occupied territories. They are not only deprived of their Ukrainian identity but also manipulated through education, upbringing, sports and culture, turning them into loyal and devoted soldiers of the empire.

Experts from the Centre of Civil Education “Almenda,” who deal with this issue, define indoctrination as the imposition of narratives favourable to Russia on children, which should be perceived as absolute truth and not anyhow doubted or criticised. “The intention of the Russian authorities is to form the readiness of Ukrainian youth in the temporarily occupied territories to absolutely support the Russian authorities, to eliminate critical thinking when assessing the actions of the Russian authorities and to absolutely believe in the narratives proclaimed by the authorities with a willingness to act in all possible ways in the interests of the state,” the organisation’s report says.

Children in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) are not only brought up to perceive Ukraine as a “fascist and Nazi” state whose existence must be terminated but also instilled with the idea that it is their sacred duty to sacrifice their own lives for the interests of the Russian Empire.

All spheres of life of minors in the TOT, including amateur and conditionally professional sports, are involved in the indoctrination of children. The so-called “neutral athletes” who compete in the Olympics and international competitions, allegedly not representing Russia, are also involved but remain the leaders and executors of the Kremlin’s centralised programme of ideological impact on the population in the occupied territories. The case of Fedor Chudinov is one of the illustrations of this phenomenon.

Sports events with camouflage and Putin

World boxing champion Fedor Chudinov’s illegal visit to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine was organised by the People’s Front and Zdorovoye Otechestvo, two openly pro-Kremlin, pro-war Russian organisations that directly cooperate with Russian government authorities.

During these visits to Starobilsk and Luhansk, Chudinov held events that looked like purely sporting ones, namely a lecture on sports discipline, a warm-up and a master class in the gym. But don’t let this mislead you. The explicitly stated goals of the events, the symbols worn by the children, the organisers and visible in the room, the presence of z-activists, the occupation administration, the composition of the organisers and the history of their previous activities leave no doubt that these events are part of indoctrination.

In the photos from the events in the occupied Luhansk region, propagandists can be seen alongside the children and Chudinov, for example, a woman wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Putin’s team.” In addition, another representative of the organisers from the People’s Front was wearing a camouflage uniform.

Commenting on the goals of the alleged sporting events, Russian Chudinov referred to Ukrainian children from the occupied territories as Russians and said that they should be “guided and explained”: “I, as a person who is interested in the future of our children, (believe that) they need to be properly guided,” the propaganda resource quoted Chudinov as saying.

Speaking about his participation in the meeting in the occupied Luhansk Oblast, he also called it part of Russia: “Anywhere in Russia, there are children who want to become champions. I can tell them how to achieve that,” he said, explaining his presence in Luhansk.

Oleh Shereneshev, appointed by the occupation authorities as the so-called “minister of sports” of the “LPR,” also attended Chudinov’s event in Luhansk. Shereneshev is listed on the War Sanctions portal of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine as the organiser of deportations of Ukrainian children.

In his comments to the propagandists, Shereneshev made it clear that such events helped link children’s hopes for sporting achievements with Russia: “I am grateful for every such visit. When they come to visit the children, they see that Russia is full of champions, and they have prospects to become champions themselves.”

The Ukrainian children wore uniforms with Russian flags and coats of arms during the event.

In addition to people wearing clothes with the words “Putin’s team,” a representative of the self-proclaimed “LPR Boxing Federation” attended Chudinov’s event. He stood next to Chudinov during the “training session,” wearing clothes with the relevant inscription.

The video also features the symbols of the Russian Boxing Federation. This proves once again that such events are not their own initiative but a systemic state work that extends through sports officials and federations to the athletes who perform it.

Event organisers involved in child abduction

As numerous propaganda reports state, the People’s Front and Zdorovoye Otechestvo organised the events. This is confirmed by the organisations themselves.

In particular, the Vkontakte page of the Luhansk Regional Branch of the People’s Front reads: “Fedor Chudinov, a world boxing champion and ambassador of the Zdorovoye Otechestvo NGO, was invited by the People’s Front to conduct boxing masterclasses in sports institutions of the Luhansk People’s Republic.”

The People’s Front is sanctioned by Ukraine, the EU and Switzerland for supporting the war against Ukraine. Canada has also included this organisation in its sanctions lists for its involvement in “Russia’s ongoing human rights violations, including in connection with the transfer and custody of Ukrainian children in Russia.” The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine also considers the organisation to be involved in an organised mechanism of mass abductions.

The EU regulations and sanctions documents state that “The People’s Front raises money and means for the military units of the occupiers. This organisation is also the rightsholder of the “Z” symbol, which is widely used by Russian propaganda as a sign of support for the occupation aggressive war of the Russian Federation. The EU regulations recognise the People’s Front as undermining and threatening Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence.

The representatives of the People’s Front were wearing clothes with the words “Putin’s team” on them. On 20 July this year, members of the organisation, wearing the same slogans on their clothes, received awards “for the establishment and development of the DPR” from Denis Pushilin, the occupying head of the so-called DPR.

The “official website of the DPR” also noted that the People’s Front had a project called “Everything for Victory,” under which the organisation donated special vehicles, night vision devices, electronic warfare equipment and military ammunition to the occupation military. These items are described in the report as “humanitarian aid.”

As for Zdorovoye Otechestvo, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine considers it a “re-educational” organisation, which is not only involved in the abduction of children but also in their indoctrination. In addition, it is an organisation with a clear cult of Putin’s personality.

For example, the organisation’s Instagram page describes its vigorous activities around the dictator’s birthday. “We continue to do good deeds in honour of the president’s birthday,” reads one typical post about a visit to a boarding school in Bryansk with gifts and masterclasses. The children in the photo from this event pose in T-shirts depicting Putin.

The organisation’s website lists Putin’s quote about the development of sports as its purpose, which is formulated as a task.

This particular organisation co-organised the Luhansk events featuring Chudinov, as evidenced by the T-shirt with the organisation’s symbols where Chudinov held classes in Luhansk Oblast and their joint Instagram posts.

The organisation’s website also states that a significant portion of the financial assistance is directed to participants in the “special military operation” (as Russia calls the aggressive war for propaganda purposes) and their families.

They also point to the partnership between Zdorovoye Otechestvo, Putin’s United Russia party and the People’s Front, with which they organised the event with Fedor Chudinov.

Even more activities to indoctrinate and propagandise the boxer

This is not the first time Chudinov has been involved in the ideological impact on Ukrainian children from the occupied territories. In June 2024, occupiers illegally transferred 16 underage children from the occupied territories of Kadiivka, Yenakiieve and Horlivka to Moscow. These underage children were transferred by persons called the children’s “coaches”, namely Ramil Shamilovich Sakhabutdinov (Kadiivka), Igor Pavlovich Dubinin (Yenakiieve), and Maksym Yuriiovych Yefimov (Horlivka).

As part of this illegal trip, Chudinov held a “sporting” event for children. However, he voiced the narratives and goals of this “training” that we are already familiar with. In particular, he called Ukrainian children from the occupied territories “ours,” referring to Russia and the need to “guide” them. These Chudinov’s words were quoted by the Russian Boxing Federation:

• “It is very important to hold a masterclass and train young athletes, our future stars. Where we direct them now, they will go there,” said Fedor Chudinov.

At this training session, Ukrainian children wore uniforms with the Russian flag on their chests and a large RUS word on their backs.

The next day, as part of the same trip, the children were taken to the Russian State Duma, where they attended the opening of the Sport Unites exhibition organised by the Russian parliament’s sports committee.

The main purpose of the exhibition, as stated by Ivan Melnikov, the first deputy chair of the Russian parliament, was “to highlight the activities of the Our Sports Foundation in the new territories (as Russians call the occupied territories) of the Russian Federation.” He also directly admitted that sporting events in the occupied territories were held to “form patriotic values among the younger generation,” confirming the indoctrination goals of the allegedly sporting events.

Member of the sanctioned Putin’s Night Wolves

Fedor Chudinov goes by the sports nickname “Night Wolf” in the ring, and this is no coincidence. He has been friends with this biker club since at least 2013, as he said in an interview. He also said that he was close to the ideology and “patriotic views” of the club.

The Night Wolves reciprocate. Chudinov has clothes with the club’s symbols on them, and its representatives met the boxer with honours at the airport after his victories.

Chudinov wears a St. George’s ribbon on his Night Wolves vest, which is common in Russia among representatives of the so-called victory cult, which is the basis of Russia’s modern imperial myth.

In 2015, Chudinov also went to the fight against Sturm, wearing the symbols of the Night Wolves. It was just after they were sanctioned and their visas cancelled because they tried to organise a ride “to Berlin.” According to Chudinov, the vest of the pro-Kremlin organisation was smuggled to him so that he could wear it to the ring.

The Night Wolves is a pro-Kremlin biker group with strong ties to the Russian state, which has repeatedly received tens of millions of roubles from the Russian budget. The club is involved in Russia’s hybrid operations in Europe, including organising the 2015 “To Berlin!” victory motorcycle ride.

Club members also participated in the Anti-Maidan protests, played the role of the “community cooperating with the occupiers” in Crimea in 2014, patrolling the streets with Russian soldiers, led mobilisation campaigns for the war in eastern Ukraine in the ranks of Russian illegal armed units, etc. Night Wolves have been actively supporting Russia’s occupation war since 2014.

Night Wolves are sanctioned by the United States, Switzerland and the EU. The EU sanctions regulations state that the Night Wolves club is a key supporter of the Russian government, which actively supports Russian state propaganda.

Instead of a summary from the authors

There are no such thing as neutral sports in Russia. Propaganda and state policy permeate all spheres of public life, and people who do not participate in it have no chance of success.

Boxer Fedor Chudinov has consistently demonstrated his loyalty to the Russian authorities and their occupation policy. Since at least 2013, he has been closely associated with a key supporter of the Russian government, the sanctioned Night Wolves organisation, and has been consistently involved in propaganda, re-education and indoctrination events for Ukrainian children from the occupied territories, where he makes it clear that his goal is to “guide children” in their political and ideological views. At the same time, Chudinov refers to Ukrainian children from the Russian-occupied territories as Russian people, denying their Ukrainian identity. In performing these activities, he cooperates with Russian organisations that have already been sanctioned by the international community and identified as involved in the abduction and forced displacement of children from the occupied territories.

Given all of the above, Fedor Chudinov cannot be considered a “neutral athlete,” as he is a conductor of the Kremlin’s policy in the occupied territories and is involved by the Russian authorities in their integration into the Russian Federation.

The faces and names of the children in the photos and screenshots are blurred for their protection. The editorial office keeps all photos, screenshots, and original videos to preserve evidence of Russian war crimes. Watchers is ready to cooperate with any sports and sanctioning organisations and provide this evidence.