Vladimir Putin was sworn in for a fifth term as Russia’s president in front of dignitaries, celebrities and friends, including American actor Steven Seagal and biker gang leader Aleksandr Zaldostanov, known as “The Surgeon” .
The dictator was first sworn in as president in May 2000, pledging at the time to “preserve and develop democracy and take care of Russia.”
He launched his country into a full-scale war with Ukraine, resulting in hundreds of thousands of Russian casualties, and brutally suppressed all opposition, whether through arrests, assassinations, or during the recent rigged elections.
The “surgeon” is the leader of the Night Wolves motorcycle club, a pro-Kremlin group that supports Putin.
He is known for his homophobic views and admiration for the ruthless Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, according to The Telegraph.
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He was seen arriving at the exclusive inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin Palace dressed in leather, his long hair easily recognizable and the gang logo on display.
After a friendship believed to have begun in 2009, Putin awarded Zaldostanov the prestigious state medal Order of Honor, making the biker and his gang unofficial Putin accomplices.
His friendship with the Russian president and his support for Russia in Ukraine earned him a place on the Western sanctions list.
Who are the Night Wolves?
The gang is famous in Russia, but is also present in Europe and Australia through at least 45 branches.
It was formed in the late 1980s.
Since then, it has become one of the biggest and “most infamous” biker clubs, according to The Guardian.
After the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2014, the Night Wolves joined pro-Russian militias to fight in the east of the country.
The group allegedly received money from the Kremlin worth millions of dollars.
“The Surgeon” earned his nickname after becoming a doctor specializing in post-traumatic facial surgery.
Eventually, being a “Night Wolf” became a full-time job.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the “Surgeon” suggested that he may have given Putin the idea to annex Crimea, because he gave him letters, photos and calendars from the region every time the two met.
Putin described the Night Wolves as his “friends” and appeared at a rally riding a Harley-Davidson tricycle, the group’s motorcycle of choice.
The president was photographed walking with “The Surgeon” and other Wolves of the Night in Crimea in 2019.
Putin rode his motorcycle without a helmet in a matching black leather jacket and tight jeans. Putin is proud next to this tattooed and steely-eyed giant whom he is not shy to call “my brother”. The “surgeon” became the symbol of Russian nationalism. However, for many, the leader of the largest motorcycle club in Russia is an unfrequented character. He openly advocated the extermination of Putin’s opponents.
He was decorated with the Order of Merit for “his activity in the patriotic education of the youth” and carried the Olympic Flame in Sochi. He is the one in charge of organizing the grandest patriotic shows broadcast live on Russian television.
Aleksandr Zaldostanov is one of the founders of the anti-Maidan, a group set up to counter any attempt to bring Russians to the streets in protest against the Putin regime.
“I’m ready to throw myself in front of a machine gun,” said the motorcyclist in a British publication. The “surgeon” and Putin have numerous meetings, sometimes in public, sometimes in Putin’s private residence.
The motorcyclist claims that Stalin was “the ultimate historical and mystical figure that Russia’s enemies still fear, and Western leaders are described as ‘cynical Satanists.’
Zaldostanov’s presence in the privacy of the Kremlin elite says a lot about what is happening in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
The Kremlin leader is known for surrounding himself with controversial figures, including American actor Steven Seagal, French actor Gerard Depardieu and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadîrov, who is dubbed Putin’s “attack dog”.
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Tags: Surgeon leader Night Wolves motorcycle gang Putins righthand man
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