Son of army fundraiser dodged conscription
The son of an Auckland woman who raised money for the Russian army fought Russian conscription papers while supporting Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Ruslan Ovchinnikov is the son of Antonina Ovchinnikova, who raised tens of thousands of New Zealand dollars through Telegram and became the subject of a police investigation, before fleeing ‘‘home’’ to Moscow, the Russian capital.
Ovchinnikov, like his mother, also has built a following on social media where he spreads Russian propaganda supporting the illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The 25-year-old AUT graduate makes videos for YouTube and TikTok, where he finds Ukrainians on the randomised video call website Chatroulette and debates them about the invasion.
Ovchinnikov lived in north Auckland and became a New Zealand citizen in 2017, according to social media posts.
‘‘Instead of the phrases of the oath, I simply remained silent, and while singing the anthem, I sang ‘Russia is our great power’,’’ Ovchinnikov said about his citizenship ceremony.
Ovchinnikov then returned to Russia to study journalism, where he began posting videos on YouTube supporting the Kremlin’s nationalist vision.
Ovchinnikov has gained a following on TikTok with 6000 followers and his videos often get tens of thousands of views.
In an October 2022 video, Ovchinnikov revealed he received conscription papers to the Russian army as part of Putin’s partial mobilisation to reinforce his quickly diminishing army.
The call-up led to protests and killings in Russia as Russians rebelled against the widereaching conscription which called up more than the targeted 300,000 men.
Ovchinnikov advised his followers how to go about avoiding the call-up if they had a legitimate reason.
He said he had managed to get a suspension from the call-up, but he said those who were fit to serve shouldn’t be afraid of fighting.