The free athlete who tattooed himself with Nazi symbols was rewarded for “cleansing the Nazis”.
Russian freestyler Mikhail Turkanov35, joined the armed forces when his country began a brutal war of aggression in Ukraine.
Now a Ukrainian journalist Denis Kazansky told, that Turkanov has received the medal of honor of the Russian army. Reported about it Bloody Elbow investigative editor of the website Karim Zidanewho quoted Kazansky.
Kazansky wrote on his Telegram site that Turkanov was awarded for his work in the Ukrainian war and the purge of Nazis. Russia has used Nazi rhetoric about Ukrainians in its propaganda since the beginning of the war.
What makes the news special is that Turkanov himself has been punished in Russia for his neo-Nazi activities. Turkanov, who competed in 15 freestyle matches as a professional, has several Nazi symbols tattooed on his body, such as swastikas and the number code 88, which refers to the phrase “heil Hitler”.
The Russian state-owned sports channel Match TV interviewed Turkanov in 2019 and asked him about neo-Nazi chicanery.
– These are the words of the ignorant. Today, the swastika symbol is used in many different contexts, Turkanov answered.
– My tattoos are my personal thing. I don’t advertise anything with them or publicly shout my positions.
Turkanov is on a three-match losing streak in the cage. The last time he fought in St. Petersburg was in the evening of the MMA Series in the summer of 2021.