The Ministry of Internal Affairs has put on the wanted list the former football player Evgeniy Savin, who runs the KraSava sports blog on YouTube. Mediazona found information about this in the department’s database.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs does not specify why Savin is wanted. In September, RIA Novosti and the Beware the News project, citing their sources, reported that a criminal case was opened against the athlete for “discrediting” the army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code) because of an interview he gave to journalist Ksenia Sobchak in April 2023. Adding to the wanted list confirms that a criminal case has indeed been opened against Savin.
In the fall, RIA Novosti wrote that, according to investigators, in the video the athlete “spoke negatively about the Russian army and condemned its actions.” It is unknown exactly what words became the reason for the security forces’ claims. Savin himself commented on the reports of persecution with the words: “I hope that this season my players will be as persistent as the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. Apparently there are no other problems in the country 🤡.”
To initiate a criminal case for “discredit,” it is necessary that the person has previously been fined under a similar administrative protocol (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). Savin was given such a fine in February because of a video on YouTube. “It’s a rare occasion when I’m proud of myself,” the footballer wrote then.
Evgeny Savin played as a striker for various football clubs, in particular, Khimki, Amkar, Krylya Sovetov, Tom and Ural. After completing his professional career in 2015, the athlete broadcast on Match TV and Channel One, and since 2018, he has published videos on the KraSava YouTube channel. Now he has more than a million subscribers. In 2020, Savin created the Krasava football club, which in 2022 moved with him from Odintsovo near Moscow to Cyprus.
“The first thing I did when I realized the scale of what was happening (the war in Ukraine — MZ), I wrote to my wife. He said: “Get ready.” As soon as I return, we are leaving Russia,” this is how the sports blogger explained emigration from the country in an interview with Sobchak. — <…> I realized that we would not be able to live in Russia. The main reason is that I don’t want my children to grow up in a country that starts truly cannibalistic wars with its neighboring country. An emotional and intuitive decision was made on February 24 [2022].” In May 2022, Savin also posted interviews with Ukrainian football players on his channel.
