Alaudinov defended the "masqueraded Hero of Russia" to bloggers.

Member of the Russian Public Chamber, Ekaterina Kolotovkina, encountered three "masqueraded Heroes of Russia" at a gas station in the Rostov region, one of whom the head of the Akhmat unit, Apti Alaudinov, decided to stand up for.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the commander of the Akhmat unit, Apti Alaudinov, believes that some Z-bloggers are either conspiratorial enemies of Russia or unknowingly serve its interests. He promised to destroy such Z-bloggers "legally through criminal prosecution" if they don't apologize.

Kolotovkina: "Heroes" in orders and medals cowardly fled

According to Kolotovkina, in the Rostov region, she stopped at a gas station to buy coffee and saw three men wearing orders and medals.

“On each of their chests, a ‘hero star’ shone proudly. One had three of them. Neither I nor my companions had ever seen anything like this. So, we began to examine this iconostasis with interest. This didn’t bother the ‘heroes’ at all; on the contrary, their backs straightened under the weight of their awards, and their chests on the side with the stars seemed to bulge forward,” Kolotovkina wrote on December 20 in her Telegram channel.

According to her, when asked to “tell about their exploits” and show documents for their awards They replied that the stars had been awarded to them by the "Combat Brotherhood" organization, and that they were transporting humanitarian aid.

"We offered to call the military police and find out why they were driving cars without license plates. But the 'heroes' cowardly fled," Kolotovkina added.

The number of views of her post as of December 22 had exceeded one million. According to Kolotovkina, a Defense Ministry officer traveling with her reported that the people they encountered were "mummers."

Alaudinov decided to defend one of the "heroes"

In turn, Z-blogger and author of the Telegram channel "Topaz Speaks" Evgeny Rasskazov revealed the identities of two of the three "heroes" Kolotovkina encountered. According to him, the person with the most awards and three stars was Aikaz Karamanyan from Sochi, who had served several years contracts with the Akhmat special forces unit, and the other man was Sergei Ivankov, a Cossack from Adler. Rasskazov did not disclose the identity of the third "hero" in his Telegram channel.

23:16 19.11.2025

Conflicts among Z-bloggers reflect Solovyov and Alaudinov's struggle for influence

A struggle for influence over the public agenda is underway between TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov and Akhmat special forces commander Apti Alaudinov. Conflicts between Z-bloggers, including those related to fundraising for the SVO, are one reflection of this struggle. Fundraising for the military The sums are in the billions, but they are opaque and unaccountable.

At the same time, according to him, former Akhmatov member Karamanyan does not hold the rank of captain, despite having the corresponding shoulder straps; he allegedly only rose to the rank of junior sergeant. Rasskazov added that the Cossack Ivankov may have fought during the armed conflict in Abkhazia, but has "nothing to do with the special operation whatsoever." Rasskazov is certain that the people Kolotovkina met are engaged in "freeloading and parasitism." The blogger also noted that one of the people Kolotovkina met held the "Holy Russia" Order, established by the Russian Union of Writers for his contribution to the development of Russian literature.

Akhmat commander Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov publicly defended one of the figures in the scandal, former Akhmatov member Aikaz Karamanyan. In his On Alaudinov's Telegram channel, he confirmed that Karamanyan served for four months in one of the unit's assault squads and carried out missions "on the front lines of the combat contact line."

"A brave and determined fighter, a courageous and responsible man! He deservedly received the unit's highest award—the Akhmat-Spetsnaz Order. As well as the Medal "For Bravery," 2nd Class. This is for the attention of all armchair warriors," the general wrote.

Former "people's governor of Donbas," Pavel Gubarev, responded to Alaudinov's post. He said he "thought through many worthy men" but couldn't recall a single recipient of the full St. George Cross, like Aikaz Karamanyan. "Aikaz is a real Christmas tree!" "We can't stand up for him," Lenta.ru quoted Gubarev as saying today.

According to the publication, activist Anastasia Kashevarova also stood up for Karamanyan. Kashevarova acknowledged that the uniform Karamanyan and his companions are wearing may indeed look odd. "It looks ridiculous, I agree. There needs to be a culture here, about how and what to wear," she said.