Alexander Sergeevich Saldostanov

Putin and Saldostanov in Sevastopol during the 14th International Biker Rally 2010

Saldostanov (2019)

Alexander Sergeyevich Saldostanow ( Russian Александр Сергеевич Залдостанов * 19th January 1963 in Kirovohrad , Oblast Kirovohrad , Ukrainian SSR ) is the founder and President of the Russian motorcycle and biker clubs Night Wolves .

biography

Saldostanov was born into a family of doctors in the Ukrainian SSR as the son of a Ukrainian and a Russian woman and grew up in Sevastopol . Initially, he chose the same profession and studied medicine in Moscow . He is then said to have worked as a specialist in post-traumatic facial deformation in a dental clinic, which later earned him the nickname “the surgeon”.

In 1983, as a student, he bought a Jawa brand motorcycle and used to hang out with like-minded people on the streets of Moscow, who also took over the security of the halls at rock concerts. According to the General-Anzeiger , Saldostanov was one of “Moscow's first generation motorcycle rockers”. In 1985 he settled in West Berlin after marrying a West German journalist whom he had met in Moscow. According to contemporary witness reports , he first lived in an occupied house on Winterfeldtstrasse, worked as a doorman at Club Sexton on Winterfeldtplatz and came into contact with members of the Hells Angels .

Back in Moscow he founded his own club, a replica of the Sexton and later the night wolves' headquarters. In 1989 he founded the Night Wolves under the name Night Wolves . It was later renamed Notschnye Wolki , the Russian equivalent of the name. During the tenure of President Boris Yeltsin , Saldostanov founded several companies since 1991, including real estate and accessories for motorcyclists. However, the project of a successful Russian motorcycle brand he wanted failed.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Saldostanow was still pro-Western with his motorcycle club and had contacts with like-minded people there. The turn to the Orthodox faith and nationalism is said to be due to an encounter with an Orthodox priest who suggested to him that he had to save Russia. Former members, on the other hand, described Saldostanov as a despot who violated the code of honor that a leader could also be replaced. The basic rule of all motorcycle clubs “no politics” would be disregarded and the internal democracy adopted by Western clubs such as the Hells Angels would be violated. Instead of an annual re-election of the club president, a “one-man dictatorship” prevailed. He is also said to have appropriated former club property.

In 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin , whose friend and admirer Saldostanov is, awarded him the Order of Honor . On the occasion of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi , Saldostanov was one of the torchbearers .

Because of his actions in the Ukraine conflict and the war in Ukraine since 2014 , Saldostanov has been on a sanctions list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury since December 2014 . Canada also imposed sanctions on Saldostanov in mid-February 2015 . In January 2015, he was one of the co-founders of the Antimaidan association , referring to the Euromaidan , which aims to take action against opponents and critics of Putin, described by Saldostanov as the " fifth column on behalf of foreign interests".

Views

Saldostanov represents nationalist , anti-Western and homophobic views in his appearances and interviews . He sees himself as the protector of Russian Orthodox Christianity and Russian civilization. He describes the dissolution of the Soviet Union as unlawful and Ukraine as part of Russia.

In addition to his admiration for the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Saldostanov is a great admirer of Josef Stalin . Regarding Stalin and his relationship to democracy , he said in an interview:

“A superhuman mysticism is at work in our relationship with Stalin. On the one hand he stands for repression, on the other hand he is the executor of the triumphant victory in the Great Patriotic War . To save Moscow, he flew over the city with an icon. Our fathers cursed and worshiped him at the same time; they went to death for him as they did for Jesus Christ. He remains an idol in Russian history and an unmatched leader, despite having been brainwashed since his death. Stalin created a grandiose state and saved Russian civilization from the abyss after the fall of the tsarist empire. We owe everything we have to him. Therefore we have no right to criticize him. Our supporters of American democracy should also hold back, because democracy caused much greater evil and today comes with the same slogans as communism. "

- Alexander Saldostanov in RP on April 28, 2015.

Web links

Commons : Alexander Saldostanov  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Anne Lena Mösken: The Berlin bouncer who became Russia's most powerful rocker , February 22, 2015 in Berliner Zeitung

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Issuance of a new Ukraine-related Executive Order and General License; Ukraine-related Designations , December 19, 2014, Office of Foreign Assets Control website .
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Russian biker boss Alexander Saldostanow: "We defend ourselves against Satan, the West" , April 28, 2015, RP Online .
3. ↑ ^{a b} Der Rocker-Unternehmer , Neues Deutschland from May 9, 2015.
4. ↑ ^{a b} The bouncer returns , General-Anzeiger of April 16, 2015.
5. ↑ Squatters and Putin's Rockers , taz of April 21, 2015.
6. ↑ Rocker with Putin's Order of Fame , Berliner Zeitung of April 15, 2015.
7. ↑ "Where we are is Russia" , taz of April 17, 2015.
8. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from February 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ ^{a b c} Alexander Zaldostanov, Russian biker, makes Canada's sanctions list , February 19, 2015, CBC News .
10. ↑ Expanded sanctions list , Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 17./18. February 2015, Government of Canada website. 
11. ↑ Putin's outrider: 'The Surgeon' vows to quell anti-Kremlin dissent , The Telegraph of March 24, 2015.
12. ↑ Putin's biker buddy - The night wolves howl in the Crimea , March 6, 2014, n-tv.de.