New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin is taking leave of the team following a politically motivated article in Russia, in which his former head coach Vityaz claims that the former striker of the Moscow region club defeated an 18-year-old girl from Riga, Latvia, in 2011, Larry Brooks of The Post reported Monday morning.
Andrei Nazarov, who is currently the head coach of KHL’s Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, has repeatedly criticized Panarin for the striker’s sincere beliefs about the regime of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Nazarov is a well-known supporter of Putin.
“Artemi vehemently and unequivocally denies all allegations in this fabricated story,” Rangers said in a statement. “This is clearly an intimidation tactic used against him to be open to recent political events. Artemi is obviously shaken and worried and will take some time away from the team. The rangers fully support Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these baseless allegations.
In the article ALhockey.ru published on Monday and translated by The Post, Nazarov makes a detailed report from December 11, 2011. The former Russian hockey player claims that after Vityaz lost to Dynamo 2-0, in which Panarin did not have a game great, a then 19-year-old Panarin and other teammates were at a hotel bar when “he sent the 18-year-old Latvian citizen upstairs with a few heavy blows.”
Nazarov claims that Panarin was detained by the police before there was a possible criminal case and trial. But Nazarov claims there was a 40,000-euro cash bribe to let Panarin go free.
Panarin’s grandparents still live in Russia, as do several other family members.
Korkino, 29, originally from Russia, has openly – and strongly – opposed Putin in recent years. Recently, last month, Panarin showed his support for the leader of the Russian opposition, Alexei Navalny, in a post on Instagram, before the planned protests in Russia.
Panarin posted a photo of Navalny, a well-known critic of Putin, his wife and two children, with a caption that reads: “Freedom for Navalny.” The post is still on its page starting Monday.
Navalny recently posted a message on his YouTube account to his supporters: “Don’t be afraid. Go to the street. Don’t do it for me, do it for you and for your future “.
In July 2019, Panarin sat down for an interview with the YouTube channel Vsemu Golovin and eviscerated Putin. It was a bombshell interview in which the finalist of the Hart 2020 trophy – barefoot in his living room in St. Petersburg – criticized Putin’s entire regime.
Panarin discussed Russian politics, the economy, freedom of expression, and made some unpleasant comparisons of his homeland with the United States. He was also asked why he used to support Putin in the past.
“Because I was never really interested in politics. Never read the news, ”reads a translation from SlavaDoesAmerica.com. “I focused on hockey and my progress … Besides, I didn’t feel like I was crossing [American] border and lit up immediately.
“It took me something like two years before I thought, ‘Something’s wrong [in Russia]. ‘I started to feel, over time, that at the end of the summer I started to want to come back [to America]. ”
Panarin’s public opposition to Putin is extremely notable, given that it is an unprecedented event in Russia. Athletes in North America, such as LeBron James, Megan Rapinoe and countless others, have been involved in political talks for years. Russian athletes are expected to show nothing but loyalty to their country, making Panarin’s position all the more destructive.
For comparison, NHL star colleague Alex Ovechkin founded an entire political movement called “Team Putin” and sold thematic goods to Putin until the 2018 presidential election. Other Russian-born players include Evgeni Malkin, Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Kovalchuk, expressed support for Putin himself or his policy.
Nikita Zadorov from the Blackhawks easily showed her support for Panarin, once she commented on Panarin’s Instagram account with an “thumbs up” and “fist” emoji. Panarin and Zadorov had previously criticized a Russian law aimed at giving the government more control over the Internet, prompting the Russian embassy in the United States to issue an open letter to both NHLs.