Emelianenko Alexander

Russian athlete, mixed martial arts fighter.

Born in the city of Stary Oskol in the Belgorod region in 1981. The younger brother of mixed martial arts fighter, member of the United Russia party and Putin's confidant Fedor Emelianenko. In 1988 he began training in sambo and judo. At the age of 16 he became a master of sports in judo. He graduated from 9 classes of school and vocational school No. 22 with a degree in gas-electric welder. In 1999 he became the European Sambo champion. He became the world champion in combat sambo three times in the 2000s. In 2009 he graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Belgorod State University. In 2004 he moved to St. Petersburg.

Since 2003, he has performed under the auspices of various promotional organizations, including Pride, M-1 Global, RCC, ACA and others.
In 2012, he announced his retirement from his sports career, spent several months in an Orthodox monastery in Athos, after which he announced his return to sports. According to Emelianenko himself, Elder Eli blessed him to continue his career.

He enjoys a controversial reputation due to numerous scandals related to his behavior outside the ring. So in December 2012, he was brought to administrative responsibility under the article “Petty hooliganism” and fined 700 rubles for drunken rowdy behavior on a Moscow-Barnaul plane. The court found that Emelianenko pestered passengers, provoked them into a fight, did not respond to comments from flight attendants, demanded alcohol, used obscene language, and smoked on the plane.

In August 2013, Emelianenko was accused of rape by a 23-year-old graduate of a Siberian university. The police, having arrived at the apartment on the call of the girl, found Alexander Emelianenko there, who, according to witnesses, was intoxicated. However, after a procedural check, the girl withdrew the application. According to Emelianenko's press secretary, the girl was a prostitute who wanted to blackmail the fighter.

In the fall of 2013, Emelianenko was supposed to have a rematch with the famous Croatian fighter Mirko Filipovich, nicknamed “Cro Cop,” to whom Emelianenko lost back in 2004. However, the fight never took place. The reason was that Emelianenko was detained for beating an elderly visitor to one of the Moscow cafes. The tournament organizers suspended Emelianenko from the competition, as this incident could have caused damage to the image of the tournament.

A procedural investigation was carried out into this incident, but the case was dropped due to the reconciliation of the parties.
In December 2013, the head of the Tyumen Combat Sambo Federation (TFBS) Elena Mukhamedshina stated that, in her opinion, Alexander Emelianenko came to training in Tyumen drunk, did not prepare for the fight and refused to take tests from the medical commission. In this regard, he was removed from the tournament.

In 2014, a criminal case was initiated against Alexander. According to investigators, on the night of March 3, 2014, in an apartment on Peresvetov Lane in Moscow, Emelianenko raped Polina Stepanova, who was cleaning his apartment. Also, under threat of force, he persuaded the victim to use unknown drugs, after which he stole her passport. He was detained on May 9, 2014 in Tambov after he was involved in an accident. Previously, Emelianenko was put on the federal wanted list due to failure to appear for questioning.

On May 19, 2015, he was sentenced to 4.5 years. The charge of inducing drug use was dropped due to negative results of the examination. He served his sentence in a general regime colony in the Voronezh region. According to media information, Emelianenko was in a special position in the colony. To continue training, the administration provided him with all the necessary equipment, and allowed him to hone his fighting skills with the help of other prisoners. Emelianenko also received additional visits and did not work.

After serving his sentence, violations of the law by Emelianenko continued. On March 1, 2019, Emelianenko was detained in Kislovodsk by law enforcement officers. The reason for the arrest was violation of traffic rules, an attempt to escape and the commission of a traffic accident. At the time of the incident, the fighter was intoxicated. Emelianenko refused to undergo a medical examination. For this offense, Emelianenko received 10 days of arrest, a fine of 30 thousand rubles and deprivation of his driver’s license for a period of 1.5 years. As a result of the incident, the RCC organization canceled the contract with Alexander Emelianenko.

On the night of January 21, 2020, at the Sport recreation center in Anapa, Emelianenko was detained for drunken brawling. An administrative protocol was drawn up against him under the article “Petty hooliganism.” The fighter was sentenced to 7 days of arrest.

Public support for the policies of Vladimir Putin, including the war he launched against Ukraine.

In 2012, during the protests, when Vladimir Putin was publicly booed at the Olympic Stadium, Emelianenko hastened to refute this fact. “Vladimir Vladimirovich came out at the moment when people began to leave the hall, the doors opened, a draft blew in, and it was just the wind,” Emelianenko said. At the same time, laughter after these words shows that Emelianenko himself understood the absurdity of his own statement.

In 2021, on the YouTube channel “Hands Above,” Emelianenko said that Putin is a strong president, and all those dissatisfied with him are slackers:

“I respect him very much. Apart from him, I don’t see who could now replace and take his place. How can people be dissatisfied with him in terms of running the country? Yes, because they are slackers. They sit and do nothing. They look at others, at those around them, and also want to live like them, to do nothing. For example, doing business or something else. Stay at home, spend money, drink, drive fancy cars, and not be responsible for anything.” - said Emelianenko.

Emelianenko added that Russia now supposedly has everything, including good clinics, and advised Putin’s critics to “start with themselves.”

After Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began, Emelianenko published a post on his Instagram supporting aggression:

“Russia does not start wars, Russia ends them! We took the blow so that the war in Donbass would finally end.” – Emelianenko wrote.

“We are giving this fight so that peace can reign. Difficult times, difficult, but necessary for a common future solution,” the fighter added.

In October 2022, he recorded a video congratulating Putin, wishing him to always throw his rivals and ill-wishers “like in judo, throw an ippon and win a clear victory.” Considering that these words were spoken during a period of fierce repression against the opposition and the invasion of Ukraine, it is obvious what exactly was meant.

Ivan, the younger brother of Fedor and Alexander Emelianenko, expressed a desire to take part in Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. Alexander Emelianenko supported this decision. “He was not drafted, he himself is under contract to defend the borders of our fatherland,” said the elder brother. “I don’t see anything wrong with this, well done,” he added.

Alexander himself declared his readiness to take part in aggression, but for 300 thousand rubles a day, since, according to him, he earns more in fights in the ring. A couple of days later, Emelianenko explained that he was ready to go to the front, but could only support the aggression in words:

“What if you receive an offer to go to the special military zone? I will come, support, give parting words to the guys, and do everything in support of the fighters and troops.”
As a result, however, Emelianenko did not go to the special military operation zone, but instead went to Dubai, where he brought a piece of land from Russia.