‘I’m Russian, and I support my country’: Washington Capitals star Ovechkin on why he appeared in United Russia’s campaign video

Alexander Ovechkin, a player for the Washington Capitals, discussed his participation in a United Russia campaign video, expressing his support for his native country and his desire for global peace and love. He stated, "I’m Russian. As soon as I’m done playing hockey, I’m probably going to, not probably, I’m going to stay there.

I’m going to live there. My kids going to live there, my family." Ovechkin expressed his hope for a peaceful future, adding that his "home is Russia and DC is my second home." He mentioned having many friends in DC and growing up there as a person, stating, "I love DC. So I hope everything’s going to be okay." When asked about the invitation to appear in the video and the potential consequences of refusal, Ovechkin simply replied, "Well they asked me to do that.

I [said] yes. It’s as simple as that." He emphasized his Russian heritage and his support for his country, stating, "I’m for peace and love and I hope in the world it doesn’t matter who you are. I hope everybody understands. Everybody wants peace and everybody hopes everything’s going to be okay." Ovechkin's appearance in the video was part of United Russia's efforts to showcase candidates on their federal party list, with each candidate sharing their ideals among supporters.

He joined the video for Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, alongside Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Russian state propaganda outlet RT, actor Vladimir Mashkov, and other government supporters. At Meduza, we prioritize transparency in our use of artificial intelligence, ensuring that the story you're reading is crafted by a human journalist and translated using an AI model adhering to strict editorial standards.