Russia’s Civic Chamber warns of ‘fake veterans’ wearing unofficial war medals

Members of Russia’s Civic Chamber say the proliferation of unofficial awards given to participants in the war in Ukraine has spiraled out of control. Foundations, nonprofit organizations, and private individuals are churning out their own medals and decorations, while replicas of official state awards are readily available on online marketplaces.

Civic Chamber member Yekaterina Kolotovkina raised the issue of “fake veterans” at a recent session of the body, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported. She said she had encountered three men wearing large numbers of orders and medals and tried to find out what they had been awarded for — only to learn they had transported humanitarian supplies and received their decorations from civic organizations.

“This is a sore subject. Foundations, nonprofits, organizations, even private individuals — everyone is making their own medals and handing them out without any oversight,” journalist Anastasia Kashevarova said. She added that some people use such awards to commit fraud.

“The worst of them go into schools and speak to young people — the kind of shit they spout there, excuse my language,” said Hero of Russia Rustem Klupov. Konstantin Voznyuk, a veteran of the war who served with the Russian mercenary group Wagner, said that some “scoundrels,” when they run into trouble with the law, “have no qualms about exploiting unearned decorations.” He also said that verifying whether an award is genuine is often impossible, since many Defense Ministry orders conferring decorations are classified.

Civic Chamber member and lawyer Alexander Ternovtsov said civic organizations are legally permitted to establish their own distinctions. Under the law, those distinctions may not share names or appearances with state awards, and wearing “imitations” carries a fine. Both requirements are frequently ignored, and the fines are minimal.

Kashevarova warned that once the war ends, fraudsters in costume will “take to the streets to beg.” The unregulated wearing of awards needs to be addressed now, she argued.

Several proposals were put forward at the session to combat the problem of “fake veterans” — among them raising fines, banning stars, swords, and crosses from the design of unofficial distinctions, and creating a registry of civic organization awards to be maintained by the Justice Ministry. None found support among participants.

In the end, the chamber decided to establish a dedicated working group on the awards issue and to open discussions with online marketplaces.