Russian rally raiders among contributors to Kherson occupation forces

While the Russian invasion of Ukraine has drawn global condemnation with ramifications that extend to all aspects of society including motorsport, it is unsurprising that the invaders would have a chunk of their own countrymen on their side. Some drivers even went beyond making statements and directly donated to the military.

In a blog post for Moment of Truth, a pro-Russian news and opinion website that was formerly the name of a television programme, Anton Melkinov detailed a February trip he took into parts of Kherson Oblast occupied by Russian forces to help provide goods for troops. He was not the only figure from the off-road racing world present as Dmitry Pavlov and Anton Nikolaev also joined in.

Melkinov is the reigning T2 class winner of the Russian Rally-Raid Championship, driving a Toyota LC 200 and placing eighth overall among all competitors. Besides supporting the so-called “special military operation”, he pens columns expressing nostalgia for the Soviet Union and “great respect” for Joseph Stalin interspersed with coverage of the domestic rally raid series.

“I have repeatedly written that civil society is not when you go out to the squares and criticise the authorities with the money of Western sponsors, and especially not when they pour mud over the history of their country,” Melkinov began, a jingoistic introduction that called out protests at home against the invasion. “Civil society is when your country is in a difficult situation, and instead of joining the scooter troops (soldiers on bicycles), you start thinking about how you can help it. Not with beautiful speeches, but with simple and concrete deeds.”

He describes the story as “simple and uncomplicated” but also important as it “emphasises that, if there is a desire, everyone can help.” Joined by Pavlov and Nikolaev, Melkinov helped donate spare parts for KAMAZ and UAZ trucks, as well as clothing like socks. According to Melkinov, five tonnes of goods were shipped by 23 February, the day before the one-year anniversary of the invasion’s launch.

Nikolaev is a three-time winner of the Northern Forest, formerly an annual stop on the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas before its removal following the invasion; the final edition under the World Cup banner took place just two weeks prior to the conflict’s escalation. Much of his international competition came with Mini All4 Racing and X-raid Team, including the 2015 and 2021 Dakar Rallies as navigator for Aidyn Rakhimbayev and Victor Khoroshavtsev, respectively.

Pavlov won the 2011 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship—the predecessor to the current World Rally-Raid Championship—in the Quad category, a year after placing second in the points battle. He eventually made the switch to four-wheel racing as a co-driver, competing in the Cross-Country World Cup, as well as events like the Africa Eco Race, Rally Kazakhstan, and the Silk Way Rally. Melkinov described Pavlov as an “old tanker” who “silently” purchased thermal stocks, but added he exuded a “lot of energy and his battle cry was heard by other colleagues” to help fill the cargo.

Melkinov did not specify cities in occupied Kherson that he visited, though Kakhovka was a probably location as it has been under Russian control since the early days of the invasion. While Russian forces continue to hold the eastern half of the oblast, Kherson itself was liberated in November following a successful counteroffensive to retake the western portion.

The invasion is now in its 393rd day. In the weeks following its initiation, the FIA denounced the war and issued “circular emergency measures” in which competitors from Russia and ally Belarus must agree to decry the war and stand in solidarity with Ukraine, while also understanding they would not wear their countries’ emblems, if they wish to take part in sanctioned international events like Dakar. Some like driver Denis Krotov and co-drivers Konstantin Zhiltsov and Alexey Kuzmich signed the terms and are competitors in the 2023 W2RC, with each also using licences from other nations. On the other hand, 2017 Dakar Quad winner Sergei Kariakin, Anastasiya Nifontova, and nineteen-time Dakar T5 champion KAMAZ-master all rejected the policy; KAMAZ-master’s parent company provides vehicles for the military like the ones that Melkinov and company sought to assist.

Seems a little too on the nose for rally raiders to support a country raiding another, does it not?

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