“When fatherland calls, I go”
Former world boxing champion Valuyev receives mail from the military
09/30/2022, 5:18 am
Even before the partial mobilization by President Putin, a member of the Duma received mail from the military: former world boxing champion Valuyev. He must report to the responsible recruitment office. Will this lead to a front-line operation in Ukraine? In any case, Valuyev is patriotic.
Former world boxing champion and current Duma deputy Nikolai Valuyev received mail from the military. According to the Russian news agency TASS, Valuyev received a summons to the conscription office even before partial mobilization was ordered. According to the report, Valuyev said he would visit the military registration and draft office “after the plenary weeks.”
Valuyev published the summons on his Telegram channel. In the letter, he is asked to appear for military service in St. Petersburg on September 15. It is said to be about changes to its registration documents. However, the date has already passed. “I’ll be in the military registration and draft office after the plenary weeks,” said the parliamentarian, pretending to be patriotic: “If the fatherland calls, then I’ll go.” However, it remained unclear whether he meant a deployment in the Ukraine war.
The 2.13 meter tall Valujew was from December 2005 to April 2007 and from August 2008 to November 2009 WBA world champion. He has 53 professional fights and won 50, 34 of them by knockout. In his last fight, he lost his world title in November 2009 by losing on points to David Haye. In 2011 he was elected as a member of the Russian State Duma – the following year he ended his professional career. Valuyev sits in the Duma as a member of Putin’s United Russia party. This holds the overwhelming majority in the Russian parliament.
The dominant issue in Russia at the moment is the partial mobilization ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin last week for the war in Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, 300,000 reservists are now to be drafted into the Russian army. Tens of thousands of Russians have subsequently fled abroad, mainly to Georgia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.