Panarin causes uproar in Russia after latest protest against Putin

New York Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin has dipped his toe into the political realm a few times over the course of his NHL career, but yesterday the Russian sniper took a firm stance.

With widespread protests planned against Russian president Vladimir Putin this weekend, Panarin voiced his support for imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny publishing a post on Instagram with the hashtag “Freedom for Navalny”.

Panarin has been critical of Putin and the Russian Federation since arriving in America from his native Russia back in 2015. While he's not the only Russian athlete to condemn Putin and his party, he's the only NHLer to stick his neck out in this way. Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins superstars Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin have both been effusive in their praise for Putin over the years.

During a 2019 interview in his native Russia, Panarin shared some pretty significant thoughts on Putin.

Check it out:

On what he thinks about Putin:

“I think he no longer understands what’s right and what’s wrong. Psychologically, it’s not easy for him soberly judge the situation…

I am not saying this because I see any kind of profit for myself in this. I want the people to live better, for teachers and doctors to have better salaries. I don’t want some ballerinas (Panarin is referring to the ultra-patriotic former dancer Anastasia Volochkova) to say, ‘If you don’t like it here, you can leave!’ This is raving madness! Everyone has left already, all the brains are gone. This shouldn’t be happening.”

On Putin’s “personality cult”:

“The mistake in our society is treating him like a superhuman. He is a regular person, like us, and he is serving us… Yes, to be a president you have to be smart and enlightened, but our biggest mistake, among many, is thinking that we have nobody better than Vladimir Vladimirovich. This is nonsense. How many million people live here? No question there is someone better.”

On the seperation between sports and politics:

“Athletes should pay attention to what’s going on in the country. They should have a position. I don’t want anyone to mess with mine. Maybe we know less about politics than politicians. But why do they play hockey, then? Can we say that politics should be outside sports? OK, then, Vladimir Vladimirovich, sell your skates!”