Iconic Russian players and what they do after Ukraine war – like Igor Akinfeev
The Russian national team and clubs have been off our television screens for almost two years since the country’s president Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine.
In February 2022, the nation’s troops entered Ukraine and were met with international condemnation, seeing countries across the world sanction Russia, including footballing bodies FIFA and UEFA. They banned Russia’s national team from competing in the World Cup and European Championship, while Russian clubs were also banned from European competitions.
The decision to exclude Russia from international and European football has seen many foreign players leave the country, while those Russian footballers fans across the world once watched have barely been heard from since.
Here, Daily Star Sport looks at 10 iconic Russian footballers and what they’ve been doing since the beginning of the Ukraine war.
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Andrey Arshavin
Arshavin joined Arsenal in 2009 from Zenit St. Petersburg and enjoyed mixed fortunes during a four-year spell, with the highlights scoring four goals in one game against Liverpool and netting against Barcelona. Now at 42, Arshavin is a member of Zenit’s executive board after holding administrative posts at the club since 2019 and in 2022 was named as the club’s deputy general director for sports development.
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Igor Akinfeev
Once tipped to become Edwin van der Sar’s successor at Manchester United, Akinfeev is a legendary goalkeeper, playing 111 times for Russia. At 37 he’s still playing for boyhood side CSKA Moscow – currently racking up over 750 games for the club since 2003.
Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Akinfeev was among 82 Russian sports figures sanctioned by President Zelensky. He was handed a ban on doing business in the country, buying real estate and a ban on entry into Ukraine for 50 years.
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Andrei Kanchelskis
A two-time Premier League champion at Manchester United, Kanchelskis also played for Everton, Rangers, Manchester City and Southampton, as well as three different national teams – representing the Soviet Union, CIS and Russia.
After retiring in 2006, he has held managerial jobs at five clubs, with three in Russia. He was most recently the general director at Kazakh club Tobol but left in November 2023, after falling out with the club owner.
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Alexander Kokorin
After Kokorin missed the 2018 World Cup due to an ACL tear, he, along with fellow Russian footballer Pavel Mamayev in October 2018, assaulted a government official in a restaurant, throwing chairs and hurling racial slurs.
Earlier that day, the pair alongside other men attacked a TV presenter, leaving him with brain damage. Kokorin was sentenced to one year and six months behind bars and was paroled in September 2019. He later returned to Zenit and currently plays for Cypriot side Aris Limassol, on loan from Fiorentina.
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Pavel Pogrebnyak
Pogrebnyak didn’t have a career in England that set the world on fire, playing for Fulham and Reading, but his relationship with childhood sweetheart Maria Pogrebnyak hit the headlines when they filed for divorce in July 2023 after she previously revealed her sexual past. Pogrebnyak was accused of racism in March 2019 after saying it was “laughable” for black players to represent Russia.
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Artem Dzyuba
Another controversial figure, after starring for Russia in their home World Cup, Dzyuba saw his international career finish after starring in a sex tape that went viral. He’s been labelled an ‘enemy of Ukraine’ after stating he was "proud of his country" following the invasion – after a fall out with Ukrainian footballers Vitalii Mykolenko and Andriy Yarmolenko.
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Diniyar Bilyaletdinov
The former Everton winger retired in 2017 after never hitting the heights first expected of him at Goodison Park. Following the breakout of war in Ukraine, Bilyaletdinov was reportedly drafted into the Russian army by Putin. But he revealed he wouldn’t be called up at that time after his military registration data was brought up to date.
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Roman Pavlyuchenko
The former Tottenham Hotspur man also struggled to consistently show his best whilst in the Premier League in a four-year spell between 2008 and 2012. During his playing days, he held a seat on the regional council in Stavropol, under Putin’s United Russia party. Now is a city council deputy in Stavropol.
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Alexey Smertin
An almost forgotten Premier League winner during his time at Chelsea, Smertin spent three years at Stamford Bridge as well as spells at Portsmouth, Charlton Athletic and Fulham. In 2017, he was named Russian Football Union anti-racism and discrimination inspector ahead of the 2018 World Cup, later being appointed director of regional policies and international relations.
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Yuri Zhirkov
Another Premier League career that flattered to deceive, Zhirkov arrived at Chelsea following success at CSKA Moscow and the national team, costing the Blues £18m. But just two years later he was offered a way out via the short-lived riches of Anzhi Makhachkala. The versatile left-footer retired in 2022 at the age of 39 with more than 100 caps to his name.
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