Russian businessman, founder of the Techisland Association, Alexei Gubarev, and his mother, Lyudmila Gubareva, obtained citizenship of Cyprus several years ago. In addition, Gubarev is a citizen of Lithuania.
Alexei Gubarev and his lawyers claim that since 2019 he has severed all ties with Russia, but the facts say otherwise.
According to an article on the website of the Ust-Ilimsk administration, published today, May 6, 2025, Alexei and Lyudmila Gubarev provided financial support for the city concert «There was no war in Siberia…», dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, as in Russia they call the Second World War unleashed by Germany and the USSR. The concert will take place tomorrow, May 7, and will be accompanied by the photo exhibition «Quiet Front», organized by the mother of a war criminal who died in Ukraine fighting in the Russian occupation army. This event is just one element of a large-scale program of Victory Day celebrations, including patriotic actions, marches of the «Immortal Regiment» and, in the absence of real victories, reconstructions of battle scenes beloved by Russians, organized by military history clubs, which in practice serve as recruiting centers for replenishing the Russian army with personnel.
Supporting such events may seem like a charitable gesture. However, in the context of contemporary Russia, the celebration of Victory Day has long been transformed into a propaganda tool known as «victoriousness.» This neo-pagan ideology of «Russian world» is used by the Kremlin to militarize society, justify aggression against neighboring countries including Ukraine, wage hybrid warfare against the West, and consolidate Putin’s power.
During the procession of the «Immortal Regiment» in Ust-Ilimsk, citizens will carry portraits not only of veterans of the World War Two, but also of war criminals killed in Ukraine, participants in the so-called «special military operation» — a euphemism for the war in Ukraine. Thus Gubarev, by funding such events, directly supports the propaganda of the Putin regime and its criminal war in Ukraine.
He has repeatedly stated that he has no ties with Russia since 2019. However, his flight records available from open sources show that he has regularly visited Russia throughout this time. These trips, which Gubarev is silent about, and his participation in funding events in his hometown of Ust-Ilimsk demonstrate his mendacity.
Such behavior is nothing short of blatant hypocrisy. On the one hand, Gubarev enjoys the privileges of European citizenship. On the other hand, he invests in activities that strengthen Putin’s regime, which is responsible for aggression against Ukraine, waging hybrid warfare against the EU, violating human rights and suppressing democracy. This double game undermines Gubarev’s credibility as an EU citizen and calls into question his loyalty.
Gubarev’s hypocrisy is further contextualized by his association with Maxim Mazurovsky, an organizer of pro-Kremlin propaganda events, including concerts for the Russian military in Ukraine’s occupied territories. As reported in Cyprus Daily News’ «Pressuring the press as a way to save the reputation of Russian Cypriots«, Mazurovsky publicly thanked the Gubarev couple for their support of the «Russian Evenings in Cyprus» concerts. Alexei Gubarev and his wife Anna in December 2022, almost a year after the start of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, commented on his FB posts and put likes under his posts where he talked about giving concerts to Russian war criminals wounded in Ukraine.
This association with war criminal and Kremlin propagandist Mazurovsky, as well as his support of the concert in Ust-Ilimsk, emphasizes the systemic nature of Gubarev’s actions. He is using his wealth and influence to support Kremlin propaganda while trying to maintain his reputation as a law-abiding EU citizen.
Gubarev’s behavior is immoral. It violates the spirit of European values that require EU citizens to respect democracy, human rights and international law. Gubarev’s actions leave no doubt that he is loyal to the Putin regime and despises European values.
Joseph Bronstein
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