Russian boxers distribute masks and antiseptics during COVID-19

Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

The announcement of Russian boxers engaging in charity work was made by Umar Kremlev, the Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation. 

Earlier this month, the Russian Boxing Federation (RBF) launched an operational headquarters and hotline to support Russians impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including the delivery of 16,000 masks and 2,000 litres of sanitizer and antiseptics.

According to Umar Kremlev, the Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation, several Russian boxers are also volunteering to help deliver the necessary protective and sanitary equipment.

“Boxers will be engaged in charity work,” Kremlev told tass.ru. “We will help the population, give out protective equipment, masks and antiseptics for free. We will also definitely help veterans of the Great Patriotic War [World War II].”

While the operational headquarters is based in Moscow, the RBF volunteers are assisting Russians, specifically World War II veterans, pensioners and large families during the mandated lockdown currently in place.

“Throughout the country today, more than 5 thousand people are registered in the program. 80% of them are boxers, coaches, judges and functionaries of the Russian Boxing Federation. The Federation has created a hotline where people turn for support. We help the population, give out free remedies, masks and antiseptics.”

The RBF’s hotline can be accessed 24 hours a day and has received hundreds of thousands of calls since its inception.

Kremlev added that Murat Gassiev and Fedor Chudinov are among the boxers that donated funds to the program. It was later reported that Giorgi Kushitashvili, a boxer charged with attacking an employee of the Russian Guard and possession of drugs, would also be involved in the charity work.

“We will monitor and control [the situation],” Kremlev explained. [Kushitashvili] will now work with us as a volunteer. We understand every detail. As I said, we will punish him hard, but we won’t leave him. If a person wants to re-educate and change, we must help him.”