Alexander Zaldastanov

Alexander Sergeyevich Zaldastanov (, also known as "Surgeon" , is a Russian motorcycle club leader, political activist, and former physician. He is the leader of the Night Wolves, Russia's largest motorcycle club. He was awarded the Medal "For the Return of Crimea" by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin for his actions in "Helping Crimeans to self-determine".

Early life Zaldastanov was born in Kirovohrad (present day Kropyvnytskyi in Ukraine, then USSR) in 1963. Zaldastanov describes his mother as a "convinced communist", but he says that the family still prayed to Russian Orthodox icons. The Zaldastanovs spoke Russian at home.

In 1985 he was married to a German woman (now divorced) and frequently visited West Berlin. For a brief time he was working as a bouncer in a nightclub Sexton in West Berlin (now there is a club with this name in Moscow).

Night Wolves

Zaldastanov was introduced to motorcycle culture in the mid 1980s, while he was in Berlin. He purchased a Czech-made motorcycle, and began participating in the biker scene in Moscow while still working as a surgeon. The club maintains close ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, and promotes nationalist ideals. Moving away from themes like drugs and organized crime associated with American motorcycle clubs like the Hells Angels, Zaldastanov began to use the club for political activism in the 2000s.

In the late 2000s, the club began holding rallies in the former Soviet Eastern European countries, promoting Slavic culture. Vladimir Putin participated in one rally, travelling with the group to Sevastopol in 2012. Zaldastanov has offered the Night Wolves to the Russian Government as an informal militia. Zaldastanov and other club members visited Crimea just prior to the Russian annexation in 2014, and publicly supported the change of power on the peninsula. The group opposes "Maidan"-style democratic revolutions, specifically the Orange Revolution and 2014 Euromaidan revolts in Ukraine, as well as opposition political groups within Russia. Zaldastanov suggested that "Death to faggots" could be an alternate name for the Russian anti-Maidan movement.

Sanctions Zaldastanov has been sanctioned by several governments, including the United States and Canada, for the Night Wolves' involvement in the unrest in Ukraine in the mid-2010s. In April 2015, he and the Night Wolves were refused entry to the European Union at the Polish border.

In July 2022, Zaldastanov was sanctioned along with other Night Wolves leaders by the EU for the group’s propaganda efforts in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began earlier the same year. He and his organization have organized various rallies, concerts and fundraisers in support of the Russian troops and affiliated separatist groups.