Simeon Mikhailovich Boikov (born 15 February 1990), better known by the pseudonym Aussie Cossack, is an Australian

right-wing extremist Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

and Russian

ultranationalist Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific ...

. He is known for his

pro-Russian Russophilia is the identification or solidarity with, appreciation of, or support for the Russia, country, Russians, people, Russian language, language, and history of Russia. One who espouses Russophilia is called a russophile. Its Opposite ...

and

COVID-19 misinformation False information, including intentional disinformation and conspiracy theories, about the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and the origin, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease has been spread through social media, text messagi ...

content on YouTube. He was born in 1990 into a Russian-speaking household in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, New South Wales, Australia. Boikov's father is a Russian Orthodox priest.

Personal life

Boikov was born on 15 February 1990 in Sydney to parents of Russian origin.

Activities

In 2014, Boikov travelled to Russia and met

Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...

, a separatist commander from

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

who was found guilty of destroying

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian-backed forces with a Buk missile system, Bu ...

. He stated that he was convinced that the plane had not been shot down and that its crash had been an accident, despite investigators finding otherwise. Boikov first appeared on social media under the pseudonym Aussie Cossack. His audience grew during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

when he began relaying and posting

anti-vaccination Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine hesitancy by dissem ...

content and covering protests against the government's health policy. He has been interviewed by

Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American Far-right politics, far-right radio host, radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas. ''The Alex Jones Show'' is the lo ...

. He was sentenced to ten months in prison for violating a gag order. From the beginning of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Boikov began to relay Kremlin propaganda and disinformation about the conflict. He has openly supported the invasion and is credited with being the "first Australian propagandist for Putin". During a demonstration in support of Ukraine, Boikov attacked a 76-year-old pro-Ukrainian protestor who had confronted him while he was filming and knocked the man to the ground. Boikov was arrested for assault and his passport was cancelled, the day before he planned to travel to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. His trial was set for 25 January 2023, however he hid in the Russian consulate in Australia. In February 2023, Boikov was convicted of the assault in absentia and a second arrest warrant was issued for him. In April 2023, Boikov's YouTube channel was permanently shut down by the platform. Boikov alleged the shutdown came after he reposted comments by Senator

Alex Antic Alexander Charles Antic (born 1974) is an Australian politician who has been a senator for South Australia since 2019 representing the Liberal Party. Early life and education Antic was born in Adelaide in 1974, the son of Vicki Anderson and R ...

about Australia's vaccine policy. While hiding in the Russian consulate, Boikov appealed to Russian forces to capture as many Ukrainians or Australian fighters as possible for a potential prisoner swap. As of the end of September 2023, he is still hiding up in the Russian consulate. Boikov was granted Russian citizenship by

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

after claiming he was a "victim of persecution". In 2024, he paid $100 to an X account to post a video that falsely claimed Haitian immigrants were engaging in voting fraud in the swing state of Georgia in the 2024 US election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boikov, Simeon 1990 births Living people Australian YouTubers Russian propagandists COVID-19 conspiracy theorists People from Sydney Australian people of Russian descent Naturalized citizens of Russia Australian people convicted of assault

Personal life

Activities

See also

References