Ovechkin confirms United Russia video: 'I'm Russian'

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin said on Sept. 17 that he agreed to record a campaign video for United Russia, the political party supporting Russian president Vladimir Putin, ahead of parliamentary elections.

Ovechkin addressed the video himself to open his post-practice media session at Capitals training camp. He is preparing for his 22nd NHL season. His explanation was brief. “I’m Russian,” he said, according to Reuters.

The video places Ovechkin alongside Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of state broadcaster RT, among others, according to The Guardian. Lavrov is the leading parliamentary candidate on United Russia’s list. Images from the video effort were first published by the Russian newspaper Vedomosti.

The Capitals said Ovechkin is a Russian citizen who lives in Moscow with his family during the offseason and was asked while in Russia to take part in the video campaign. The team issued that explanation after the appearance drew attention in North America.

This is not Ovechkin’s first public link to Putin. In 2017, he launched Putin Team, a social movement supporting the Russian leader. Years before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, he promoted Putin in a social media campaign and used a photo with Putin as his Instagram profile picture.

Shortly after the 2022 invasion, Ovechkin said, “He is my president” and added, “I’m not in politics, I’m an athlete.” He also said at the time that he hoped the war “was going to be over.”

For fans who know Ovechkin only from the ice, his hockey resume is historic. Washington selected him with the first overall pick in the 2004 NHL draft. He has played his entire NHL career with the Capitals. He captained Washington to the Stanley Cup, the league championship, in 2018.

In 2025, he scored his 895th career goal to pass Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time leading scorer. He signed a one-year contract extension with Washington in July, setting up what could be a final run with new teammates around him at camp, per NHL.com.

For fans, this means the most visible Russian player in NHL history will start the season with questions extending beyond goals and wins.