A notorious Russian nationalist living in Australia has used an anti-vaccination rally to roar his support for Vladimir Putin just one day after he was released from jail.
Russian music was blared as Simeon Boikov, who calls himself the Aussie Cossack and is on parole, took to the stage in Martin Place in the Sydney CBD on Saturday, causing him to smile in appreciation.
Boikov was jailed in June for breaching court orders for naming an alleged paedophile during an anti-vaxxer rally.
Simeon Boikov, who calls himself the Aussie Cossack, is pictured (holding a microphone) at a rally in Martin Place in Sydney in front of a crowd, some of whom were carrying pictures of Russian president Vladimir Putin (bottom left)
In a video taken as he was released on parole on Friday, he said ‘I’m not going to stop, I’m going to double down’.
He did not saying what he intended to ‘double down’ on, but Boikov, 32, probably meant his support for Russia, Putin, the invasion of Ukraine, and anti-vax views.
Boikov, wearing tight red and black shorts and a tight black t-shirt, acknowledged the Putin photos being carried at the protest in support of him and Russia.
Then he went on a rambling 15-minute speech that included koalas, Indigenous Australians, Harry Potter, good and bad prison guards, King Charles, and politicians.
‘This country has beautiful flora and fauna, many interesting native species, protected species. Platypus, koalas,’ Boikov said.
‘But there is one species in this country that is the most protected of them all. That species is so protected that we can’t even name them.’
He was referring to the 10-months jail sentence – of which he served less than three months – he got for naming an alleged paedophile.
Boikov then shared that when he was in jail ‘we were watching Harry Potter every Sunday night. There was nothing on TV’.
Mrs Cossack, aka Ekaterina Olshannikova, aka Katia Boikova is pictured in the crowd at an anti-vax protest in Sydney’s Martin Place
Simeon Boikov’s wife Katia is pictured) in a photo she posted to the Instagram social media site
The crowd of about 100 protesters seemed bemused by his television viewing habits, so he got them back on side by thanking his Russian wife ‘Mrs Cossack’ for showing ‘grace in the face of tyranny’.
As well as Mrs Cossack, his wife is also known as Ekaterina Olshannikova and Katia Boikova.
In order to show how tough his brief time in jail was, Boikov said he had been held in the same wings as Hamzy and Alameddine crime gang members
‘I was moved in a bullet proof land cruiser, with my arms chained, in an orange jump suit, like Guantanamo Bay, and my legs were chained. It was actually outrageous,’ he said.
Simeon Boikov, aka the Aussie Cossack, is pictured in handcuffs. He was released from prison last Friday
Boikov then finally addressed the reason the small crowd had gathered in the first place.
‘In the prisons, there were a lot of blokes in there because of the (Covid-19) mandates, because of the restrictions, because of the failures of government policy.’
He was also keen to share that he had picked up a social conscience while incarcerated.
‘I want to give a shout out to all the Indigenous brothers in (jail). It’s a travesty that the prison population is something like 35 per cent Indigenous, where they make up two per cent, plus minus, of the population of Australia,’ Boikov said.
He then slammed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for an alleged previous lack of concern for Aboriginal people.
Simeon Boikov, who calls himself the Aussie Cossack due to his support for Russia and its invasion of Ukraine, is pictured upon his release from prison last Friday
Boikov said jail is ‘a revolving door’ and that King Charles III should pardon people now that he is Australia’s head of state.
The mention of the new king is greeted with a mix of cheers and boos.
‘We all love Diana, God bless her soul,’ he responded, referring to King Charles’ first wife, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
‘But King Charles, if you want to do something good, order a pardon. There are blokes in there for things like naming protected species,’ Boikov said.
‘Start off your new rule with a pardon for the boys in jail. The real criminals aren’t sitting in the prisons, the real criminals are sitting in Parliament House,’ he said to cheers.
‘These are the prisoners that are guilty of the crimes of genocide, guilty of the crimes of murder’ and guilty of going outside a five kilometre zone during lockdown.
There was a crowd (pictured) of about 100 people at an anti-vaccination protest in Sydney on Saturday
The crowd responded by chanting ‘hang them all’ and Boikov encouraged them to say it louder, as he couldn’t hear them.
An anti-vaxxer with a loudhailer then interrupted to address Boikov and the crowd.
‘Aussie Cossak, did you know that an Australian High Court judge said the Australian government has no basis in law, whatsoever,’ he said.
‘And is on the record saying they are all criminals and they all need to serve justice for the crimes they have committed against the people,’ he added, with no basis in fact.
‘That’s it, and Nuremberg Two is coming up,’ Boikov replied, referring to the trial of Nazis after the end of World War II.
Boikov acknowledged the presence of former politician Craig Kelly in the crowd. A Liberal turned United Australia Party MP, Mr Kelly lost his seat in the federal election in May
He then quoted the former Sex Pistols singer, Johnny Rotten, also known as John Lydon.
‘John Lydon said it. The people now that are enforcing tyranny, the people now that are ruining Australian values, taking away freedoms, there should be special prisons built for them,’ he said.
There is no record of John Lydon ever commenting on Australian values.
Boikov claimed he got more than 5,000 letters and postcards of support while in prison, which he said ‘was very humbling, very much appreciated’.
He then teased the crowd that he would name a prison guard that was mean to him, but then thought he’d better not as the last time he named someone on stage he was jailed.
‘It’s actually funny, but there are a lot of prison guards who very quietly, very sneakily, who are actually secretly supporting me,’ he said.
Ekaterina Olshannikova, who Simeon Boikov calls ‘Mrs Cossack’ pictured on the beach on Australia Day
But he said the prison authorities accused him of radicalising other inmates.
‘Radicalising with what? It’s not like I’m a Russian spy or something,’ Boikov said.
He then gave another ‘shoutout’ to his fellow convicted criminals, saying there were ‘a lot of good blokes’ in jail.
Boikov then named NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Transport Minister David Elliot as being very bad rulers, calling Mr Elliott a ‘grub’.
‘Remember the very first protest we had, when we marched and (Mr Elliott) said it’s a bunch of right-wing extremists, boofheads, grubs,’ he said.
‘How dare he call these mums and dads and these good, hard-working family people, these Australians, those slanderous terms.’
He did acknowledge that one former politician supporter, Craig Kelly, was in the crowd.
A Liberal turned United Australia Party MP with extreme anti-vaccine views, Mr Kelly lost his seat in the federal election in May.
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