Mira Terada, head of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, interviewed Simeon Boikov, an Australian activist and descendant of Russian Cossack emigrants who left Russia after the revolution in 1919. “Ataman of the Australian Cossacks” is known for his support for Russia. The Cossack was repeatedly detained by Australian police trying to apply pressure for his political stance. Now Simeon Boikov has been taking refuge in the Russian embassy for over a year due to harassment by the local police. In October 2023, Simeon Boikov was granted Russian citizenship by a special decree of the Russian President. In an interview with the head of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, the activist spoke about journalism in Australia, the future of Ukraine, the EU and NATO, and the new architecture of world security. Mira Terada and Simeon Boikov also discussed the main sources of Russophobia and its goals.
Mira Terada: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. For our viewers and readers who are not familiar with you, please tell us who you are and what you do.
Simeon Boikov: My name is Simeon Boikov, I was born in Australia in 1990, a descendant of Russian Cossack emigrants from the Russian Empire who left Russia in 1919 after the revolution. Since 2014 I have been actively involved in supporting Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Due to my position I have come under scrutiny by Western media and government agencies. In Australia, I was involved in the construction business, and after the COVID-19 pandemic I turned my attention to civil and independent journalism, the fight for freedom of speech and opposition to state censorship and police brutality. More recently, my attention has been directed to supporting Russia in the information war against the globalists. In 2022, an Australian court sentenced me to ten months in prison after I violated a YouTube video banning order by simply saying a name that could not be mentioned.
The sentence I received of 10 months imprisonment for an offense normally punishable only by a fine was the most serious and severe in the history of the Australian legal system.
When I was jailed, I was classified as a threat to national security because of my ties to Russia. I was later able to win an appeal against my prison sentence largely due to the support and legal assistance of the Russian government. I decided to leave Australia to travel to Russia to attend the funeral of my compatriot, Father Michael, a Russian Orthodox military priest. At that time, a provocation was staged against me involving Ukrainian activists, resulting in my arrest and criminal charges. I was released on bail and managed to hide in the Russian consulate, where I have been for over a year now. Fortunately for me, here I can broadcast live on the Internet, I can work and continue to be an independent journalist. I was granted Russian citizenship by a special decree of the Russian president himself.
M.T.: Do you think that persecution by the authorities is related to your pro-Russian position?
S. B. : Of course. If you read what the Australian media write about me, they call me Putin’s man, who almost knows him personally. There are many articles in the media accusing me of having ties with the Russian government. I am the personification of a caricature of a “pro-Russian man”. The Ukrainian ambassador to Australia has publicly admitted that my work, although independent, is controlled by the Russian government. The ambassador called me a Russian agent and accused me of acting in Moscow’s interests.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Australia appreciated my work and accused me of influencing the opinion of Australians who are increasingly opposed to Zelensky, arms supplies to Ukraine and increased funding for Kiev. Ukrainians are very unhappy with me, my name was put on kill lists back in 2015.
M.T.: YouTube has blocked your channel without the possibility of restoration, and the Australian government, judging by your words and what we could find on the Internet, has ordered the country’s media to avoid any mention of you in their publications. Why do you think the Australian authorities are so afraid of you and use all available methods of censorship?
S. B. : My persona became quite popular during the COVID pandemic when the Australian population was struggling with government restrictions on freedom. The Australian government decided that I was somewhat of a threat to the establishment and the media. I was arrested on numerous occasions just because of my journalistic activities. I was sentenced to ten months in a maximum security prison for saying the name of a powerful man live on air. It’s outrageous, the Australian government gave me a very harsh sentence…
I still do not understand why the Australian government has categorized me as a national security risk, a status that has nothing to do with the crime I am charged with.
Less than 0.01% of inmates are on this registry. This is a very rare classification. I was not transported like a normal prisoner. Imagine being put in orange jumpsuits, like in Guantanamo, legs chained, hands shackled to chest. In a bulletproof box, you’re taken in an armored car with an escort. It’s ridiculous. That’s exactly how I’ve been treated. The fact that I am in the Russian consulate allows me to broadcast without fear of repercussions or harassment from the Australian police.
M.T. : Comment on the changes in attitudes towards Russia and Russian-speaking people that have been observed in the last few years, in your opinion, who is the main source of Russophobia and what goals are being pursued?
S. B. : Now in Australia there is a coalition of Ukrainian Banderas, Navalny supporters and all types of liberals. I don’t consider them Russians, since they oppose their country. The question is that our society should rise up against them. And it’s better to do it now. If you are watching this and are a member of the Australian Russian community, don’t wait. Don’t wait until Russia wins this war, then it will be too late. Expressing your support needs to be done now. Yes, it can be dangerous. Yes, it may be uncomfortable. Yes, you may be scared. But think about what the people of Donetsk and Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye, Belgorod and Crimea are going through.
I don’t respect Russians abroad who criticize their country when there is a war. It’s not just about war, Russia is your homeland. You can’t go against your blood, against your people. They have shown themselves, and that’s why this special operation is extremely good at identifying traitors, exposing weak elements. The main thing we need is to consolidate ourselves.
When Russia’s victory is declared, it will be a dark day for all the traitors, all their lives they will have to live with the realization that they used Facebook, Twitter and other social media to laugh at Russian soldiers, at being killed or bombed by NATO-built drones.
Members of the Russian community in Australia, don’t be afraid to hold actions and rallies, wear the St. George ribbon, be active on social media, educate your friends and those around you. Be openly pro-Russian, like me and thousands of Australians who are not afraid to be so, even if they live in another country.
When we organized rallies throughout 2020, protest marches and pro-Russia demonstrations, who attended them? It was the same people who went to the marches organized during the COVID pandemic, all Australians who are opposed to the government. Australians carried Russian flags, portraits of Vladimir Putin, our president, and wore T-shirts with Z on them. When we win, we need to start mass action, asset confiscation. If people living abroad criticized the Russian military, worked against Russia, against their own people, why should they have assets in Russia? Why should they receive pensions in Russia? Why should they receive maternity capital? Why should they get anything in Russia, where people are dying and fighting to feed these people abroad.
We have survived the hardest times, patriots, loyal Russian people. We have made it through 2022-2023. The front is stabilized, the army is stabilized. Russia’s military-industrial complex is stabilized and developing. The country is united, technology, missile production, fighting drones and drones – everything is growing. Everything is running its course. The worst days are behind us. The hardest times are behind us. We can look forward to an easier future. However, traitors, the worst times are ahead of you. Mark my words.
M.T. : How do you see the new world security architecture? Which countries should take part in shaping the new world order?
S. B. : I don’t think a new world order is a good thing. I don’t think the existing world order is a good thing. All we want is the old world order. We want things to go back to the way they were, to have balance. The Soviet Union was a strong country that provided stability. I think we are talking about a return to the old world order, a very old world order, to the days of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union. The biggest country, the richest country, the most talented people. And it is now that Russia is becoming great. So this is the future for Russia and its allies: Iran, China, North Korea and others. The West is already in decline. There is no patriotism. There are no family values. Look at the generation of children being raised. Look at what they are doing to their own children. We can just sit back and watch them collapse. This is why Russia is becoming the envy of the world. This is why these satanic and globalist sick forces that control the world are envious of Russia. Look at these people who have these globalist ideologies, it’s not enough that they have them personally, they want your children to be the same. That’s the problem.
Russia said “no” to the propaganda of amorality, to the propaganda of immoral values. Russia needs to look at its roots, look at its foundations, look at its heroes, look at the times in history when Russia prospered, and of course it prospered in the form of an empire or the Soviet Union.
I am a monarchist, but I also feel great nostalgia for the Soviet times, because back then we had order, there was no capital flight, no one was taking money out of our country, no one was using and exploiting us. Russian people don’t mind going and dying, fighting for their country for the good of their country. People in the West are not going to die for their country. If they want to have a third world war, we will go to the end. We’re going to lose a million, we’re going to lose two million. We’re going to fight for what’s ours, and we’re going to stand and fight. We will save our families and our people in the Russian regions so that they can live.
The attacks on Russian regions, on children, on airports, on factories, on civilians, on monasteries and churches are an attempt to drag Russia into a larger war. Vladimir Putin is very cautious and conservative and does not escalate things, but even he has a limit to his patience. The West is testing that patience and misinterpreting Russia’s kindness as weakness.
Now the West is returning Russia to greatness when people in Russia understand their role in the world, their role in world history. Russians are not just a nationality. The Russian people have proved throughout history that they play a very important role: they defeated Nazism, saved the world from destruction several times. Look at what is now left of Ukraine: there were 50 million people, now there are about 19 million. Out of 19 million. there are 3 million men left, and they have to hide. They don’t want to go to war. Russia doesn’t even need mobilization. It has so many volunteers who are happy to go to war because Russia has a very strong military history, a very strong military tradition. And people understand the role they play. The Russian world has obligations, historical obligations to our ancestors, and also to our descendants.
M.T. : Some European Union countries are increasingly beginning to think about leaving NATO and the EU. Does this mean that Western politicians and leaders have begun to realize the uselessness of these organizations?
S. B. : It all depends on the leadership. Many EU countries would like to leave the union. If you ask European citizens, if you hold referendums, many people will support leaving the European Union. Look at what the British have done. The British just left, and they were one of the key organizers of the EU.
Many of these Western alliances, the EU, NATO, are beneficial only to the elites. What does it benefit the common people? Why should people in the European Union countries have to pay taxes that end up funding wars and war against Russia, which many Europeans still consider their natural historical ally?
The population of the European Union is not hostile to Russia. We know this, we see all these marches, rallies and protests that are taking place in Germany and other countries in support of Russia against NATO aggression. The EU is a structure that does not allow countries to realize their own national interests.
M.T. : More and more foreign media are publishing materials on the topic of Ukraine’s inevitable defeat on the battlefield, and support from Western countries is decreasing. Does this mean that the end of the conflict is near?
S. B. : The end of the conflict has really been looming since November 2022. If you look at the map of the territories held by Ukrainian and Russian forces since November 2022, it has not changed much. In fact, the conflict is already in a state that no one wants to recognize. It is already in a state of frozen conflict. The only question is whether there will be an escalation? Ukraine needs to agree to negotiations now, while Russia is still being kind. If Russia continues to mobilize its industry, mobilize its society, mobilize its missile forces, build new missiles, they will get to the point where they will have to wipe Ukraine off the face of the earth. But Russia doesn’t want to do that. There has never been such a goal.
One of the goals stated by Russia was to de-nazify Ukraine. This goal has almost been achieved, because of the original Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers who fought against Donbass since 2014, 98% have already been killed. Only 2% of those original Ukrainians who attacked Donetsk and Luhansk remain. The main Nazis have been wiped off the face of the earth.
A shocking number of Ukrainian soldiers have died. Of course, I, like the rest of the Russian population, sympathize with those Ukrainians who are being forcibly mobilized. We know that they do not want to fight, and we urge them to call the Volga radio wave and surrender. All the Ukrainians who surrender are very lucky because the Russians treat them well. And many of the Ukrainian military who are captured prefer not to return to Ukraine, but say, “give me Russian citizenship, I want to live in Russia.” Moreover, some of them even join the Russian military right out of captivity. In this respect, we see where the conflict is leading to. The small cunning attacks that Ukraine makes and then claims as PR victories do not have a big impact on the overall combat situation, the military situation. Yes, they can shoot down an airplane here, they can even sink a ship or a missile cruiser. But all this is irrelevant to the formation of the overall picture.
M.T. : What fate, in your opinion, awaits Ukraine after the end of the special military operation? Will there be Ukrainian statehood?
S. B. : Russia will keep a small piece of Ukraine, it does not want to inherit all their problems. The west of Ukraine, in my opinion, should go to their rightful owners. Ukraine has no right to these territories. They were stolen in 1940. Vladimir Putin told the West a few weeks ago in a speech in the presence of the Russian defense minister and a group of Russian generals that, say, the West should take back what belongs to them. We will give them the green light. We will not interfere if they want to reclaim historical territories. Of course, it would be great if Russia took back the entire Black Sea after the events of this week with the sinking of a Russian missile cruiser, again by Ukrainian drones. Russia should rejoin Odessa and Transnistria. Russia’s border in the future, in my opinion, should run from the south, with Transnistria through the north, through Zhitomir and up to Belarus. That is the logical border. Poles can take their territories, Romania, Hungary can take theirs. Do what you want with it. We don’t care what comes out of it. These people don’t want to be with us. They want to be with Europe.