28 June, 2016: Jeff Monson visits Stanitsa Luganskaya as part of his visit to Luhansk region. (c) Olesya Potapova / RIA Novosti. All rights reserved.Dressed in a jet black Guns N’ Roses t-shirt and faded Adidas shorts revealing the hammer and sickle on his calf, Jeff “Snowman” Monson knelt among a cluster of pint-sized children draped in Jiu-Jitsu gis. Monson, a veteran of Ultimate Fighting Championship, displayed a range of his characteristic Jiu-Jitsu holds to the curious youngsters with care while Russian powerlifter Maryana Naumova and security officials hovered nearby.
Monson was in the midst of a visit to the so-called People's Republic of Luhansk. He had already visited the Donbas branch of the infamous “Night Wolves” motorcycle club outside the city, where he publicly rejected western perceptions that this war-torn region of Ukraine was occupied by terrorists. He even posed with a Kalashnikov in front of a “F*** You Obama” sign. Monson arrived in Luhansk shortly thereafter, just in time for Youth Day. He visited an orphanage, walked through the dilapidated city, and spoke to eager locals. He immersed himself in the surrounding destruction, saddened by what he witnessed.
Few would have guessed Monson was there on behalf of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF).
