AFANASYEV Andrey Sergeevich

russian propagandist and war correspondent for the nationalist TV channel Tsargrad TV and the official TV channel of the russian Orthodox Church, Spas.
Since 2014, he has been covering the russian invasion, systematically broadcasting disinformation aimed at justifying the invasion, discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine and delegitimizing the Ukrainian government.
He is the author and producer of the propaganda documentary Heart of a Warrior, which includes interviews with russian soldiers, officers, volunteers and military chaplains.
He collaborates with the project "People's Front. Everything for victory" project and raises funds for the needs of the russian military.
He also organizes fundraising for the needs of the russian armed forces through his own Telegram channel "Afanasyev Z", providing direct material support to the war.
In addition, Afanasyev is a co-author of the Telegram channel "Military Department of the Moscow Patriarchate" - the official channel of the Synodal Department for Interaction with the russian armed forces and Law Enforcement Agencies, which indicates Afanasyev's deep integration into the efforts of the russian Orthodox Church to support russian military efforts, as well as his active support for the activities of the russian Orthodox Church in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
Afanasyev is also one of the founders of the russian Community, a russian far-right, nationalist pro-government organization that has created a network of informants who organize police raids on migrants who are then forcibly conscripted into the russian armed forces.
Since 2022, he has illegally entered the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine to create propaganda materials and acted as a guide for foreign propagandists.
He regularly appears as an expert for political media in russia and abroad. He has repeatedly criticized the image of russia in the West as "anti-russian propaganda" in Western media, including the British BBC and the Australian ABC, and defended the integrity of the elections in russia and putin's leadership.
Since 2024, he has been a member of the Commission on Church Administration, Pastoral Care and Organization of Church Life, as well as the Commission on Public Life, Culture, Science and Information of the Inter-Conciliar Presence of the russian Orthodox Church.