russian prankster and entertainer who, together with Alexei Stolyarov (alias "Lexus"), is a member of the duo "Vovan and Lexus," which specializes in prank calls and video pranks targeting public figures who criticize the russian government or russia's foreign policy. He is a co-author of the Telegram channel "Vovan and Lexus," which publishes content aimed at discrediting Ukraine and supporting the russian government, as well as disseminating information about fundraising efforts for the needs of participants in the "special military operation."
Since 2014, he has systematically discredited Ukraine and its top political leadership on the international stage. In particular, in 2014, while focusing on "Ukrainian issues" during a provocative prank call targeting Dnipropetrovsk region head Ihor Kolomoyskyi and Dmytro Yarosh, he introduced himself as Pavlo Gubarev, the "people’s governor of Donbas," and attempted to obtain information about the internal political situation in Ukraine.
In 2015, through telephone "pranks" targeting representatives of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, he attempted to find out about the "organizers and perpetrators" of the energy blockade of the temporarily occupied Crimea.
After the start of russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the duo’s pranks were specifically focused on the war against Ukraine. While communicating with foreign politicians, Kuznetsov and Stolyarov attempted to provoke them into making candid statements regarding russia’s war against Ukraine. At the same time, provocative recordings of conversations with russian writers and cultural figures who supported Ukraine were used as grounds for their criminal prosecution. After the pranks were published, numerous pro-kremlin media outlets and Telegram channels accused these writers and cultural figures of "treason."
He has been awarded honors by official bodies of the aggressor country for his activities. In 2024, he was awarded the Order of Friendship for "outstanding contributions to strengthening peace, friendship, cooperation, and mutual understanding among nations"; in 2025, together with Stolyarov, he was awarded the highest departmental award of the russian ministry of justice—the Anatoly Koni medal.
He has visited the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine on multiple occasions. In 2017, he visited the temporarily occupied city of Donetsk, where, together with Stolyarov, he presented the book "Whose Phone Is Ringing?", which contains material discrediting Ukraine and its top political leadership, including information regarding ceasefire negotiations on Ukrainian territory and the personal data of Ukrainian officials. In September 2018, together with Stolyarov, he visited the temporarily occupied Crimea, where he held a "creative meeting" with Crimean students and spoke about "prank journalism." In May 2024, he visited the temporarily occupied Luhansk as part of the forum "History for the Future. russian spring."