More than 500 violations in five years
Alina Zagitova, the Olympic figure skating champion and television presenter, has become a focal point in discussions about road rules. In 2024 alone she reportedly logged nearly two hundred traffic infractions. Since 2019 the tally runs beyond five hundred. PostNews reports the details.
She is linked to two cars, a 2020 Porsche Macan and a 2018 BMW X6 30d. The Porsche alone registered 175 fines from January through November 2024, while the BMW recorded 22 more. All penalties were settled. From March 2019 to November 2024, the combined total reached 554 fines, amounting to 497 thousand rubles. PostNews highlights these figures.
According to the records, five red lights were run, speeding exceeded the limit 401 times, and 65 instances involved disregarding traffic signs. There were also 18 tickets for stopping or parking in the wrong place, 14 for illegal left turns or U-turns, and 14 for driving in bus lanes. PostNews cites these numbers.
Why just a fine?
Lawyer Sergei Radko explained to socialbites.ca that Zagitova could face sanctions beyond fines only in specific circumstances. He emphasized that harsher penalties apply mainly for repeated violations.
Sanctions can be stricter in cases of repeated offenses such as speeding or passing a prohibitive traffic light. Deprivation of driving rights is possible only if an inspector identifies the violation and is driving at the time. In cases captured solely by cameras, penalties may rise but remain fines.
Additionally, one year after a fine is paid a person may be considered unpunished, and new violations could be treated as a first step offense at the minimum level, Radko noted.
Last year’s scandal was ignored
PostNews notes that among Zagitova’s traffic records is not the lone sensational incident from last year when a skater was seen crossing a crosswalk in a Mercedes-Benz AMG G63 while filming a video with a mobile phone. The athlete posted a video showing a drive along Krasnopresnenskaya Street. The use of mobile devices while driving is prohibited by traffic rules. Observers noted that the pedestrian light turned green for pedestrians, while the vehicle proceeded as if the light prohibited crossing.
From the clip shared by the skater, it was not entirely clear whether the car crossed the stop line or halted before it. A fixed-camera recording later circulated that clearly showed the violation, with indications that the driver became distracted by the phone as the red light came on and continued driving. Pedestrians could be seen starting to cross as the car passed the crosswalk.
Radko explained that driving through a red light carries a 1,000 ruble fine. A repeated violation within a year can bring either a 5,000 ruble fine or a deprivation of the right to drive.
Sobolev violated traffic rules more than 500 times, Dzhikia – more than 2000
Athletes often make news about traffic violations. In July 2024 it was reported that Alexander Sobolev, who played for Spartak Moscow at the time and is now a striker for Zenit, accumulated 557 illegal actions while driving. The fines totaled 547 thousand rubles.
In November it became known that former teammate Georgy Dzhikia, who now plays for Khimki near Moscow, had violated more than 2,000 traffic rules since 2021. In total, the football player was fined 2,148 times for 2,032 thousand rubles. Over roughly three and a half years, Dzhikia violated traffic rules in his car an average of about 1.6 times a day.
The football player’s most common offense was speeding, recorded 1,915 times. He was also fined 138 times for not wearing a seat belt and 45 times for failing to comply with signs or signage requirements.
Sometimes athletes face far graver consequences. Armen Fishyan, a former goalkeeper for the Armenian youth national team, was involved in a fatal crash on March 23, 2024, while traveling toward Mineralnye Vody. The collision occurred at the 284th kilometer of the Caucasus highway when his car struck a traffic police officer and another motorist.
The disaster unfolded as the car drifted from the left lane into the median where officers stood, and the victims could not be saved. Fishyan tried to flee the scene and was detained 60 kilometers away after authorities activated the intervention plan. He claimed no accident occurred, yet traces of blood on his body contradicted his account.
Another football player, CSKA Moscow’s Venezuelan forward Saul Guirirapa, drew attention. He remarked on the local discipline, noting that road signs and traffic lights are generally respected and violations are rare.
In September 2024 the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Chelyabinsk Region launched a regional campaign titled Attention at the Beginning, inviting leading South Ural athletes to remind residents about the importance of obeying traffic rules. Among the first participants was Traktor hockey player Artem Shuchinov.