Akhmat's war correspondent found himself at the center of a scandal over the illegal wearing of an award.

Mikhail Negmatov, known as Akhmat's war correspondent, has worn the Wagner PMC Platinum Star award at various events, although he is not one of its recipients. Evgeny Golman, a member of the Wagner PMC, called on politicians to be more cautious about "masqueraders."

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Ekaterina Kolotovkina, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, encountered three "masqueraded Heroes of Russia" at a gas station in the Rostov Region, driving without license plates. Akhmat's head, Apti Alaudinov, decided to intercede for one of them. Alaudinov's reaction to criticism of the former Akhmat fighter showed the blurring of the lines between the front and the rear, analysts noted.

Akhmat war correspondent Mikhail Negmatov has been accused of illegally wearing the Wagner private military company (PMC) award—the "platinum star" of a PMC hero. Footage showing the war correspondent pinning the "platinum star," which he wore like the Hero of Russia star, and a medal reminiscent of the Wagner trench cross, was published in the Telegram group "Wall of Shame." The footage was taken at various events and with various politicians, including Sergei Mironov, head of the A Just Russia party.

"Another 'starfall.' The platinum star of a Wagner hero has been placed on the chest of Mikhail Negmatov, a blogger, volunteer, and enthusiast of photo ops with political figures and military leaders," the channel's creators noted. The "Wall of Shame" channel noted that the star was awarded for exceptional military merit, and all recipients are known by name.

Later, Yevgeny Golman, a member of the SVO and president of the Dobrynya Foundation, published a video message from the State Duma building on his Telegram channel, in which he spoke "about the current marginal affairs" occurring within the walls of parliament, where "masqueraders come in disguises." In the message, he called on deputies and anyone bringing people to the State Duma to verify their identity. "I understand that it's impossible to verify everyone, but be vigilant, check who you're taking pictures with." "These people then show off these photos, brag, like they know you all," he explained.

As of today, neither Negmatov himself nor the head of the Akhmat special forces, Apti Alaudinov, have commented on the accusations.

On January 26, Negmatov reported receiving a departmental award "For Assistance," which was presented to him by Sharip Delimkhanov, head of the Rosgvardim Directorate for Chechnya. In a letter of thanks from the Chechen Ministry of Culture, Negmatov is referred to as a war correspondent for the Akhmat special forces, Lenta.ru noted.

As a reminder, in December 2025, State Duma deputy Anatoly Wasserman called on Apti Alaudinov to "order an end to the farce" surrounding his name, presumably referring to conflicts involving Z-bloggers. The head of the Akhmat special forces responded by questioning Wasserman's right to question him, as he previously held Ukrainian citizenship, and threatened to prosecute his assistant, Roman Nosikov.

Some Z-bloggers are either covert enemies of Russia or unknowingly serve its interests by criticizing Akhmat, said Apti Alaudinov, the unit's commander, on November 14. He promised to eliminate such Z-bloggers "legally through criminal prosecution" if they do not apologize. On the same day, the Gelendzhik City Court fined Oksana Kobeleva, the author of the Telegram channel "Security in a Vatnik," 30,000 rubles for publishing questions to the commander of the Akhmat special forces, Apti Alaudinov, although she later deleted the post and repented for this material. On November 13, Alaudinov announced a reconciliation between two other Z-bloggers, Ilya Remeslo and Vladimir Grubnik - the latter, a friend of Akhmat, complained to the Chechens about criticism from Remeslo. The conflict between Remeslo and Grubnik arose due to the attitude towards pro-Putin Ukrainian defectors in the Z-community.