Freed Early, Ex-URFU Director Returns to Boxing
Yevgeny Shurmanov urges followers to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Yevgeny Shurmanov, the former director of the Institute of Physical Culture and Sport at Ural Federal University (UrFU), who was released early from prison, is actively sharing updates about his life after criminal prosecution. On social media, he posts motivational videos and recites poetry. Here«s what else the former top UrFU employee is up to.
Yevgeny Shurmanov in court.
Why Shurmanov was convicted
«46 years old! How do you like the speed?» he asks his followers.
Yevgeny Shurmanov came under criminal investigation in the summer of 2022. Security forces detained him at his workplace after searches at the UrFU Institute of Physical Education. The case involves two episodes.
Yevgeny Shurmanov declares his love for his homeland.
The first relates to the VII All-Russian Summer Universiade in 2020. Shurmanov was responsible for organizing the competitions. According to investigators, he conspired with Alexey Kuvarin, deputy director of the company «Integrated Communication Technologies.» Kuvarin arranged accommodation for athletes at hotels for 1,700 rubles per person per day. Shurmanov then submitted false reports claiming 3,000 rubles per person per day were spent.
In many videos, Yevgeny demonstrates his boxing workouts.
Kuvarin struck a deal with investigators and testified against Shurmanov. Investigators believe the two split 13 million rubles (about $130,000). Alexey received a suspended sentence.
Yevgeny emphasizes the importance of being happy.
The second episode involves events from 2021. The Sverdlovsk Rugby Federation, headed by Shurmanov, received 2.4 million rubles (about $25,000) from a fund. Investigators believe Shurmanov embezzled this subsidy.
Shurmanov did not admit guilt in the fraud and claimed he was framed. For example, during the trial, he repeatedly mentioned Sverdlovsk Sports Minister Leonid Rapoport, alleging that Rapoport harbored animosity toward him.
«Until I was taken into custody, I thought he had no reason to frame me. Now I understand — it was envy. So young, an upstart, mingling with federal ministers. Yes, he has personal animosity and envy. He has been to my home. During the investigation, when I spoke with operatives, I assumed that after [the case] we would communicate normally [with Rapoport] again. They told me that wouldn»t happen. Perhaps behind my back, with them, he behaved differently.
In the courtroom, I felt it when he didn«t even greet my wife, although he knows her well. He has personal animosity toward me and envy. All of this was deliberately done by him to punish this upstart Shurmanov,» the former institute head said during the trial.
In 2024, Yevgeny Shurmanov was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony.
Return to freedom
Shurmanov published his first post on Instagram* (where he has 40,000 followers) after release on June 30. In the short video, he boxes to the song «Pyala» by the Bashkir group Ay Yola. A second clip followed, where he talks about «life lessons.»
«There are no accidental falls. There are lessons that must be learned. Dust off your knees without shame and confidently move forward. If friends betrayed you in the past, if life burned bridges, then the stars hinted that you were associating with the wrong people,» Yevgeny recited with expression.
In subsequent videos, Yevgeny declares himself a patriot of Russia.
«I am a patriot of my country. Russia is my homeland. Russia is my mother. Russia is my pride. Russia is a country of people, a country of wolves, and everyone knows their way. Sometimes people attack wolves, sometimes wolves defend their people. But no matter how much I suffer now, love for my country does not fade every hour,» Shurmanov said.
Videos of poetry in Yevgeny«s social media alternate with motivational ones. In the clips, he exercises: does push-ups, jumps rope, and runs. Shurmanov urges followers to lead a healthy lifestyle and be disciplined. Some posts in his Telegram channel (which has only 48 subscribers) are dedicated to religion.
«Save and protect my loved ones, give them a Guardian Angel behind their backs! Holy Angel, my guardian! I call to you! Protect me and my children from troubles and misfortunes!» Yevgeny wrote in his channel.
The ex-director of the UrFU Institute of Physical Culture and Sport received his sentence on 11 October 2024. The Verkh-Isetsky District Court of Yekaterinburg sentenced him to nine years in a general-regime colony with a fine of one million rubles (about $10,000).
We also reported that in 2019, Olympic champion Yegor Mekhontsev accused Yevgeny Shurmanov of obtaining the title of Master of Sports in boxing dishonestly. The athlete even challenged him to a ring fight.
* The social network is banned on the territory of the Russian Federation.
