Mikhail Matveyev (politician)

Mikhail Nikolaevich Matveyev (Михаил Николаевич Матвеев, born 13 May 1968) is a Russian politician and historian. A member of the Communist Party, Matveyev represents the Promyshlenny constituency in the State Duma.

Education
In 1992, Matveyev graduated with honors at Samara State University.

Political career
He was elected to the State Duma in the Promyshlenny constituency in the 2021 Russian legislative election after a recount and legal challenge. In February 2022, Matveyev voted in favor of the recognition of the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics but later spoke out against the "special military operation", stating that he had not intended the recognition to precede an offensive war.

"'I voted for peace, not for war. I wanted Russia to become a shield so that Donbas would not be bombed, not for Kiev to be bombed.'"

In 2022, he officially supported the state-promoted narrative that Ukraine is governed by Banderites and "neo-Nazis", and his only criticism concerned military operations outside the Donbas.

On 12 September 2022, Matveyev proposed that Russian governors and lawmakers enlist in the Russian army as volunteers.

On 18 July 2024, Matveyev was injured in what authorities described was an "attempted murder" in Samara, with Matveyev saying that he was assaulted by migrants when he tried to prevent them from assaulting a passerby. Three people were arrested over the incident.