- Sergei Lavrov wore a sweatshirt with "CCCP", the Russian initials for the USSR, during the Alaska meeting
- The sweatshirt was identified as a $120 item from Chelyabinsk-based Soviet heritage brand Selsovet
- Lavrov’s attire is viewed as endorsing Kremlin’s narrative that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people”
The sartorial choice of Sergei Lavrov, Russia's top diplomat, during US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin's Alaska meeting on Friday, drew the attention of many across the globe. In what's seen as a not-so-subtle act of trolling, the Russian Foreign Minister was seen wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with “CCCP”, the Russian initials for the USSR.
Seventy-five-year-old Lavrov's attire is being seen as a nod to Kremalin's imperial ambitions, forwarding Putin's long-running narrative: Russians and Ukrainians are “one people” -- a claim that denies Ukraine's legitimacy and territorial integrity while promoting a broader notion of unity with Russia.
On Telegram, Russian fashion bloggers identified the $120 sweatshirt as the work of Chelyabinsk-based brand, Selsovet, that specialises in “Soviet heritage” clothing.
Former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis was quick to point out Lavrov's clothing choice on X and wrote. “‘Just give us half of Ukraine and we promise we will stop,' says negotiator wearing USSR sweatshirt.”
"Just give us half of Ukraine and we promise we will stop" says negotiator wearing USSR sweatshirt. https://t.co/n6gqDLnDAJ
— Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 (@GLandsbergis) August 15, 2025
Belarusian politician Franak Viačorka noted that "Lavrov's “USSR” sweater in Alaska is a clear nod to the Putin regime's imperial ambitions."
Lavrov's “USSR” sweater in Alaska is a clear nod to the Putin regime's imperial ambitions. They're stuck in the past and want to pull Ukraine and Belarus back with them – forgetting we are free nations that will never return to their “brotherhood”. Dictators cannot be appeased. pic.twitter.com/tbXG0Lgtdl
— Franak Viačorka (@franakviacorka) August 15, 2025
"They're stuck in the past and want to pull Ukraine and Belarus back with them – forgetting we are free nations that will never return to their 'brotherhood'. Dictators cannot be appeased," he said.
The Putin aide, who was once seen as a pragmatic and skilled diplomat, has been seen mirroring the Kremlin's radicalised politics in recent years by adopting an increasingly combative tone and often resorting to trolling and mockery. Like most of Russia's veteran delegation to Alaska, Lavrov had also started his political career in the Soviet Union and had been accused of clinging to a Soviet imperialist mentality by the Russian opposition.
The Soviet Union, or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), spanned much of Eurasia between 1922 and 1991, before it dissolved, leading to the independence of countries like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, apart from Russia and Ukraine.
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