--- description: Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded the country’s favored and first motorcycle club $128,000 to put on children’s shows. title: Putin's Favorite Biker Gang Gets $128,000 For Kids' Show image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67228d2b84928688/698874e6e20a878693a8e99f/night-wolves-putin.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [russia](/tag/russia/) ## russia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Putin's Favorite Biker Gang Gets Millions of Rubles to Put on Kids' Show  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 10, 2015 10:01 PM CUT  Vladimir Putin rides with Alexander Zaldostanov, leader of Nochniye Volki (the Night Wolves) biker group in Novorossiisk on Aug. 29, 2011. Vladimir Putin rides with Alexander Zaldostanov, leader of Nochniye Volki (the Night Wolves) biker group in Novorossiisk on Aug. 29, 2011.Reuters  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 10, 2015 10:01 PM CUT Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded a nationalist motorcycle club about 9 million rubles ($128,000) to put on children’s shows, [the Kommersant newspaper reported Thursday](http://www.kommersant.ru/ "undefined"). The Night Wolves biker club was given the presidential grants to organize the New Year’s show at their club, according to the newspaper. It will “explain the historical and spiritual heritage of Russia and Russia’s challenges in a clear, fairytale manner for children,” the Night Wolves’ grant application said. The show is already sold out. The Night Wolves was founded in Moscow in 1989 and hosts motorcycle festivals and rock band performances in the country, [according to Putin’s office](http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/15943 "undefined"). The gang made headlines in May when they rode their bikes from Moscow to Berlin to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The group’s leader [Alexander Zaldostanov is Putin’s old friend](http://time.com/11680/crimea-russia-putin-night-wolves/ "undefined"). \[[_Kommersant_](http://www.kommersant.ru/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4145202/putin-night-wolves/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4145202/putin-night-wolves/"},"headline":"Putin's Favorite Biker Gang Gets Millions of Rubles to Put on Kids' Show","datePublished":"2015-12-10T22:01:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:57:31.780Z","description":"The group’s leader is Putin’s old friend","url":"https://time.com/4145202/putin-night-wolves/","keywords":["russia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67228d2b84928688/698874e6e20a878693a8e99f/night-wolves-putin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67228d2b84928688/698874e6e20a878693a8e99f/night-wolves-putin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Putin rides with Alexander Zaldostanov during his visit to a bike festival in the southern Russian city of Novorossiisk","caption":"Putin rides with Alexander Zaldostanov during his visit to a bike festival in the southern Russian city of Novorossiisk","creditText":"Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/russia/","name":"russia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4145202/putin-night-wolves/","name":"Putin's Favorite Biker Gang Gets Millions of Rubles to Put on Kids' Show"}}]}] ```