On April 29, 2025, participants in a special military operation (SVO) asked law enforcement agencies to check 49-year-old deputy from Penza Alexey Ivanov, accusing him of illegally wearing a Soviet medal, which he could not receive due to his age. This was reported by Gazeta.ru.

According to them, a certificate from the Russian Defense Ministry confirms that Ivanov was awarded only one medal - "For Courage" in 1996 for participating in the counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya. However, the fighters claim that the deputy publicly wears a Soviet medal established before his birth, which has caused outrage among veterans.

Alexey Ivanov is a member of the Penza City Duma from the United Russia party and is known for his active public activities. The military who initiated the investigation cite photographs where Ivanov is allegedly depicted with a medal that does not correspond to his official awards.

Ivanov himself stated that the accusations were unfounded and emphasized that he provided all documents about the awards when registering for the elections in 2020.