Apparently this is a "thing" in Russia, using American porn stars, like Sasha Grey and Johnny Sins, and then photoshopping them into old Soviet photos.
As for Ukraine, at the start of the war there was a petition to replace a statue of Russian Empress Catherine the Great with one of Herrington in Odessa, citing how well-known he is in Russia, and presumably to embarrass the Russians. Her statue came down, not sure if one of Herrington ever went up.
Source: Oboz.ua
Russians have once again been embroiled in a scandal over a fake commemoration of World War II veterans . A photo of 1990s American gay porn actor Billy Herrington was spotted on a billboard in the center of Zheleznogorsk, Kursk Oblast.
According to Russian media, the "Battle of Kursk" panel , over 11 meters long, was installed on April 28 in the square near the city administration building. It reportedly features over two thousand photos of World War II veterans and participants in the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine.
Mayor of Zheleznogorsk Oleksandr Mikhailov said that the project is an online analogue of the "Immortal Regiment", where local residents sent photos.
However, on May 2, local activist and member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) Ruslan Tsyganov drew attention to the fact that the panel contained photos of gay porn actor Billy Herrington.
A quick Google search gave this information on who Herrington was:
Billy Herrington (July 14, 1969 – March 2, 2018) was an American actor and model who rose to fame as a pornographic film star in the 1990s. He is also known as one of the characters in the Gachimuchi subculture (memes with gay porn characters). On March 1, 2018, Harrington was involved in a car accident in California and died the next day in hospital at the age of 48.
Apparently, the photos were submitted by a 16-year-old boy.
Later, the Russian police reported that the phone number from which the photo was sent belonged to a local 16-year-old schoolboy.
Oleksandr Mikhailov, for his part, stated that they would "work with the teenager in terms of patriotic education."
In the Kursk region, an American porn actor was recognized as a hero of the Battle of Kursk.
Seven portraits of Billy Herrington (photo right), the hero of 1990s gay porn, were placed on the "Battle of Kursk" plaque in the city of Zheleznogorsk, the second-largest city in the… pic.twitter.com/4hsTgjLnHU— Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@jurgen_nauditt) May 12, 2025
