Dmitry Yuryevich Puchkov (; born August 2, 1961), also known as Goblin (), is a Russian media personality most known for his humorous English-to-Russian film and video game translations as well as his Oper.ru web blog and, from 2008 until 2022, his eponymous YouTube channel. Puchkov considers himself a Neo-Sovietist and, on several occasions, has demonstrated both public and personal support for the politics of Vladimir Putin coinciding with pro-Kremlin narratives. For that he has been called a "Kremlin pundit" and a "warhawk" by the free media ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, both terms he vehemently denies.
Although initially studying to become an electrical engineer, Puchkov served in the Soviet army then, as the USSR collapsed, made a personal hobby of pirate translating famous Hollywood films into Russian. His alternative voice-over translations thereof are widely known both for their perceived profanity and humour. Puchkov's later career also included screenplay and comic book writing.
Puchkov helped to establish communities to spread memes and Russian influence campaigns on Tynu40k Goblina which spread Pro-Soviet and Russian victory in WWII memes. Puchkov had three million subscribers on YouTube before being removed for violating community guidelines when spreading pro-Putin propaganda for which Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev demanded revenge
Early career
Puchkov was born on August 2, 1961, in Kirovograd (present-day Kropyvnytskyi), Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. His mother is Ukrainian and his father is a Russian of German descent. Puchkov was known by the nickname Goblin or Starshiy operupolnomochenniy Goblin (Senior Operative Agent Goblin) years before he became popular as a film translator. At the time of his earliest public works, he worked as a police investigator for the Militsiya. Because of a newspaper article entitled "Goblins in Militsiya Overcoats" that rebuked the corruption of the Militsiya staff, Puchkov and his workmates began to call each other "goblins" ironically.
Puchkov started using the pen name Goblin while sharing his experience in PC gaming-oriented magazines when writing about the video game Quake. He started a personal website called Goblin's Dead End (Tynu40k Goblina), which focused on Quake. Puchkov became a popular commentator among the Quake community, but he remained virtually unknown otherwise.
His book Dungeon Cleaners (Санитары подземелий) was published in 1999 and quickly sold out, becoming an Internet bestseller. Loosely based on the game concept, the book later became the basis for the 2006 tactical role-playing video game and its 2008 sequel developed by 1C using Skyfallen Entertainment's TheEngine.
Political activism and propaganda
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 Puchkov was interviewed by radio "Комсомольская Правда", where he explained that the reason of Russia's invasion was the actions of the United States. He claimed that the Security Service of Ukraine is controlled completely by the CIA or that western media would deceive a hundred times more than soviet media did.
In March 2022, Puchkov supported Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. He repeatedly transmitted the main theses of Russian propaganda. Hence, according to some EU officials, Puchkov is responsible for supporting Russian aggressive policy that threatens Ukraine's sovereignty and independence.
Sanctions
In December 2022, he was included in the EU sanctions lists (9th sanctions package for Russia's invasion of Ukraine). The European Union representatives noted that in 2014, Puchkov published a book "Ukraine is Russia", in which he implied that Ukraine is not an independent state thus reproducing the ideas of Russian propaganda.
Film translations
Puchkov studied English at the Militsya House of Culture for two years, but is otherwise self-taught as a translator. His first film translation was completed during the perestroika period, when Western productions were first introduced to Soviet viewers.
At that time I already had certain knowledge in English. The quantity of untranslated phrases and obvious bloopers irritated me from the very beginning. And at that time I already wanted to make translation thoroughly, in other words do it the way a good film deserves.