In a story that feels almost too surreal for reality, an Alaska man found himself at the center of an international spectacle after being gifted a brand-new motorcycle by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mark Warren, a 66-year-old retired fire inspector living in Bird Creek, Alaska, became an unexpected celebrity after a chance encounter with Russian journalists led to a viral news story and, ultimately, a $22,000 Ural Gear Up motorcycle with a sidecar delivered straight from Russia—an event that unfolded in the days surrounding a high-profile summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Putin in Anchorage.
It all began on August 6, 2025, when Warren was riding his Soviet-era Ural motorcycle through downtown Anchorage, running errands as he often does. He was stopped at a traffic light by two men who introduced themselves as Russian journalists. As Warren later recalled to Alaska's News Source, "They were interested in why I had the bike and what I was doing." The journalists, intrigued by the rare Russian-made motorcycle—known for its history of use by Russian military forces during World War II and its unique sidecar design—peppered Warren with questions about the bike, his experiences, and the upcoming summit between the American and Russian presidents.
Warren explained the difficulties he faced maintaining his Ural, noting that finding spare parts had become increasingly expensive and complicated. "I was finding it harder—and more expensive—to find spare parts for my bike because the manufacturing plant is located in Ukraine," he told the reporters, as quoted by RUSSIA-1. The war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions had made it tough for Ural owners like Warren to keep their bikes running, as parts now had to be sourced through a convoluted supply chain stretching from Russia to a company in Redmond, Washington, and, more recently, to Kazakhstan, where Ural bikes have been assembled since August 2022.
The Russian journalists saw a compelling human interest angle in Warren’s story and filmed an interview that, unbeknownst to him, would soon become a sensation in Russia. Within days, Warren received a call from one of the journalists: their report had gone viral, and his story had even caught the attention of President Putin himself. Warren was stunned. "It went viral, it went crazy, and I have no idea why, because I’m really just a super-duper normal guy," he told KTUU. "They just interviewed some old guy on a Ural, and for some reason they think it’s cool."
Shortly thereafter, Warren received another call—this time with an astonishing offer. He was told that he would be gifted a brand-new Ural motorcycle, courtesy of the Russian president. At first, Warren was skeptical. "I thought it was a hoax because they don’t know me. I don’t know them," he said, echoing his disbelief to Gray News. The offer sounded "bats–t crazy," he later admitted to The Daily Mail. But the evidence mounted: a formal letter from the Russian Embassy in the United States described the gift as an "act of giving" on behalf of President Putin, though it offered no further explanation for why Warren had been chosen.
The timing of the gift was as dramatic as the gesture itself. On August 15, 2025, just two days after the summit between Trump and Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Warren was contacted again—this time by Russian embassy officials. He was instructed to meet them at the Lakeview hotel in Anchorage, where the Russian delegation had been staying. Arriving with his wife, Warren found a group of men—whom he assumed to be Russians—waiting in the parking lot with an olive-green Ural motorcycle, freshly manufactured just three days earlier on August 12.
"I dropped my jaw," Warren recalled. "I went, 'You’ve got to be joking me.'" According to ABC News, the only thing the Russians asked in return was to take his picture and interview him as he took the new bike for a spin around the lot. Two reporters and a consulate official hopped into the sidecar, and a cameraman ran alongside, capturing the moment for Russian state media. The footage of the handover was broadcast widely, with a Russian embassy staffer declaring, "I have to say that this is a personal gift from the President of the Russian Federation."
Warren’s reaction was a mix of gratitude, disbelief, and apprehension. "I'm dumbfounded," he told The Daily Mail. "I guess I should probably write Putin a thank-you letter or something." He also made it clear that he had no ulterior motives, stating, "They’re getting nothing from me. Nothing." He added, "If they want something from me, they’re gonna be sorely disappointed." Despite the excitement, Warren was mindful of potential backlash for accepting a gift from the Russian government amid ongoing tensions over the war in Ukraine. "I don’t want a bunch of haters coming after me that I got a Russian motorcycle. … I don’t want this for my family." Nevertheless, he dismissed the criticism, saying, "I took it. I could have not taken it, and probably p—ed off just as many people as doing that. I don’t care."
The Ural company, originally founded in 1941 in western Siberia, has a storied history. Its motorcycles, famed for their ruggedness and distinctive sidecars, were once a staple of the Soviet military. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Ural shifted its assembly operations to Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan, and its distribution is now managed from Washington state. The bike Warren received was brand-new, boasting subtle differences from his older model and, as he pointed out, a few "different trinkets." Still, he noted, "Urals aren't for everyone," citing their modest 42-horsepower engines and tricky handling due to the sidecar.
Warren’s story has left many scratching their heads, not least himself. The gift was described in diplomatic paperwork as an "act of giving" but came with no official explanation. "There is no reason why they could have … should give me a bike. I haven’t done anything for them or to them, and I don’t know anybody," Warren told KTUU. "So yeah, it’s so absolutely astronomically random that it was hard for me to understand why this happens. Matter of fact, I still don’t know why." Even so, he had no second thoughts about accepting the motorcycle, reasoning that rejecting it would have felt just as strange as accepting it.
For now, Warren’s new Ural sits in an outbuilding at his home, awaiting registration and insurance before it can hit the open roads of Alaska. The experience, he says, "hasn't really sunk in yet." He’s still processing the whirlwind of events that transformed him from an ordinary motorcycle enthusiast into an unlikely figure in a geopolitical drama—one ride at a time.
