The worst nightmares can have unexpected consequences.
Under normal circumstances Yevgeny Bashkirov would probably be too good a player for Finnish football fields. However, Eastern Europe has not lived a normal everyday life for a long time. With that, the 31-year-old footballer now leads the Vaasa Palloseura’s midfield and is one of the club’s captains.
The reason for Bashkirov’s change in life is a tragedy known to everyone. Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022 surprised many, including sports circles. The Russian athletes took time to process the information and think about how to react to it. The overwhelming majority decided to remain silent.
When the war started, Baškirov, who played in the Polish league club Zagłębie, was treating his knee injury in Germany. He read about events in Ukraine from independent media and Telegram channels during rehabilitation.
The local medical team swarming around saw the player’s world collapse.
– Somewhere along the way, a young doctor came to me and said “I think you need a hug”.
It didn’t take long for the Polish media to get in touch.
– I hate violence. I hate war. I cannot accept this, Bashkirov said at the time to the Weszło site.
Later he said he felt sad for the Ukrainians and criticized Russian propaganda.
The comments were a risk. Public criticism of rulers and the military is known to have severe consequences in Russia.
Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Bashkirov is in many ways a rarity in Russian football. The eastern neighbor’s media has called him the country’s smartest football player several times.
The background of the title is the player’s love for art and culture. Bashkirov has been writing poems and reading literature since childhood. He has named the Albertina museum in Vienna as his favorite place. In the interview, his answers flash by Marcel Proust and by Vladimir Nabokov classic writers like
– Art reminds us what a person is capable of. It shows that a person can be a constructive and not a destructive force, he says.
Bashkirov thanks his parents and school teachers for his thirst for culture. He fondly remembers his primary school English teacher, who once attended the same university as the legendary football coach Valery Lobanovsky with. The teacher encouraged the young soccer player to see the world and study languages.
Bashkirov obeyed. When the Russian youth national team made a game trip to England at the turn of the 2010s, Bashkirov was the only one in the entire delegation who knew English.
– I talked for four days non-stop with our guide from London. We organized things from scheduling to serving breakfast. None of the players, coaches or members of the medical team on our team spoke English even helpfully.
A passion for sports was also inherited from a father who competed in diving and a mother who was successful in orienteering. For the parents, it was a matter of the heart that studies would be combined with a sports career. Bashkirov completed a degree in journalism at St. Petersburg State University, although it was not always easy with professional futsal life.
– If you spent even a few minutes with my mother, you would understand where this kind of thinking comes from. He has always been of the opinion that a person should develop himself and look at things critically.
Raised by the big club Zenit, Baškirov represented several major league clubs in Russia. During his career, the midfielder was given responsibility in the league teams of Tomsk, Samara and Kazan.
The time was rewarding in terms of the game, but it also showed Bashkirov the dark side of Russian football.
The 2010s were a time of big investments in Russian football. The state and its companies invested in the clubs without sparing any money. It brought top foreign coaches, players and other experts to Russia. New stadiums and training centers were built around the country.
At the same time, the ultimate way of thinking and the atmosphere of attitude did not change at all.
– Russia is paying for not wanting to enter the modern era. The country has remained in a kind of bubble, when it has wanted everything to be as it was before. However, a person should develop and not be afraid of the unknown.
It was the desire to break patterns that brought Baškirov to Lubin, Poland in 2019, a city of more than 70,000 inhabitants, about which the Russian player knew almost nothing beforehand. The 29-year-old footballer realized that it was getting to be the last time to leave.
Baškirov quickly took his place in the main league club Zagłębie, adapted to everyday life in Lubin and began to speak fluent Polish. His goal was to succeed in the tough Polish league, but also to complete university studies in Europe.
One date changed everything.
“Everyone feels fear”
The atmosphere at the German rehabilitation clinic was pitch black on February 24, 2022.
– I was completely lost. My wife asked what we were doing now, and I couldn’t answer. I just hoped that Russia would stop the bloodshed.
Bashkirov and the Polish club Zagłębie are considering options. The Russian player was a well-liked person in the team and among the supporters, but otherwise the atmosphere in Poland was explosive. The destruction in Ukraine made the already bad reputation of the Russians even worse.
Bashkirov did not want the club to get into a difficult middle ground. The contract with Zagłębie was terminated by mutual consent.
– I would have liked to stay, but I understood what kind of situation Poland was in. A huge number of Ukrainian refugees came to the country, including football players. It was better to look for a new beginning elsewhere.
The football player emphasizes that his situation was nothing compared to the suffering of Ukrainians. Like many Russians, Bashkirov also has relatives in Ukraine. During his life, he has visited Kyiv and Odessa several times, among others.
– I can’t even imagine how hard it has been for my relatives for 1.5 years. It’s heartbreaking.
Bashkirov speaks openly about war of aggression and senseless aggression. Despite the fact that Russia is full of examples of what happens to opponents of the regime. People have been thrown in jail for calling a war a war.
Isn’t criticism from those in power scary? Bashkirov weighs his words carefully.
– Everyone feels fear. But in order for this to end someday, you have to dare to speak. Do I oppose the aggressive and deadly policy of my home country towards the neighboring country? Absolutely.
The VPS club management had enough to think about at the beginning of the year. The team’s coaches had paid attention to the interesting Russian player who was in the tests of Salon Palloilijade. There was only one thing to complain about, Bashkirov’s citizenship.
– No player has been discussed so much in the time I’ve been at the club, chairman Timo Harry tells.
The hesitation was natural. Sport is an important part Putin’s administration’s policy and propaganda, which has led to international participation bans in many sports.
– As a club, we strongly condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine. We wondered how supporters and partners would feel about hiring Bashkirov. However, we knew that he has criticized the Russian attack since the beginning of the war. You can’t ask for more from a single person, says Harri.
Bashkirov was looking for a new club for a long time. Because of his citizenship, he invested in making his thoughts and values heard.
Several Russian clubs attracted the midfielder to their ranks, but settling in his homeland was not an option for Bashkirov.
– I’m not going to live in isolation. That’s why I play in Finland now. Cooperation, sociability and dialogue are much more important than silence, emptiness or the inability to express oneself.
The longing for freedom is repeated in Bashkirov’s speech. He knows that many Russian football players do not have the same desire to speak their thoughts out loud.
– The majority of football clubs in Russia are state-owned. If you are part of that system, it is difficult to oppose the employer’s point of view. Especially when the employer pays a high salary. I can only feel sorry for my Russian colleagues.
Although the war has changed life radically, Bashkirov is not going to deny his roots. There are still many dear memories, places and loved ones in Russia who share the football player’s thoughts on the current world situation.
– I have tried to separate all this from the machinery of the state that decided to attack Ukraine.
VPS announced at the beginning of March that it had signed a two-year contract with Bashkirov. Most of the followers of the Vaasa club understood the solution, but there was also criticism.
– Someone’s first comment was probably why we got a Russian. But when these same people got to know more about Baškirov’s background, they welcomed him, chairman Timo Harri says.
Doubts were quickly dispelled when the social and world-viewing Bashkirov took his place in the Vaasa group.
The first season of VPS, which is at the bottom of the league, has been anything but easy, but a club legend By Sebastian Strandvall according to the Russian player has brought running power, game intelligence and performance reliability to the team.
– As a person, Jevgeni is very warm-hearted. He has become a good friend of all the players, which is quite unusual.
Baškirov’s dream is to make the most of his remaining playing career, succeed with VPS on the field, study for a master’s degree and work in communications.
One project is particularly close to the player’s heart. Together with his friends, he develops a service that helps football players operate without agents and third parties. The background is Bashkirov’s experiences in Russia, where young athletes were not really encouraged to try their wings abroad.
– Especially during the last year, I learned that a player has many opportunities to influence his career. Not everything depends on the agency’s recommendations, but for example various statistical and analytical services offer valuable help.
There are plenty of plans, but Bashkirov is aware of the vulnerability of life. Concern about the consequences of war is present every day. It has been a relief that the wife Katja is finally at the same address.
– I am a really family-oriented person. My wife and I were separated for four months while I was looking for a new companion. When we got our residence permits in Finland, we felt like we were at home.
The move to Finland ended a wandering life that lasted more than a year. Bashkirov says he is privileged. He gets to build an everyday life with his life partner in freedom and peace.
– I am extremely grateful to VPS and Finland for that.