Former football player Yevgeny Savin received the stamp of a traitor after condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine. At the same time, the majority of Russian athletes have turned their attention to the suffering of the neighboring people, writes Jelena Leppänen.
29.4. 10:51 • Updated April 29th. 11:24
– If, with the help of this video, even one of the Russians begins to suspect the story told to him or change his or her view, it is already a good thing.
Captain of the Ukrainian national football team Andri Jarmolenko explained with these words to the citizens of the country why he agreed to a Russian football blogger Yevgeny Savin as the protagonist of a documentary he made.
They talk about the effects of the war, which lasted more than two months, on themselves, their neighbors and the people of Ukraine as a whole. The documentary, filmed across Europe, also hears Ukrainian refugees and a swimmer who have left the country. Oleksandr Golovkoa.
Savin’s documentary has been not only socially and humanly significant but also popular. YouTube video from well-known video bloggers has garnered more than 1.2 million views. It is also an exceptionally bold statement at a time when a large part of the Russian sports community is remaining silent or raving about the war that started the offensive. Vladimir Putinia supporting events.
Savin knew he could say goodbye to his position in Russian sports circles and his carefree life. According to him, he did it in order to look his children in the eye.
The name of Jevgeni Savinin, 38, probably doesn’t say much to Finnish sports fans, but in Russia, a former main-level footballer has become a popular media figure after his sports career that ended in 2015.
Savin, who previously worked as a football commentator for Match TV, among others, has provided entertaining sports analysis and in-depth interviews with footballers on his KraSava video channel, but none of them have been nearly as effective as the one we saw a week ago.
It was also noted by Russian government officials, whose response to the documentary, which gathered millions of people, was as turbulent as expected.
The most advanced was Savin’s former employer, the state channel Match TV, which dedicated Savin to a section of the talk show called Judas from YouTube. Episode presenter Anton Anisimov expressed a willingness to spit Savin on his face. A sports manager called a panelist Darja Shishkanova hoped to send a “traitor” to Siberia. The TV show was such a harsh bar rally that it was criticized by even some of the supporters of the Russian authorities.
Savi also learned that not all Russians wanted to accept his message about what was happening in Ukraine. Over the past week, football figures have been accused of being a traitor bribed by Ukrainians, a disseminator of Ukrainian propaganda and an opportunist seeking a sweet life in Europe.
Even on the same day after the publication of the document, the football club Krasava, owned by Savin, was no longer allowed into the Krasnogorsk stadium. The third-highest team has played their home game there so far.
Hardly any of this came as a surprise to Savin.
He knew he could say goodbye to his position in Russian sports circles and his carefree life after his statement. He said he did it so he could look his children in the eye in the future.
During the war, which lasted more than two months, it has become clear what the climate of fear is like in Russia. Sport is no exception, although numerous Ukrainian athletes who have spoken about the horrors of war have demanded from their Russian colleagues even some kind of show of solidarity. Their requests have resonated in deaf ears.
– I know what Russian footballers think of Putin. They are well aware of the kind of government in their country. I am not asking them to bark at their president, but they should speak out and demand an end to the war. The Russians are following them, they are role models for millions of people. However, no one has answered me, Jarmolenko, who approached his Russian colleagues, says in a documentary about Savin.
Savin, who is extremely well networked in football circles, says in his documentary that the majority of Russian football stars oppose current events, but still remain silent. Many are driven by the fear that life would become much worse or even impossible in Russia after the statement.
Yet Savin himself took that risk. It gives a totally ignorant, indifferent, even cowardly picture of many sports superstars. Savin is, of course, a well-known figure in Russia, but as an influencer of sports and opinion, he is nowhere near the same caliber as many heroes admired by the Russians. Alexander Ovetshkin and the captain of the national football team Artyom Juban such names.
Their ability to exercise their voice is in very different spheres than ordinary citizens in a closed society, thanks to their great publicity, popularity and financial resources. This has been pointed out by several experts familiar with Russia ‘s power structures, such as TSN (switch to another service) interviewed in March, an investigative journalist familiar with Russian intelligence Andrei Soldatov.
Soldatov commented at the time what it would mean for Alexander Ovetshkin to change his profile picture on Instagram. Ovetshkin poses in his profile picture with Putin.
– I am a little tired of the argument that changing the picture would be too dangerous for Ovetshkin. He is a public figure, and God forbid, Russia is not (at least not yet) Stalin Soviet Union. Thousands of people take to the streets to protest almost every day. My friends and colleagues have opposed the war and they are not afraid, although it is much more dangerous for them, Soldatov said.
Savin interviews Ukrainian football coach piloting Moscow Dinamo Andri Voroniniawho is a friend of Ovetshkin. Voronin says he’s talked to a hockey player lately, but doesn’t want to comment further.
Russian sports stars have allowed the country’s propaganda machinery to paint its own picture of what is happening in Ukraine and the rest of the world. Some athletes like the world champion in swimming Yevgeny Rylov and won the cross-country gold medal in Beijing Veronika Stepanovahave publicly supported Putin and his regime.
Silence has come at a price.
The war has torn the bonds of family and friendship in the sports community. Savin’s documentary talks about a Ukrainian football legend Anatoly of Timoshtshukwhose father serves in the Ukrainian Defense Forces in Lutsk.
Timoshtshuk, who works as an assistant coach for St. Petersburg’s Zenit, has continued his life in Russia and declined to comment on Russia’s actions in Ukraine. In retaliation, the Ukrainian Football Association revoked the Ukrainian coaching license of the former national team star and the titles awarded to him for his football career.
Former professional player fighting in the Ukrainian army Oleksandr Aliyev again, his parents living in Russia do not believe his words about the consequences of the war. According to the parents, the Russians have come to Ukraine to liberate the country from the Nazis and the atrocities seen in Butsha are caused by Ukraine.
There are countless examples of one of the saddest breaks.
Great heroes
Top athletes have been painted heroic stories for decades because of their workload, dedication and skills. The popularity of Juba and Ovetshkin is largely due to their ability to pave their way through adversity to victors.
Honor is justified in many ways, but sometimes in life there are times when human values and humanity rise above sport. The events in Ukraine are one very painful example of this.
A sports audience that loves records, goals, and great emotions can ask themselves which one is the greater hero in the end. Alexander Ovetshk, or a national-level ex-futar who has been branded a traitor in his homeland for publicly calling for an end to war and suffering, has made more than 1,500 power points in the NHL and actively supported Putin’s presidential campaign.