Zhan Beleniuk celebrated his Olympic victory in Tokyo last summer. Now the wrestling star interviewed by Sport is working in the Ukrainian parliament and trying to defend its country from Russian invasion.
– The Russian authorities claim that Ukraine is full of Nazis. As a dark-skinned Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, I am a living example that this is an absurd lie.
Wrestling Olympic winner Zhan Beleniuk, 31, has repeated that sentence frequently in recent weeks. The Ukrainian sports star and member of the country’s parliament have fought against the Russian regime’s propaganda by recalling its own story.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin has justified its military action in Ukraine, inter alia, on the grounds that it was intended to rescue Russian – speaking citizens from the Ukrainian Nazis. According to Putin, instead of war, there is a special operation in Ukraine to secure peace.
– I feel like people have become zombies. They believe incomprehensible lies that do not describe, even to a small extent, the state of our country. I don’t know how to even believe that, Beleniuk in Kiev tells Sport through a video call.
– One hundred percent of the population cannot be Nazis. Attempts are being made to serve this war as important and necessary for the Russians. At the same time, it is concealing the fact that ordinary citizens are being killed here, several cities are being destroyed, a humanitarian catastrophe is being caused and innocent civilians are being prevented from fleeing war zones.
Born in Kiev, Beleniuk has a Ukrainian mother and a Rwandan father. Father trained as a pilot in Kiev Vincent went to Rwanda in the early 1990s to fight in the country’s civil war. He never returned to Ukraine but died in a car accident in 2001.
Beleniuk grew up in poor conditions in Ukraine, raised by his mother and grandmother. At the age of nine, he became passionate about basketball and wrestling. Basketball was left out, but Greco-Roman wrestling made Beleniuk one of Ukraine’s most popular athletes. Beleniuk won numerous medals in his career, the brightest of which are the 2015 and 2019 World Championships and the Olympic gold won in Tokyo last summer.
In 2019, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi asked Beleniuk to join his People’s Servant Party. Beleniuk agreed on the condition that he be allowed to focus on the Tokyo Olympics, where he aspired to the first Olympic gold of his career.
Today, Beleniuk is responsible for the development of Ukrainian sports and youth sports in his party, which are close to the heart of Zelensky, who is recognized as an avid athlete. In addition, Beleniuk is a member of the Ukrainian parliament.
“Our rulers have not escaped anywhere”
Beleniuk has openly said that the dark-skinned athlete and MP has not been in the minds of all Ukrainians. However, he stresses that these have been isolated cases and occasional racist shouts.
– The same is happening in every country. The Ukrainian community is tolerant. Ukrainians welcome people who come here with a good attitude. It’s a different matter if we come here with military equipment and automatic weapons to kill our citizens, he says.
According to Beleniuk, the large-scale attack launched by Russia less than two weeks ago has welded the Ukrainians together even harder.
– People are focused on defending our country, no matter where they come from and what language they speak. Our Russian-speaking and Ukrainian-speaking citizens hate the Kremlin and Russia for all the suffering they have caused us these days. I could not have imagined, even in the worst nightmare, that such aggression would be possible.
Beleniuk is currently in Kiev, where he coordinates volunteer activities, organizes food distribution in the city, and distributes information to citizens and outside Ukraine. The Ukrainian parliament last met a few days ago, now MPs have left across the country.
– My family has left the city, but I wanted to stay to take care of the athletes who are still here. I try to be useful in delivering food and goods to the front, Beleniuk says.
– It has been claimed in Russian propaganda that our president has flown the country and MEPs have left the citizens to their own devices. I want to show that our rulers have not escaped anywhere. I feel that my presence in Kiev gives the soldiers faith and strength. We are now spending all our time defending the capital.
The war, which lasted less than two weeks, has already had a terrible price at this point. Many Ukrainian cities have been destroyed, several hundred civilians have died and nearly two million people have fled Ukraine.
– I can’t imagine how long it will take us to repair all the damage we see now. How much time it takes to rebuild cities, how much time it takes for a nation to learn to live with what has happened and get back on its feet. The father of one friend died of a heart attack, the father of another friend had a heart attack… People lose much of their health due to stress and panic. My mother didn’t eat or drink for a couple of days and didn’t want to talk to anyone. What happened to him was a complete shock, Beleniuk says.
Beleniuk has called on the international sports community to play its part in stopping the Russian regime. He is pleased that the sports world has reacted strongly to what has happened.
– We are supported by the whole world of sports, except for Russian athletes, Beleniuk says.
The majority of Russian athletes have remained silent about the current world situation. A few like the volleyball legend Jekaterina Gamova and a former hammer thrower Sergei Litvinov have strongly condemned the actions of their country’s administration, but among them are equally sporting names in favor of President Vladimir Putin. These include, for example, the two-time Olympic champion wrestler Roman Vlasovwho recently posted a statement in support of the Russian army on his Instagram account.
Beleniuk replied to his button colleague in a loud tone on social media.
– Roman Vlasov, if you are told to sit in a tank and drive here to “save” us, do not refuse. We will meet here, Beleniuk wrote.
– People in favor of Putin have lost the respect of the Ukrainians. I don’t think some Russians value them either. Supporting such a criminal regime says a person doesn’t even respect themselves, he says now.
Beleniuk says he understands the reasons for the silence of Russian and Belarusian athletes. Many fear losing not only their jobs but their freedom.
– But when you face what is happening in Ukraine now, it is a much bigger thing than a job or a prison sentence. I would like everyone to come to the public with their opinions to end this harshness. I do not understand the point of this war. This is pure destruction of the Ukrainian people.