Last Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin (69) held an event at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Once again he gave a speech and also commented on the invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin chief avoided the words “war” – and stuck to the term “special operation.” Pyrotechnics were also used in this production. A band was also playing. The letter “Z”, the military sign that has become the symbol of the attack on Ukraine, was also everywhere.
There were also numerous Russian athletes in the thick of it – including the Russian cross-country skiing star Alexander Bolschunov (25), who won three gold medals at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Unlike the other athletes, he tried to hide the “Z” as best he could. But just because of his presence, he was heavily criticized by his colleagues. The Norwegian cross-country skier Chris Jespersen was shocked in an interview with the newspaper “Verdens Gang”: “It’s just sick what’s going on there. I cursed when I saw that. When I see that, I just get mad. I can’t imagine seeing her again. If they take part in such an action, they should stay right there.”
Other colleagues have also joined the criticism: “It’s totally sick. It’s disgusting that the world has turned out like this again,” says Norwegian biathlete Holm Laegreid. One man doesn’t quite share that criticism, however: cross-country skier Tord Asle Gjerdalen said it’s easy to judge a two-time overall World Cup winner from afar. However, for him the question is much more to what extent “Bolschunov could have distanced himself. According to Laegreid, one can only imagine how strong one must be “to risk prison and much worse things when one is as well known as Bolshunov.” That’s why the Norwegian didn’t want to judge him.
