It has been almost four years since the 33-year-old rider had to make the difficult decision to leave everything behind; homeland, family and friends. Reason? She said out loud what she thought and what future she wanted for Belarus. – I had high hopes. Because it was a time for change. A time when people gathered and wanted to change our future for the better, she tells of the autumn of 2020. There were presidential elections in the country. Optimism was great, people wanted to overthrow Aleksandr Lukashenko, the man called Europe’s last dictator. – But it would turn out to be something completely different, says the dressage rider. Olga Safronova supported the democracy movement in her home country. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news Through a Nordic collaboration with broadcasters YLE and SVT, news has met several Russian and Belarusian athletes who have left their homeland, changed nationality or been persecuted, before this summer’s Olympics in Paris. – My best friend and first love We meet Olga Safronova in a stable outside Warsaw. The riding facility is state-of-the-art, everything is clean and freshly cleaned. She is here with what she calls her first love, a 16-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Sandro d’Amour. Sandro and Olga, together against the world. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news – He is my best friend, my “partner in crime” says Safronova, as she brushes and grooms her favorite horse. The day before the elections in Belarus, the two had just become Belarusian dressage champions. The Olympics in Tokyo were barely a year away, and the crew was qualified to participate there. Hopes for democracy are crushed The election in Belarus did not go as the democracy movement had hoped. Lukashenko declared himself the winner and claimed he received 80 percent of the vote. That was disputed by opposition leader Svjatlana Tsikhanouskaja, who said she had won with a clear majority. But she was forced into exile in Lithuania. In the streets, people demonstrated and there were riots. The police cracked down hard and tens of thousands of people were arrested. Opposition leader and presidential candidate Svjatlana Tsikanouskaja during the election campaign in 2020. Photo: AP Supporters of the opposition gather at Independence Square in the capital Minsk two weeks after the election. Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / AP Protesters carry an injured man during clashes with police in Minsk the day after the election. Photo: AP Riot police in Minsk and a protester. Photo: AP The opposition believes that President Aleksandr Lukashenko stole the election from the people. Photo: Sergei Grits / AP The photo with the banned flag Three days after the election, Olga Safronova posted a photo on Instagram. She and her husband Lev are on a sailboat. At the top of the picture, a red and white flag with a knight flies. The photo on Safronova’s Instagram account. Photo: olga_safronova_dressage – This is actually a historical flag, says project manager for Belarus in the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Aliaksandra Safonava. – And this flag became an important symbol of the resistance movement. Now it is completely, completely forbidden to show the flag, use it, even have it on the wall of your own apartment. If someone discovers it, then it’s prison, she elaborates. Aliaksandra Safonava, project manager for Belarus in the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. Photo: The Norwegian Helsinki Committee But Olga Safronova felt it was important to show her support for the people. – I wrote that love is stronger than fear. Love for one’s people and for one’s choice must prevail! And of course I am on the side of the people. But the Instagram post was to turn out to be fateful. Summoned to the Olympic director A few months passed. Safronova and the horse Sandro prepared for the big highlight the following year, namely the Olympics in Tokyo. But in November she was summoned to a meeting with the director of the Olympic Center for Equestrian Sports. He told her to delete the photo on Instagram. Safronova says that she refused, and that the director said that she then had to sign that her contract with the national team was terminated. – I signed it, but at the bottom I wrote that I wanted to know the reason why I was dismissed, why my contract was not extended. I was the reigning champion in Belarus and fully qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo, says Safronova. news has asked the Belarusian Equestrian Federation and the Olympic Center about their version of the story about Olga Safronova, but has not received an answer. Safronova knows Sandro inside out and knows whether he is healthy or not. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news – A theater Despite being kicked out of the national team, she continued to train, in the hope that she could still participate in the Olympics. In June 2021, a month before the opening ceremony, Sandro had to undergo a check-up at the vet. There she received a dramatic message: the horse was – according to the vets – lame, and unable to compete. – I was absolutely sure that this was not true, says Safronova. – Firstly, because I know my horse very well. Secondly, I already understood at that time that it was a theater where everyone had their role. The real reason was my political position, that I am against this regime, against this system, she continues. news has seen the report from the veterinarians at the Olympic center for equestrian sports. It says that the horse is lame. Screenshot of the report from the Olympic Center for Equestrian Sports of Belarus. Safronava refused to accept that Sandro could not compete, so she took the horse to a clinic in neighboring Poland. Barely two weeks after the check in Belarus, vet Maciej Przewoźny examined Sandro. He confirms what Safronova meant. – Sandro was not lame at this time, says Przewoźny to news. The Polish veterinarian thus came to a different conclusion than the Belarusian ones. Przewoźny adds that Sandro was not in his best form, but that could be due to stress, which is very common. It had some problems with very mild symptoms, says the vet. The Polish veterinarian confirms to news that Sandro was not lame in the weeks before the 2021 Olympics. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news A new life Safronava continued to use Instagram to express herself, and wrote about the two different veterinary examinations. Soon after, she received a phone call from home. For the safety of the caller, she will only say it was “a kind person” – I was informed that I could not go back, because it was not safe. And I no longer thought about the place in the Olympics. I started thinking about what I should do next in life. Olga Safronova and Lev Fedarovich had to start all over again in Poland. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news And the new life, it is here in Poland. Her husband Lev Fedarovich also got out of Belarus, and together the two had to build a new life from scratch. – It is very challenging to change countries, especially if you are forced to do so, says Fedarovich. The wife completely agrees. – I can’t say it was easy. It was a very difficult time because we had to start from scratch, says Safronova, and continues: – And it didn’t just apply to everyday life. My husband and I had to change residence, country and language. Olga Safranova and Lev Fedarovich have settled in Poland. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news The Olympic dream is alive Despite all the setbacks, Safronova never gave up her dream of the Olympics. Tokyo was no longer possible, she changed her focus and set herself the goal of qualifying for Paris 2024. She quickly got a humanitarian visa and residence permit in Poland, and a place on the national team. Last spring, she won an international competition and heard the Polish national anthem played for her for the first time. It was an emotional moment. – For the first few seconds I had the feeling that this was not happening to me. That it wasn’t for me. But then you realize that this is now your life. Safrona’s eyes go blank. – My national anthem is Belarusian, my flag is Belarusian. Now I am very proud because I can represent two countries. And everyone knows that I am a Polish athlete with Belarusian roots. I can represent my two countries. Risking prison But going back to your home country now is far too risky. – I am sure I will be put in prison, she says. Aliaksandra Safonava of the Helsinki Committee believes that freedom of expression no longer exists in Belarus. If you speak critically of the authorities, there will be serious consequences. – What will happen if Safronova travels back? – She is arrested. Not only because she had that picture on Instagram almost four years ago, and then had to leave the country, but also because she speaks loudly about it. She speaks to international media. She lets people know about what is happening in Belarus, answers the expert. – She will win many medals Olga Safronova thus shares a fate with opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaja. Both live in exile, and they have a mutual admiration for each other. – She is very important to me, says Safronova. – I think Svjatlana is very unique. And what she has overcome, and how she now represents our country on the international stage, pleases me, she says further. Safroanova with opposition leader Tsikhanouskaja. My first picture with the president, she writes about this picture. Photo: olga_safonova_dressage The two have met several times. Tsikhanouskaya is clear that sports profiles who stand up to the regime are important. She describes Olga Safronova as a prominent athlete. – I think she will win many medals with her beautiful animals, and contribute to change in Belarus, she says in an interview with SVT and news. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news For right now Safronova and Sandro are giving everything to be able to represent their new homeland Poland. The level is higher than in Belarus. According to Safronova, it is more professional, and the battle for the Olympic places tougher. The team has passed the requirements for the Olympics, and according to the Polish equestrian association, they are included as a reserve in the Olympic squad. But in equestrian sports, much is uncertain until the day of the competition, so there are opportunities to compete in Paris. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news The Olympic dream that was crushed three years ago is still alive. Safronova is betting on a happy ending. – Actually, this will be a very good end to this story and the start of the next one. It will be a fair ending, because I was deprived of what I should have received. At the same time, it is the start of my new story as a person who has participated in the Olympics, and as a person who has fulfilled his dream and opened the way forward.
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Olga Safronova, rider from Belarus, criticized the regime and lost her Olympic place and life in her home country – Sport Langlesing
