– I have become more depressed and more pessimistic than optimistic now. But at the same time, it has become easier to make decisions. Because what is there to be afraid of? It is unlikely to get worse, says Konstantin Lokhanov. The outbreak of war changed his life completely. Three years ago he participated in the Summer Olympics for Russia. Since then, he has made a choice that has been described as a scandal in his home country, right up to people in the Russian National Assembly. – I didn’t want to take part in this, and I still don’t want to, says Lokhanov about the war and what is going on in Russia. IN EXILE: Konstantin Lokhanov is one of the athletes who has left Russia after his homeland’s invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Zach Stauffer / Zach Stauffer “What’s wrong with you?” Through a Nordic collaboration with the 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. The fencer Konstantin Lokhanov (25) is one of them. Several thousand kilometers from his home country, he welcomes news. In a hall in San Diego, California, Konstantin is now a trainer for children. From his exile in the USA, he talks about how he felt little freedom in Russia. – I remember well the reaction I got when I dyed my hair in Moscow. “What have you done? What is wrong with you?”. I didn’t see any problems with it. I wanted to dye my hair. Why couldn’t I?, he says. Photo: Konstantin Lokhanov’s Instagram In Russia, it doesn’t take much to break current norms and rules. – For example, being judged for hair color and painted nails, says Konstantin, who tattooed “Liberty” on his forearm after arriving in the USA. TATTOO: After arriving in the United States, Konstantin tattooed “Liberty” on his forearm. – You can go and buy coffee in a dressing gown and slippers. Nobody here cares about such things, he adds. At the same time, life has been turned upside down in recent years. Because in Russia he was much more than just an athlete. Powerful family “The most beautiful couple” the Russian newspaper Sport Ekspress called Konstantin and Sofia Pozdnjakova, after they were married in 2020. HUGE: Konstantin married into a powerful family in 2020. Here is a picture from the wedding celebration that year. Photo: Privat The following year, Sofia won two Olympic golds in Tokyo. The star status increased. But there was also another reason why the fencing couple received attention in their home country. For Konstantin’s wife was also the daughter of Stanislav Pozdnjakov, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee. The former fencer with four Olympic gold medals is one of the most powerful people in Russian sports. And he is also listed as a lieutenant colonel in the Russian army. GOLDEN HERO: Sofia Pozdnjakov with her father and president of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnjakov. This was taken after Sofia won gold in fencing at the 2021 Olympics. Photo: SipaUSA – Everything was fine until a certain moment. Before the war. Then our views on life differed, says Konstantin about his relationship with his wife. Tough period When he got on the plane to Germany on a February day in 2022, he knew nothing about the drama that was to unfold just a few hours later. He was the Russian great talent, who quit early and went home disappointed from the Olympics in Tokyo. He had not achieved his dream during the fencing competitions in Japan. DISAPPOINTED: Konstantin Lokhanov (th) during one of the games during the Olympics in Tokyo. The games were a disappointment for him. Photo: AP Then he suffered a serious injury to his hip. To save his career and his commitment to the Olympics in Paris, he went to Germany to undergo surgery. This journey would change his life. Because the next day it rained. – On the morning of February 24, I woke up. There were approximately “10 million” messages on my phone, says Konstantin. Russian forces had invaded Ukraine. The rehabilitation lasted several months in Germany after the operation. Photo: Privat Afterwards he stated that he could not live in a country that killed innocent Ukrainians. – The day after the war started, I decided that I would not go back. Finished. I decided this quickly, says Konstantin in the hall in San Diego. The choice to go to the United States would later become very controversial in his home country. He says that some of the messages he received were about him being a traitor and that he had to die. Russian athletes and the Olympics in Paris Some Russian and Belarusian athletes will be able to participate in the Summer Olympics under a neutral flag and without a national anthem. The IOC’s decision has caused debate and reactions internationally. This is due to Russia and Belarus’s warfare in Ukraine. Neutral athletes from the two countries cannot compete in team sports, only in individual sports. Several demands are placed on these neutral athletes. Among other things, they are said not to have shown active support for the war in Ukraine and not to have military contracts. They must also have qualified for the Games through international competitions. As of today, there are 27 Russian athletes and 29 athletes from Belarus who are qualified for the Olympics. These athletes must go through approval from the IOC before they get the final go-ahead. The Summer Olympics in Paris will be held from July 26-10. August. Separated ways According to Lokhanov, there were several reasons why the marriage broke up, but the war was the triggering factor. Konstantin tried to bring his wife Sofia with him, as he had decided not to return to his homeland. But when he went to the United States, after four months of rehabilitation in Germany, his wife remained at home in Russia. BIG CASE IN THE MEDIA: The breakup between Konstantin and Sofia led to reports in the Russian media, when the case became known on 5 September 2022 through sources. Photo: Faksimile vzsar.ru Ex-wife Sofia herself has said that she weighed the pros and cons of what her family and the fencing community meant to her, before she made her choice. – I understood that I couldn’t just travel. We discussed it for a long time. And one morning I woke up and knew that the choice had been made, said Sofia in an interview with former Olympic winner Anna Sishkina, on her YouTube channel. SEPARATE WAYS: Sofia has said that divorce was the only option when she chose to stay in Russia. Photo: Private Ridiculed by father-in-law In September of that year, the breakup hit the news. The case spread in the major Russian media. His powerful father-in-law also confirmed the divorce and made a comment that showed he had little left for his son-in-law. – I think her upbringing and love for the motherland meant that Sofia did not share the sad fate of frightened lovers of raspberry frappe and yellow scooters, Stanislav Pozdnjakov told Russian Match TV. There was little doubt that the head of the Olympic Games in Russia expressed disdain for those who enjoy the colorful and popular frappucinos. Granted that Constantine was one of these and that it was not particularly manly. DOESN’T UNDERSTAND THE MEANING: Konstantin struggled to understand the raspberry frappé statement to his ex-father-in-law. Here he is in his new hometown of San Diego. Photo: Zach Stauffer / Zach Stauffer But several attacked Konstantin’s choice. Among them was Roman Terjushkov, a representative in the Russian national assembly, the Duma. He thought the exiled Russian lacked education. When asked if he was surprised that the case became such a big scandal, Konstantin replies “no”. – Those who engage in politics must shout loudly that there are other traitors or dissidents. When a suitable opportunity presented itself, all this was leaked to the press. I was not surprised by this. It was only a matter of time when they would do it, says Konstantin. Now it is out of the question for him to return to his home country. – In Russia, people try to stay out of politics until “politics itself catches up with people”. In America it is the other way around. Here everyone is involved in politics. People decide how to live. If people disagree, they show it, says Konstantin. UKRAINIAN FLAG: Konstantin himself posted a photo in which he posed with the Ukrainian flag, in connection with a competition in the USA last year. Photo: Private “Remember what happened to Trotsky” Several fencers from the Olympic squad in Tokyo have done as Lokhanov did and left their home country. Among other things, it concerned Segej Bida, who won silver in the Games three years ago, and his wife. – They knew that the chances of competing in the Olympics would be much lower, says lawyer Jack Wiener to news. He has worked for the Russian fencers to get the opportunity at the Olympics in Paris without success. He points out that the fencers left because they strongly disagreed with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to the state-run Russian agency TASS, Bida and his wife have been put on a wanted list by the Russian Ministry of the Interior. According to the Russian media, the accusation is that they have competed in the American championship without the Russian authorities’ prior approval. – Several Russian officers, people from the government and sports have said negative things and threatened things. There have been comments such as: “They should remember what happened to Trotsky when he left”. We all know the story, Wiener says of the former Russian revolutionary leader Lev Trotsky, who was killed in Mexico in 1940 after being expelled from Russia 11 years earlier. OLYMPIC HOPE: Konstantin’s hope of participating in the Paris Olympics has vanished for him. Therefore, he is not betting on elite level at the moment. He now hopes that he can participate in the Olympics in Los Angeles in four years. Photo: Zach Stauffer / Zach Stauffer Ane Tusvik Bonde is a political advisor at the human rights organization Amnesty. She says on a general basis that people who speak out against the war, or spread information about what is happening in Ukraine, risk prison for having spread false information about Russian forces, if they travel back to Russia. – There is also a danger that it could happen to Konstantin if he returns to Russia, says Tusvik Bonde and adds: – Whether there is a danger in speaking out while you are in exile depends on how important a voice the authorities believe to be you are. In April, it was announced that Russian fencing will not participate in the Games. Among the athletes who were banned from competing anyway was Lokhanov’s ex-wife Sofia. The Russian Fencing Federation now states to news, YLE and SVT that they have nothing against Konstantin leaving Russia in favor of the USA. President Ilgar Mamedov says Konstantin behaved decently and submitted a resignation, adding that all people are free to choose their own path without condemnation from others. Konstantin himself has realized that the Olympics in Paris will go ahead without him. – I want my students to win the upcoming championship in the USA. I myself want to get citizenship, start fencing and combine it with my job. When these are achieved, the possibility opens up to have slightly bigger dreams, says Konstantin.
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They were a celebrity couple in Russia – Then the war turned the marriage into a national scandal – Sport Langlesing
