Dylan Bettencourt
Nadya Karpova is one of the few Russian athletes to have spoken out against their country’s invasion of Ukraine, a war of choice ordered by President Vladimir Putin.
Fedor Smolov and Aleksandr Sobolev posted anti-war messages a few days after the invasion, but Karpova is so far the only female footballer to voice her dissent. And she consistently speaks out against the operation on social media.
The 27-year-old currently lives in Barcelona where she plays for Espanyol.
“I can’t just look at this inhumanity and stay silent. I don’t know what would happen if I was in Russia and not in Spain, but I feel a special responsibility to speak out,” she told BBC Sport.
Karpova has featured 24 times for the Russian national team, including her appearances at the last European Championships five years ago.
The footballer isn’t shy about speaking out against Putin’s war, despite a new law in her home country which bans the spreading of “fake news” about the military and carries a punishment of 15 years in prison.
“Russian propaganda is trying to persuade Russians that we are a very special nation and the whole world is against us and our unique mission,” she said.
“What unique mission are you talking about? I don’t think that Russians are special. At the same time, I am not ashamed to be Russian because Russia doesn’t consist of only the government and Vladimir Putin.”
Russia will not be able to compete when the Euros begin this month as they were handed sanctions by both Fifa and Uefa.
Karpova said that Putin stole the future of Russian athletes.
“Putin took everything from us, he took our future,” she said.
The striker was joined by Ukrainian Tamila Khimich at Espanyol in March.
“When I first met with her, she looked at me cautiously as if she was not sure if I was pro-war and considered Ukrainians enemies,” Karpova said.
“I wanted to cry. I was thinking about her family and friends, and if they are okay. It was such a horrible feeling to understand that she could lose loved ones.”
Karpova hopes more athletes will follow in her footsteps and speak out against the injustices in Ukraine.
Image source: @PinkNews
