All news
On moral and forceful
On October 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin flew to Ufa, where, before holding a meeting of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture, he met with young fencers and Paralympic athletes, veterans of special combat operations who had lost their arms and legs in the Northern Military District. and sports. Details from Ufa - Kommersant correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov.
The fencing center in Ufa is not impressive. It is unlikely that Moscow or any other Russian city will have a hall of this size. The head coach of the Bashkortostan women's fencing team, Yegor Popov, assured that, at least, there is nothing like it anywhere.
- Where were you looking? - I definitely did.
— Do you see the two twisted rapiers at the central entrance? (Yes, I saw them. The entrance is about 30 meters high. — A.K.) I saw this in a French city. But we never dreamed of something like this.
- So, who personally did you give the gift to? - I asked Yegor Popov.
- Me? - He seemed surprised. - Well, at least Olympic champion Adelina Zagidullina! I didn't become a champion myself, but at least she became a champion.
- So you are his personal trainer?
"Yes." He nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then admitted, "And my husband, too."
- Wake up! Close combat! - Their coach gave the command to the girls who were already fencing on the track (I, of course, also stood up) and saw that the presidential assistant for sports, Alexey Dyumin, entered the hall.
“And you,” I asked him, “are you putting up a fence?”
"No." Alexey Dyumin answered firmly. "But if they say so, they can do it."
It was clear that one person might talk to him for a specific reason.
Well, in response to my question, Yegor Popov said that, just in case, the girls had been fencing this morning since 8:30 (the clock then read 19:20). “They are athletes,” the coach explained to me.
I was talking to one of the girls. She is sixteen, and eight of them are fencers. Why? What is so special? I was trying to understand.
— I don’t understand either. She shrugged. “I quit gymnastics.” I quit swimming and hapkido. There are many others. I did everything.
- What's wrong with fencing? - I asked.
No, she couldn't answer. Then another girl came up and spoke as if she had heard our conversation.
- Amazing sensations. There are no others like them anywhere. You won't understand.
It is unlikely that Vladimir Putin would have guessed this either. He spent about three minutes in the hall.
- Can I take a photo with you? - A brave young man, one of two girls out of a dozen, found out about it from him.
As is known, Mr. Putin takes "photography" seriously. He prepares the shots himself, mostly with his participation, so the background is decent, everyone can fit in. Now everything was as before.
A few minutes later, the next event began in the neighboring building of the Lima Batalova Sports Training Center. Here, Vladimir Putin was waiting for the Paralympic athletes who had lost their arms and legs during the special operation. I went out onto the volleyball court a minute before President Vladimir Putin.
Several players in red shirts stood hugging each other in the center of the room. It took me a while to realize that they were hugging not because they missed each other, but because not everyone had prosthetic arms and these people weren't alone for long.
They were asked to stand closer, and several players in wheelchairs, with amazing coordination, jumped together and stood behind them, as if they did this every day. Now everything looked as it should have been. The president entered.
"What happens in combat can't stop you from living your life," he said. "Our Paralympians are achieving great results." Yes, they are not allowed to play and the sport is politicized, but people like you seem to be motivated to win.
You could tell they nodded enthusiastically.
“Previously, everything worked out (judging by the changed faces, I was not sure of this. - A.K.), and for those who did not succeed, the fact that they went through such a crucible of trials and not next to them, but here, in this beautiful hall,” the President continued: “This is important... I am sure that this will bring a new life to some people.
It was worth it, he explained to them. It was not all in vain.
We had to try to convince them of this.
"I am a veteran of the Northern Army. "We are very happy to welcome you." One of the players, an older man, said: "We would like to thank you for not forgetting us..."
If I hadn't realized at some point that he had a prosthetic leg instead of one, I would have said that he was shifting from one foot to the other.
"I was in the hospital..." he said. "I have no legs..." I feel like my life is over...
He looked around the room and his colleagues. He hesitated and chose his words. It seemed to me that it was impossible to find him.
- Last year I won first place in the cup. And this too... So!.. - He shrugged.
"Have you ever played sports before?" the president asked him.
- Thank you! - He became emotional. - Thank you for not forgetting us.
He had already said this and wanted to repeat it.
President Vladimir Putin responded: "I will remember this for the rest of my life."
They asked permission to start the volleyball game, he gave his blessing, took a photo with them and moved on.
They were sitting and playing volleyball. Everyone's hands were fine. "Udmurtia" versus "Sverdlovsk Oblast".
This was something you had to see. This is exactly what you need. That's all.