Although he doesn’t remember much about the Soviet Union growing up, Aleksander Lesun’s childhood years were spent admiring his nation’s sporting achievements. Born in Barysaw, in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, he has dual citizenship in Belarus and Russia, but carries a Russian passport.
“I was proud to compete under the Russian flag,” the 33-year-old modern pentathlete says. “My grandmother is Russian, I have a lot of relatives in Russia.
“Russia was always something dear to my heart, something strong, great. And I am not talking about politics or the army, I am talking about people, about natural beauty. I always felt connected to it.”
Lesun became an Olympic champion in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. He has won 14 medals, four of them gold for Russia at various World Championships.
But those days representing Russia are no longer. Lesun denounced the ‘Ukraine conflict’ and vowed to never compete under the Russian flag again.
“I quit all my sports positions on February 22 and in two days all the events began,” he told BBC Sport.
He says his decision was impulsive.
Lesun, who turns 34 in July, has effectively retired. He knows his career is basically over after his decision to turn his back on Putin and Russia. He feels isolated and helpless, but has no regrets.
Despite being one of the few prominent Russian athletes to speak out against the conflict in Ukraine, he had still decided to withdraw from his various positions with the sport in order to show his opposition.
Due to the risks involved in speaking out, many people have been detained during anti-war protests. A new law in Russia prevents people from referring to the country’s actions in Ukraine as a war.
“The situation inside Russia is becoming extremely severe.
“Before you might have been detained for 15 days for taking part in a ‘no war’ public protest. Now it can be up to three years. Or even 15 years for some other kinds of protest.”
“Sportspeople in Russia are like a tool. A tool of propaganda. Of course, every person should decide for themselves what to do. OK - but now they will need to live with it.
I am sorry to admit that Russian sportspeople can’t influence the situation. And a lot of them do not even understand what is happening.”
However after his comments with the BBC Lesun walked back some of his quotes saying they may have been out of context, claiming his words were distorted and that his retirement had nothing to do with Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
“The vector [angle] is strongly shifted in this material, and I’m shocked by this,” Lesun told Match TV.
“It seems like my words, but the journalists have shifted the vector of my statements. I just said that in February I ended my sports career, and that I don’t want to compete in the modern pentathlon anymore.
“This has nothing to do with the operation in Ukraine. I didn’t refuse to compete for Russia because of the political situation.
“I ended my career because of what’s happening in the world of modern pentathlon in general, [and] because of personal aspects associated with our federation.
“I used to live in Belarus, I came to Russia, and it was Russia that made me an Olympic champion, it was the Russian coaching staff. I understand that perfectly.”