Former Russian biathlete Olga Podchufarova in an interview with , she said that while in Slovenia she was very upset with the uncertainty about her future, until she realized she would be turned down by the authorities of a European country.
From 2019 to 2021, the athlete tried to become a citizen of Slovenia, but did not get what she wanted and returned to Russia.
– You once said that you bet a lot on the failure of the transition to Slovenia and that you failed. How psychologically difficult was the refusal to obtain Slovenian citizenship for you?
– If you remember, I waited for a solution to my problem for more than a year and a half. Was all this time in Pokljuka. Naturally, every day thoughts of what was happening swarmed in my head, I was in endless expectation. And it was very stressful. It is difficult not to know how everything will end, even more difficult – what happens at all. However, people get used to everything, and I have adapted to ignorance. And about a month before returning to Russia, she began to understand: the probability of obtaining citizenship is low.
A series of denials over the documents followed, although at first they were successfully accepted. After the global pandemic, something changed in the Slovenian leadership, new papers and certificates had to be submitted, everything went with great difficulty. It became clear that it was time to go home.
This month in Pokljuka, from where even its few inhabitants left, allowed me to close many questions in myself, to live everything in private. It was not easy, but she came to Moscow collected and focused on the constructive. There were no psychoses, the evil remained in the Slovenian mountains. It’s a shame that I spent a lot of energy, but I reconciled myself and continued without thinking,” Podchufarova told .
– To obtain citizenship, you had to prove an income, but you could not obtain it without citizenship. Unless they marry a Slovenian. Have you considered this option?
– Neither real marriage nor fictitious marriage was envisaged in Slovenia. Someone joked about it, but that’s it. She didn’t even try, she did everything according to the rules.
– Because since childhood for the law?
– And so on. Because of education, principles. The manager of the Slovenian federation, who took care of me, is an honest person, an opponent of all tricks. In this we agreed. I think marriage should be contracted for love, not for a passport. From the start, I wasn’t going to fool anyone, my inner self was against it.
Podchufarova is the bronze medalist of the Mixed Relay World Championship. She announced her retirement last year.
Watch live broadcasts of the races of the Commonwealth Cup stage and the Russian Biathlon Championship on the channel, as well as on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.
Source : MatchTV
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