Former Ukrainian national team gymnast Vlada Nikolchenko got into a scandal with her statements when she responded to the speech of Ekaterina Motrich, the wife of the deceased military man and actor Yuriy Felipenko.
She posted her thoughts in a story on her Instagram page.
Also, in correspondence with another gymnast, Maria Vysochanskaya, she called a fragment of Motrich’s speech at Felipenko’s funeral “a f***er.”
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Nikolchenko on the language issue
The former gymnast recorded recorded recorded two short videos with her thoughts. She started by saying that she could have remained silent, but decided to speak out.
— You know, I could keep quiet, but I will speak out. Now someone will throw tomatoes, eggs at me, write me a letter. Please, do it already. But I just don’t understand people who have been stirring up this language scandal for so many years.
Like, those who speak Russian are not people at all. They should be thrown out of the country, stripped of their citizenship. Of course, we have freedom of speech. Everyone speaks as they see fit. For me, frankly speaking, it’s just f***ing annoying (I’m fed up, — Ed. ), she said.
Nikolchenko said that she communicates very well in Ukrainian, as well as in Russian. She noted that she is from Kharkov and learned Ukrainian when the war began.
According to her, she was in a relationship where she spoke Ukrainian in everyday life. Therefore, as Vlada noted, it does not matter to her which language she spoke.
— That's not the problem. The problem is that with this “forced transition to the Ukrainian language” with this dispersal of the conflict, you yourself discourage the desire to switch to any language. Do you understand that? But this is just some kind of horror, honestly. It pissed me off today, — she said.
Nikolchenko added that she unsubscribed from the person and “felt better.”
After a wave of hate towards her because of these statements, Vlada published a statement in her stories, in which she called it a “human factor.”
She stated that she was a person who “did nothing to anyone.”
— Just think about it… People, wake up! These are such trifles today — missiles are flying over our heads, people are dying, and you are ready to rip out the throat of your own countrywoman because of her language. Are you serious? — she wrote.
Nikolchenko stated that such reactions with hate are ridiculous and called for “not to disgrace the country.”
Screenshot: Instagram/Vlada Nikolchenko
Vysochanskaya's reaction to Nikolchenko's words
Another former gymnast, Maria Vysochanskaya, responded to Nikolchenko's statements. She noted that she did not want to raise this issue publicly, but the circumstances require it.
— This is a quote from a woman who buried her husband today. And here is a person's reaction to this message. How do you like this reaction? Therefore, get rid of not only Russian, but also such garbage, I'm not afraid of this word, in your information space.
You should keep your position that no one needs to you to yourself and definitely not broadcast it to the audience if you are already back in Ukraine, Vysochanskaya wrote.
Vysochanskaya also noted that Nikolchenko wrote “f**k” in response to her post with Motrich’s words at Felipenko’s funeral, posting a screenshot of the correspondence.
Screenshot: Maria Visochanska
Screenshot: Maria Visochanska
Screenshot: Maria Visochanska
Vlada Nikolchenko retired in May 2024 at the age of 21.
She is a prize-winner of various international tournaments. In particular, she won bronze at Euro 2019 and bronze at the 2019 World Cup. It is also not the first time that she has found herself in scandals because of her statements.
