Mother of fencer Bida: son wanted to resign from the Russian Guard, but was refused
The Russian fencer Sergei Bida, who was put on the wanted list by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, wanted to resign from the Russian Guard and tried to do so several times. The details were revealed by his mother Elena Grishina.
The woman said that the National Guard refused to dismiss her son several times. At the same time, Bida had permission to leave the country from the Ministry of Sports. Grishina clarified that the lists were compiled by the head coach of the Russian national team, Ilgar Mamedov. They also went to the Russian Guard, since other fencers were present there. There was a similar list at the Ministry of Defense, where they signed.
So Sergei had official permission to leave until the end of this year, which is why he was not stopped at the border. Therefore, Sergei was absolutely not worried. He planned to leave, have surgery and possibly come back
Bide and his wife face up to ten years in prison
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has put Bid’s fencers, Sergei and his wife Violetta, on the wanted list for leaving without permission for the United States. They were active officers of the Russian Guard when they left Russia without permission to move to California in 2023.
Sergei was a member of Dynamo Moscow and had the rank of ensign of the Russian Guard, while Violetta Bida was an active service member of the Ministry of Defense in the capital’s CSKA. According to available information, in the United States, the couple took part in competitions without the consent of the Russian side, which was a violation of the regulations and made them subjects of criminal prosecution.
Photo: Maxim Polyakov / Kommersant
According to the Shot Telegram channel, they face up to ten years in prison under Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Unauthorized abandonment of a unit or place of service”).
Bida’s relatives cited health problems as the reason for the fencer’s departure
Sergei Bida’s grandfather, two-time Olympic medalist Boris Grishin, said that his grandson went to the States to work. According to him, he received an offer from friends a long time ago, and now he trains children.
He cited the athlete’s serious health problems as another reason for leaving. Grishin noted that the fencer’s vertebrae had been regularly popping out in recent years, and the situation was aggravated by a knee injury. Grishin also confirmed that the grandson had permission to leave Russia. According to him, Bida received a call from the director of the academy in California and said that he urgently needed to go there through Serbia. His mother also spoke about her son’s health problems. She clarified that Sergei could not get an American visa at home, and therefore he had to go to Istanbul and then to Belgrade.
He left for the USA with documents stating that he needed to undergo an operation. He formalized everything through his father and gave all the documents to the Russian Guard. There were also medical certificates stating that he needed surgery on his knee and that he was looking for a clinic
In July 2023, the US Fencing Federation announced the participation of athletes in the national championship
Then, along with their spouses, epee fencer Oleg Knysh and saber fencer Konstantin Lokhanov, who is the ex-husband of two-time Olympic champion Sofia Pozdnyakova, were entered. At the same time, several conditions had to be met – athletes must condemn the actions of Russia and Belarus and not show affiliation with Russia or Belarus at competitions.
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Sergei Bida is a silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the team epee fencing tournament. He also became the European champion three times in the team. Violetta Bida has silver medals at the World Championships and the European Championships in the team epee tournament.
Source: Lenta
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
