June 16, 2022

A Soccer Star Speaks Out


A Soccer Star Speaks Out
Karpova plays for the Russian national team in 2017. Facebook, Nadya Karpova

On June 7, 2022, soccer player Nadya Karpova became the first professional Russian athlete to come out as a lesbian woman. Karpova had already made a name for herself as the only professional Russian athlete to openly and consistently condemn Putin's invasion of Ukraine

Karpova tried to conceal her sexuality as a young player. When she was readying to sign her first professional contract at 18, the owner of the WFC Rossiyanka Russian women's soccer club told Karpova's father that he would protect his "lesbian daughter." She did take the deal. In 2017, Nadya was questioned about her sexuality by Russian media, but told the interviewer that she was not a lesbian.

In 2017, after playing in 24 matches for the Russian national women's soccer team, Karpova moved to Spain to play for Valencia CF. She is currently a forward for RCD Espanyol in Barcelona.

Since moving to Spain, Karpova said she has stopped being afraid to speak openly. She told her mother last year that she was lesbian, but only recently decided to publically discuss her sexuality.

Karpova is also speaking out openly about the Ukraine War. While other Russian athletes remain silent or show support for the Kremlin, Karpova participates in opposition rallies and regularly posts anti-war messages on social media. She has been doing so since the war began.

You Might Also Like

Russia Forever?
  • May 31, 2022

Russia Forever?

A Russian rock musician was filmed helping Russian soldiers replace a Ukrainian road sign with one reading "Russia Forever."
Alphabet Bans
  • May 23, 2022

Alphabet Bans

The Ukrainian government is banning two Latin letters used by Russian invasion forces.
Detained on Victory Day
  • May 17, 2022

Detained on Victory Day

Over 125 citizens were detained during Immortal Regiment processions across Russia.
The
  • March 10, 2022

The "Z" Symbol

Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak faces punishment for flaunting the new "Z" symbol in support of the Russian invasion on Ukraine. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955