Employees of the Freestyle Olympic Training Center forbidden to attend Mikola Kozeka's funeral
Today, a farewell ceremony was held in Minsk for the renowned freestyle coach, Mikola Kozeka, who died on August 11. However, the authorities did everything possible to make this sad event as unnoticed as possible.
Mikola Kozeka. Photo: "Onliner"
Reports appeared on social media that there were almost no employees of the Freestyle Olympic Training Center at Kozeka's funeral, where the coach worked until his dismissal and thanks to whose efforts this center gained worldwide fame. This was not accidental, as people were simply forbidden to attend the farewell, under threat of dismissal.
Mikola Kozeka was one of the most famous and distinguished freestyle coaches not only in Belarus but throughout the world. His students won eight Olympic medals, including four gold. But he entered history not only for this but also for his civic stance.
On August 18, 2020, Mikola Kozeka, along with other representatives of the Belarusian sports sphere, signed an open letter demanding the invalidation of the presidential elections in Belarus. After this, his presidential scholarship was revoked, and he was no longer invited to national team training camps.
Soon, the coach was completely removed from working with the team. And consistently and purposefully, Lukashenka's regime takes revenge on him even after death: state information resources and sports organizations subordinate to the authorities simply ignored his passing, as if such a person had never existed in Belarusian sports at all.