Photo of Kadirova during her time in the Russian Women's Hockey league on the Saint Petersburg team, Dinamo-Neva
As @pwhl-mybeloved pointed out in her post, almost all of the coverage of Fanuza Kadirova is about the language barrier. Tune into any broadcast where Kadirova is on the ice, and inevitably you hear a commentator say, “Well, she may not speak English, but she sure does speak hockey!”
As a result, almost all of the English-language coverage we get from Kadirova is from the perspective of her coach and teammates. This is understandable! Language barriers are real! However, considering that she has been so crucial to the playoffs (and is playing INCREDIBLE hockey) I did what the Ottawa Citizen seemed to have been unable to do—I googled her.
Kadirova has given a whole bunch of interviews in Russian! She has a fascinating backstory! She is genuinely very cool! I’ve decided to compile a list of Kadirova facts, so that her fans can appreciate her beyond her sick flow and unreal style of play.
The following is a list of Kadirova facts that I will be updating as I have time to go through her interviews and translate them. I will update when I can!
While I do speak Russian, it is not my native language, so if there are any native speakers who spot translation errors please do let me know.
1. Kadirova is, in fact, bilingual!
Kadirova speaks both Russian and Tatar, which is an indigenous language spoken by the Tatar people. Kadirova is from Tatarstan, the titular republic located in Russia, north of Kazakstan. It seems like her Tatar heritage is really important to her. Her father was a professional Koresh wrestler, a traditional form of wrestling practiced in Central Asia. Tatar is Kadirova’s mother tongue, and she speaks Tatar with her parents. The one exception? She switches to Russian when talking about hockey.
It sounds like the Tatar community of Canada has been lovely to Kadirova. Directly after she was drafted, she got a message from a stranger on social media, who said that he lived in Montreal with his family and they were all Tatars. “They were even from the Kukmor region, [where Kadirova is from]. He wrote to me that in Montreal there was also a women’s team, and that ‘if you are in Montreal, message me and we will meet.’ It was really so nice.”
When she arrived in Ottawa, Kadirova went to open a bank account. At the bank was a woman with a Tatar last name. “She spoke to me in Russian, but if I remember correctly she also spoke Tatar. [She] also gave me her number and said, ‘feel free to write or call.’ […] She has helped me with banking issues on more than one occasion. I’m grateful she gave me her number.” (Source)
Kadirova is trying to learn English, and moving to Canada was intimidating. She was worried about playing on an English-speaking team for the first time. When interviewed directly after the draft, she said: “Of course I worry about it a bit. I mean, damn, it scares me a little. […] I am trying to study [English] each day. What will be will be. There are worries, but it is best to think positively. […] I hope everything will work out for me.” (Source)
Another picture of Kadirova in her Dinamo-Neva days
2. She watched the draft, alone, in her room at 5am
Due to time differences (Tatarstan is quite far East) Kadirova was watching the PWHL draft on her tablet, alone in her room. It began at 1am Tatarstan time, and went until 5am.
Interviewer: “Were you waiting for your name to be called? Were you going to be upset if you weren’t chosen?”
Kadirova: “Of course I worried. I started to worry when I wasn’t picked for a long time.”
Interviewer: “What was going through your head, when your pick was finally announced?”
Kadirova: “Joy, of course. […] My heart was pounding. I was a little nervous even. They showed real interest, but I had to wait until the end. They finally picked me.”
Interviewer: “Who did you call first?”
Kadirova: “I didn’t call anyone. My friends wrote to me, trainers, but that was already later, in the morning. Although some congratulated me at five AM. I got some messages from Ottawa fans on social media. Lots of positive messages, but negative too. Like, ‘You shouldn’t come here,’ or ‘You don’t belong here.’” (Source)
While she received some negative messages from fans, Kadirova was really touched by the messages sent to her by her new teammates. “It was really nice. […] They congratulated me and gave me their personal numbers, they said I could message at any time. ‘We’ll help how we can, show [you everything]. […] It was really touching.” (Source)
Until she actually signed her contract and was heading to Ottawa, her family didn't fully comprehend that she would be going to play in the PWHL!
“My family, my parents, they didn’t believe it until the very end. I said ‘Ok, that’s all, I’m going. I’m going to try [and be drafted into the PWHL].’ And they were like, 'oh yes. Very cool.' [...] For them it wasn’t decided—it wasn’t that I’d already signed up, for example. [...] They were really—[inc] in shock. It was already serious, already on paper. They didn’t expect it. They didn’t expect it even when I was selected in the draft. They didn’t understand what it was even.” (Source)
This is all I have time to write up today, but there are SO many more insane facts about Kadirova that I am SO excited to share. If any Russian speakers have articles about her they'd be interested in sending me I'd be thrilled!
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