Sergei Belov memorial star removed from Perm esplanade

A memorial star dedicated to legendary basketball player and Olympic champion Sergei Belov has disappeared from the Walk of Valor and Glory. The Perm city administration explained where it went.

The Walk of Valor and Glory is a public space on the esplanade where granite slabs in the shape of stars are installed every year in memory of great compatriots, significant events, and city enterprises.

One of the stars on the Walk of Valor and Glory is dedicated to the famous basketball player Sergei Belov. At the end of June, a 59.RU correspondent noticed that the monument had disappeared. The city«s Department of Culture and Youth Policy told the journalist that the star had been taken away to have the inscription reconstructed. The repair will be completed by August 14, after which the star will be returned to its place.

As part of CSKA, Sergei Belov became USSR champion 11 times. Playing for the Soviet national team, he won the Olympic champion title in 1972 and became world champion twice.

In 1980, Sergei Belov lit the Olympic flame in Moscow. After his playing career, he worked as a coach for CSKA, the Italian club Cassino, and the Russian national team. In 1992, he became the first Russian athlete inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. From 1993 to 1998, he headed the Russian Basketball Federation. Since 1999, Sergei Belov coached the legendary Perm team Ural Great, winning the Russian championship twice, and later became the club«s president.

Sergei Belov died in Perm on 3 October 2013 at the age of 69. He was buried at Vagankovo Cemetery in Moscow.

Previously, we showed how the square being built on the site of the infectious diseases hospital looks now.