Swedish skier Kalle Halvarsson commented on the victory of Russian Yevgeny Belov in the 15-kilometer freestyle individual race at the World Cup in Davos.

- I don't think about it. He was also allowed to be here and compete, so everything is as it is.

- Is this an unpleasant situation?

- Yes. You never look forward to what ... No, it's not cool to compete with those who were suspended for doping. But there are rules that they can come back and perform, so you have to accept that, Halvarsson said.

Markus Kramer: "Halvarsson should focus on himself and train better"

Coach of the Russian national team cross-country skiing Markus Kramer expressed bewilderment about the words of the Swede Kalle Halvarsson to the Russian Evgeny Belov.

Belov won the 15-kilometer individual race freestyle at the stage of the World Cup in Davos.

Halvarsson, who became 16th in it, mentioned the removal of the Russian from the competition last season.

“I don’t understand why he says that. In my opinion, this is simply ridiculous! None of our skiers have ever tested positive.

Kalle should probably focus on himself and make sure to train better ... No, obviously he doesn't know how to lose, ”said Kramer.

Martin Jonsrud Sundby: "Belov is a good guy and a wonderful skier"

Norwegian skier Martin Jonsrud Sundby does not believe that the suspension of Yevgeny Belov from the World Cup races in any way diminishes sports achivments Russian.

“This is one of those stories about which we ask questions ... I don't know if there is more to say about this. I think Belov is a good guy and a great skier, ”Sundby said.

Belov was suspected of violating the anti-doping rules in Sochi-2014 on the basis of the testimony of the ex-head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov and the report of Richard McLaren. Sports arbitration court(CAS) found the Russian not guilty.

Belov was temporarily suspended by the FIS from starts, but after the decision of the CAS, the suspension was withdrawn.

The lack of clearly named criteria for admission drew criticism not only from Russian sports functionaries, athletes and officials, but even in the camp of the principal rivals of the Russians. “I am surprised and shocked, - quotes the words of the coach of the Swedish national team in cross-country skiing Ricard Grippa edition of SportExpressen. - We believed that all the names of the Russians involved in the use of doping had already been named and there was no name for Ustyugov there. The Olympic Games are losing their prestige. I am sure that our guys in the national team are as shocked as I am. "

17 criteria

Some of the criteria followed by the IOC in deciding whether to admit or deny admission Russian athletes to the Olympics, they are not new: they were called by the IOC immediately after the decision was made on disqualification The Olympic Committee Russia December 5.

Among those already known are the presence of the names of athletes in the report of the commission of Denis Oswald, who heads the IOC commission to verify the facts of sample swapping at the Sochi Olympics, and the persons involved in the so-called "Duchess" list, compiled by the former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov. According to him, the athletes on the list took a cocktail of three steroids with alcohol, or Duchess.

Other criteria were also named: the IOC, for example, did not hide the fact that it analyzed data from anti-doping tests that were taken from athletes during the Sochi Olympics. Many of the containers for these samples, the IOC said, had scratches, and this, the committee explained, indicates tampering and tampering. It was also known that the IOC studied the list of athletes who had canceled doping suspensions.

Most of the criteria, published on Thursday by the IOC, have not previously been named. It turned out, for example, that the IOC, together with WADA, checked the presence of the names of athletes in the archive of the database of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory. This archive was transferred to WADA by Rodchenkov. The analysis of the archive made it possible to determine which samples of samples in which doping were detected were recorded in the international system anti-doping administration WADA (a system called ADAMS) as "clean".

In addition, the IOC, as follows from the published list of criteria, rechecked the doping samples of candidates for the trip to Pyeongchang and the data entered in “ biological passports»Athletes, although he did not disclose plans for re-checks. It was also not known that the IOC would consider the absence of an athlete from the place of special registration in the ADAMS system as a criterion for the removal or admission of athletes. Each athlete is obliged to transmit information about his movements and trips to WADA so that he can be checked for doping at any time.

Checked in the IOC, as follows from the list of criteria, and the values ​​of the so-called steroid profile of athletes - a complex of analyzes of metabolism in the body.

Testimonies from unnamed sources of the IOC and WADA, as well as “information provided by the federations winter species sports ". The IOC does not name the names of the sources and does not disclose which federations provided information to it.

Russian athletes Yulia Guzieva, Galina Arsenkina, Yulia Portunova and Ulyana Vasilyeva (left to right) during the seeing-off of the Russian curling team to the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang (Photo: Sergey Savostyanov / TASS)

Olympiad for young people

The experts interviewed by RBC called the published IOC criteria non-transparent. “This has never happened before in the history of world sports. A small part of the criteria are generally recognized rules, and all the rest are absolutely biased. Anyone can fall under such criteria if they wish, ”said the head of the department of sports medicine at the Moscow State Medical University. I.M.Sechenova, a former member of the supervisory board of RUSADA Evgeny Achkasov.

According to Evgeny Slyusarenko, deputy editor-in-chief of the Championat.com Internet portal, the application of such criteria when checking athletes from other countries would lead to their massive removal from the Olympics. The expert, in particular, questioned the criterion called “location in the ADAMS system”. “Athletes have an ADAMS application that doping officers use to track their whereabouts and come to that address. There is such a term "flag": it is put when the doping control comes, and the person is not there. If there are three "flags", the athlete is disqualified. After a year, the "flags" are canceled. In the life of almost every athlete, there is one "flag". This criterion is quite controversial, because a person can miss a test for a million of various reasons, ”Slyusarenko stressed.

Slyusarenko also pointed out the non-transparency of the criterion “additional confidential information provided by WADA”. This criterion assumes the use of information from whistleblowers and "other sources." “I don’t know who these informants are and whether they can be trusted. The data of the international federation - what kind of data is it according to which a person who has not been convicted of using prohibited means can be removed from the Olympics? " - asks Slyusarenko.

Professor Achkasov believes that the suspension due to the served suspension for doping in the past is a violation of rights. “How can you punish twice for one mistake? If a person has served the prescribed term in prison, after a while we don’t put him in prison again just like that. Since this is a principle, then let us not let all athletes who have ever been involved [in the use of doping] go to the Olympics, ”Achkasov explained to RBC.

To be guaranteed to pass the "fine sieve of the IOC criteria", Slyusarenko points out, you must be a very young athlete who has not yet faced the work of the anti-doping system. Thus, those who have already won medals, or those who seriously lay claim to them, are in the forefront of "suspension", Slyusarenko believes. “It so happened that due to your age you are“ clean ”. This is almost the only opportunity for these criteria to get admission to the Olympics. It seems to me that the IOC has been very reinsured, "said Slyusarenko, expressing the opinion that before the publication of the official list of Russians admitted to the Olympics in Pyeongchang, new names of the leaders of the national team will appear on the list of suspended.

“This is absolute arbitrariness and oblivion of all principles. That only the passage is worth: we have suspicions, and on this basis we remove the athletes. All lawyers have their hair on end from this, ”Nikolai Durmanov, the former director of the anti-doping support department of Rossport and the ex-head of the ROC anti-doping service, told RBC.

In his opinion, the IOC is guided by the principle “whoever we want, we will not let him in”. "All these criteria are based on each other: the McLaren list - on the testimony of Rodchenkov, the Oswald commission - on the McLaren's position, and in addition, all this is thickly sprinkled with phrases that we still have information, but this is secret intelligence that we cannot disclose," - said Durmanov.

Based on these criteria, the IOC can remove the as yet unnamed leaders of the national team, the specialist suggested. “At the very last moment it may become clear that there are still two or three lost pages from Rodchenkov's diaries. Or suddenly the commission of Oswald or McLaren will suddenly remember something, and right at the Olympics something will suddenly become clear, ”Durmanov believes.

However, in his opinion, some of the suspended may still be admitted to the Olympics. “For the sake of PR, the IOC can back up and allow one or two athletes to say later: you see, we are objective, we are not entirely anti-Russian,” Durmanov said.

The final list of Russians who will go to the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang must be published by January 28, ten days before the start of the competition.

- Russian with portmen lost the opportunity to compete at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro based on the report of Richard McLaren. This report, as now noted WADA, does not meet many criteria and cannot be the basis for a number of accusations ...

- If you remember, in the case of Rio, the issue of eligibility was transferred to various international federations - on the basis that they are probably better aware of the doping status of athletes. The IOC received a recommendation, and a three-member board of the executive board unanimously adopted a decision, but based on the relevant findings.

- Why was the principle of collective responsibility applied to Russia, which was not considered in relation to other countries, whose athletes were accused of using doping?

- With the same amount of evidence that we have in relation to Russia, this principle would be applied to other countries. In the case of Russia, the situation is as if a driver on a motorway was stopped for speeding, and he said to the policeman: “Why did you detain me? There are a lot of people here going faster than me! " The answer is: “Maybe. And someday we will catch them too. But now they caught you. "

- And what is being done to catch them? We only hear speculations about “what to do to stop Russia,” that Russia is to blame. In this case, if you like, "the persecution of violators" is now being conducted only in relation to Russia. It seems that no one else is exposed to this.

- Russia is now in the spotlight. Trying in the media to present everything as if this problem is not in Russia, but in the IOC or WADA, is fundamentally wrong. Russia has a problem with doping. At least with regard to athletes, a general ban was introduced, and given the situation, I think that is correct. I also agree with a similar decision by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

Many federations have been hopelessly compromised by their relations with Russia. For example, it was important for senior officials of the International Association of Athletics Federations to hold many events and championships in Russia - that is, the assessment of athletes was uneven.

It seems to me that they coped with this very well in rowing, but was at least one judoka under the ban? Can you guess why? Who is the Honorary President of the International Judo Federation?

- Do you think there are deeper problems with the federations themselves? I would like to point out that the International Biathlon Union ( IBU) called McLaren's report controversial and closed 22 of 29 open cases. Eventually sports federations make such statements, while the McLaren report mentions a thousand athletes, but no confirmation has appeared. Do you think federations are just trying to hush up doping scandals in their sports?

- From experience I can say that international federations how the group approaches the detection of positive doping tests without enthusiasm. But now WADA has received a database, access to which McLaren, according to him, was not provided. The agency is looking into her and I think they can see that everything is exactly as McLaren said, once they get proof. You can find doping test data against you - tests that came back positive but then appeared negative. And this is possible only if there is a well-developed scheme.

- Head of Compliance CommitteeWADAJonathan Taylor stated that RUSADA cannot be reinstated without acknowledgment of the McLaren report.

- The Russian anti-doping agency accepted almost everything that was said in the McLaren report, but does not agree with the accusations that a certain doping program was carried out with the support of the state. There is no evidence for this, but a vicious circle is emerging for RUSADA. Is the agency expected to plead guilty to something for which there is no concrete evidence?

- A roadmap was discussed with the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, and it agreed to it. Agreed to provide access to this database and the samples held as a criminal investigation is underway. Agreed to take responsibility for the state support system for the use of doping and provide access to closed cities. These were the agreements.

- But there is such a principle as the burden of proof— the rule of distribution between the participants in the process of the obligation to substantiate the presence of certain circumstances that are significant for the resolution of the case.

- I am ready to repeat: these were the agreements. But they do not want to acknowledge the existence of a system of government support for the use of doping. They agreed to this, and now they are trying to back down.

- The testimony of informants - Grigory Rodchenkov and those who still remain anonymous - are cited as evidence. But it is not customary to consider this kind of information in court. Why, then, was an exception made in this case?

“This is perfectly acceptable when the physical safety of witnesses is at stake. Many courts provide for this possibility.

- Rodchenkov said he was coerced into participating in a state-backed doping program. But it should be noted that participation in the activities of RUSADA and doping schemes brought him a lot of money. Why do you think he did not come out with his revelatory statements earlier?

- In the period before the Olympic Games in Sochi, Rodchenkov was part of the system. Then, after the publication of the report of the commission headed by me, he lost his post as head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory. Subsequently, he became aware of the death of first one, and then - less than two weeks later - and his second predecessor in this position. Suspecting that he was doing badly, he decided to leave the country.

As for his revelatory statements, I got acquainted with the testimony of Grigory as part of the investigation by our commission. It follows from them that he was part of the system and was in no hurry to shed light on the violations committed - and this is not surprising ... He knew very well about violations.

There were two more informants. They held low positions and were very well prepared, and their words were credible in many ways, as well as the testimony of Rodchenkov. However, McLaren did not accept his words at face value - all the information coming from him was compared with the testimony of other witnesses, information from documents and other sources, and only then was it regarded as reliable.

- Rodchenkov's testimony formed the basis of McLaren's report and statements about the existence in Russia of a state system for supporting doping in sports ...

- Testimony, as well as documents.

- But, in addition, it is alleged that FSB officers opened containers with doping samples and changed their contents. Berlinger, their manufacturer, said it was impossible to open them without leaving physical evidence of the opening.

- The company is absolutely right. Physical traces have been found. When examining containers that were opened in order to replace their contents, scratches were found. If you know what you are looking for, it is very easy to spot them. The reason for the appearance of such traces could be only one: they were opened. Why should they be opened?

- Returning to the Sochi Olympics: it was attended by 20 international observers who followed the doping tests. Why did none of them pay attention to this? After all, this was their job, wasn't it?

- The substitution took place late at night. Through part of the FSB-controlled laboratory, to which no one else had access. Through a hole in the wall. The director of the anti-doping laboratory from Montreal (or from Rome, or from there) was not in the building at that time. This is not surprising - it is not the responsibility of the laboratory director to catch the FSB officers, who, moreover, are there under the guise of maintenance personnel.

- If what you say really happened, it turns out that the laboratory made a serious omission in ensuring the safe storage of doping samples.

- Yes. And the problem is that this omission was deliberately made. This is where the problem is.

- You are a representative of the International Olympic Committee. It must be admitted that the McLaren report raises certain questions. Is it in the spirit of the Olympic Games to have such large-scale suspensions based on a report that many sports bodies believe are flawed?

- The decisions on the suspension of the athletes were made by the IOC disciplinary commission under the leadership of Denis Oswald on the basis of specific and sufficient evidence. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld these decisions. This is not about any kind of persecution, but rather about following the rules. If you break the rules, you will be punished.

- You stressed that the decision was not politically motivated. Nevertheless, one gets the impression that decisions made in sports are largely political in nature. What do you say to that?

- In my opinion, this is not so - at least in this case. In sports there is a place for geopolitical and political considerations, the desire for equality between continents and gender balance. All this is taken into account when choosing venues for sporting events... But this does not cover lobbying for the interests of this or that capital. It's not that some countries have privileges and others don't.

- You have been in sports for a long time, you know how everything works in administrative terms. It is difficult to remember when previously such close attention was focused exclusively on Russia in connection with doping. Despite another scandal in Kenya and claims that many British cyclists suffer from asthma, these athletes receive much less attention than Russian ones. Why?

“We have clear evidence of government-sponsored fraud. It is unacceptable.

- Despite the fact that the McLaren report raises questions, and there is no solid evidence, you still claim that doping is supported at the state level in Russia.

- Yes. In my opinion, there was a lot of evidence for this, but not enough for McLaren to have reason to accuse specific athletes, but he did not. He noted: "I have no such information, but there are records indicating that they were on the list of protected athletes." McLaren has not drawn any conclusions about which he has any reasonable doubts, which is one of the standards of proof in criminal proceedings.

So I think McLaren's report was mishandled: instead of taking this information into account and saying, “Thank you for shedding light on all these violations,” IOC members dismissed the report and called McLaren's findings “statements”. This is rather disrespectful to a highly experienced arbiter who has repeatedly investigated.

Photo: sportpharma.ru

The Russian national team should be suspended from participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics, sanctions should be imposed on the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) - this decision was made by the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at a meeting on the evening of December 5 in Lausanne, Switzerland. IOC Chairman Thomas Bach said that some Russians are allowed to compete in Korean Pyeongchang under a neutral, white flag - as an "Olympic athlete from Russia." In addition, Russian athletes will be able to take part in the closing ceremony of the Games. But neither the flag nor the anthem of Russia should be present at the Olympics. Russia is also obliged to cover the expenses of the IOC commissions for the investigation - $ 15 million. The membership of the head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Alexander Zhukov, has been suspended. Former Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation (now Deputy Prime Minister) Vitaly Mutko is banned from attending the Olympic Games for life. Former general director of the Sochi 2014 organizing committee Dmitry Chernyshenko (now the president of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) has been removed from the coordination commission of the Beijing 2022 Olympics ...

Many expected tough decisions in relation to Russia in Lausanne. (In addition, there were signals from insiders: the IOC has already ordered Nike a batch of uniforms for Russian athletes of "neutral color" with the inscription "Olympic athlet from Russia" - "Olympic athlete from Russia").

But few expected a whole package of tough decisions: “We have never encountered such manipulations and fraud before,” commented on the IOC’s decision, the head of one of the IOC commissions investigating unprecedented doping violations by the Russian side during the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. Its experts said that the Russian system of doping fraud can only be compared with the one that was once created in the GDR.

Russia has the right to appeal the IOC's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is also located in Lausanne. But the chances of a successful appeal, experts say, are negligible.

2014, February: Sochi triumph

Late in the evening of February 23, 2014, after Olympic stadium Fisht in Sochi has completed a colorful closing ceremony XXII winter Olympic Games, President Putin, Minister of Sports Mutko and his deputy Yuri Nagornykh, head of the Russian Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov, general director of the organizing committee of the Games Dmitry Chernyshenko and several other senior officials, retiring in a small room, drank a glass of champagne in a "narrow circle". Everyone was in high spirits, including Putin, even though the news from the Ukrainian capital was more alarming from day to day: on the night of 21/22, President Yanukovych fled from Kiev, embraced by a "revolution of dignity". During the closing ceremony of the Games at the Sochi stadium, cameras repeatedly snatched out the sullenly focused face of Putin, dressed in a dark gray leather coat. But the euphoria from sports victories briefly outweighed the geopolitical burdens: after all, Russia became the leader of the Sochi Games in the team medal standings - 33 medals, of which 13 are gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze. Thus, the record of the Soviet national team (29 medals), obtained in 1988 at the Olympics in Calgary, Canada, was broken.

But in addition to the awards, the Games were witnessed by 11 Olympic facilities, built on time and in accordance with world standards, and 25 thousand volunteers who promptly and kindly served crowds of guests: 1 million 322 thousand people attended the Sochi Olympics. The 1.5 trillion rubles spent on preparations for the Games (data from the SC Olympstroy) seemed to have certainly paid off.

The world press wrote a lot about how successfully Russia used soft-power in Sochi. And when the annexation of Crimea soon followed, many international observers even wondered whether Putin should have canceled all the image achievements of the Sochi Games in one fell swoop.

Leadership lasted exactly 3 years and 9 months, until November 2017. And then the IOC began to take medals from our athletes one after another: skier Alexander Legkov was the first to lose two of his Sochi medals, followed by four more of his fellow skiers, the next losses were two medals in bobsled, four in a skeleton, one in speed skating, then two more in women's biathlon, then two more - in men's ... By the beginning of December, the Russian team finally and irrevocably lost its first place in Sochi - more than two dozen athletes were disqualified for violating anti-doping rules, the results of their performances were canceled. In the team competition, Russia dropped from first to sixth place.

November 2015: Run to Rio

An international scandal erupted on November 9, 2015, after a special commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) published (RUSADA).

WADA accused the Russian agency of destroying the results of tests (1,400 samples) for doping of Russian athletes after the 2012 London Olympics. The 323-page document testified to the widespread corruption and massive use, including by eminent athletes, of prohibited substances. According to WADA, the removal of samples was done at the request of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation and the FSB. Based on the results of the investigation, the commission recommended the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to disqualify the All-Russian federation of light athletics (ARAF). In addition, the commission demanded that five athletes be disqualified for life. The list includes Maria Farnosova ( Olympic champion 2012), Ekaterina Poistogova (bronze medalist of the Olympics), Anastasia Bazdyreva, Christina Ugarova and Tatyana Myazina.

The investigation, which the commission relied on in its document, was largely based on testimony and materials from a married couple: the former chief specialist of the Russian anti-doping service Vitaly Stepanov and his wife, Yulia Stepanova. She, as a member of the Russian national team athletics was able to record several video and audio fragments that formed the basis of the case. The records show how Russian coaches and sports officials persuade athletes to take doping and give them illegal drugs. The athlete's husband, in turn, told the commission about systematic violations during anti-doping checks. The same materials formed the basis documentary the famous German journalist Hayo Zeppelt, featured on ARD. The investigation film "Top Secrets of Doping: How Russia Produces Its Winners" aired a year before the publication of the commission's report - in December 2014. (By the way, Zeppelt, who covered the session of the IOC Executive Committee in Lausanne, in response to the request of the correspondent of the TV channel "Russia-1" for an interview called the guards and warned: "Next time, don't even try").

After the publication of the WADA report, events began to develop rapidly.

November 10, 2015 the head of the Moscow laboratory RUSADA Grigory Rodchenkov resigned.

Photo: The New York Times

11th of November French police have arrested the former head of the International Association of Athletics Federations, Lamine Diak.

the 13th of November The IAAF Council has suspended membership of the Russian Federation for an indefinite period. Despite the critical situation, IOC President Thomas Bach nevertheless then suggested that Russian athletes could still go to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 2016. Apparently, in the hope of this, the ARAF then agreed with this decision, did not dispute it and even expressed its readiness to cooperate and implement the recommendations of the IAAF inspectors.

"It was key moment for Russia, when it was still possible to turn, return the situation to normal: carry out reforms in the doping control system, establish admission of WADA doping officers to Russian athletes and inspectors - to closed cities, in a word, to establish a climate of mutual trust, - says NT Canadian sports analyst Gilles Carbonneau. "But instead, Russian sports officials began to deny everything."

2016: Salt, water, Duchess

In January 2016 ex-head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory (RUSADA structure) 56-year-old Grigory Rodchenkov leaves Russia for the United States. The reason is fears for their safety.

And already in February of the same year, two former employees of RUSADA suddenly and unexpectedly die in Russia - February 3rd Vyacheslav Sinev died, and The 14th of February Nikita Kamaev.

Later, in an interview with The New York Times, the escaped Rodchenkov suggested that Kamaev's death was connected, among other things, with the fact that he wrote memoirs that were later to be included in the book. According to Rodchenkov, he warned Kamaev that the book should at least not be written on a computer and declared publicly. As it turned out, Rodchenkov himself kept a handwritten diary. The entries in 2014 were made with a pen donated by Kamaev.

In May 2016 Rodchenkov gave a detailed interview to The New York Times, which had the effect of an exploding bomb. Rodchenkov explained in detail how the urine tests taken by the athletes before the Olympic Games in Sochi were replaced.

Every evening he received a list of athletes from sports officials whose samples needed to be swapped. Athletes also submitted photographs of their completed doping control form to determine which urine sample belonged to them.

Having received the signal, usually after midnight, Rodchenkov went to room 124, which was adjacent to the collection point (room 125), where the cherished bottles of urine were kept. Room 124 was officially designated a warehouse, but Rodchenkov and his team turned it into a laboratory.

Through a hole made in the wall between the two rooms, Rodchenkov transferred the hermetically sealed samples to the neighboring “warehouse”. There they were taken away, as Rodchenkov believed, an FSB officer, taken to a building nearby and returned after a while with open, but undamaged lids. (Later, in the WADA report, the name of the officer in charge of the replacement was named Yevgeny Blokhin).

And already Rodchenkov and his team were filling bottles with "clean" urine - the one that the athletes passed some time before the Games. If necessary, ordinary table salt and water were added to it - a professional chemist and athlete Rodchenkov knew well how to make sure that the sample did not arouse suspicion.

He also knew exactly what to do to make the athletes win. In their diaries, which The New York Times published literally a week before the IOC's decision on the participation of the Russian national team in the Pyeongchen Olympics, how the leadership of the National Team's Sports Training Center fed the athletes a Duchess cocktail, a mixture of three anabolic steroids and a martini, which they had developed.

“Athletes all over the world sin using doping, and the United States is ahead of Russia in terms of the number of athletes punished for doping. But only in Russia, at least for today, the use of doping functioned as an institutional system "

2016, July: The McLaren Report

Based on the diary and testimony of Rodchenkov, whose whereabouts in America are carefully hidden (many are convinced that he fell under the witness protection program), a new WADA report appeared in July 2016 - the now disavowing triumph of the Sochi Games. The report became known as the head of the WADA Commission to Investigate Allegations of Doping Fraud at the 2014 Olympics Richard McLaren, a law professor at the University of Western Ontario (Canada).

Richard McLaren
Photo: howsport.ru

In the first part, published on July 18, 2016, the McLaren Commission brought Russia the same charges as with the London Olympics - the use of doping, the substitution of the Moscow and Sochi anti-doping laboratories for samples, the concealment and destruction of positive samples. All this, according to the commission, sports officials did with the knowledge and with the participation of employees of the Ministry of Sports. In addition, the FSB was responsible for ensuring clean sample results.

Here are just a few key points of the report:

The Moscow laboratory worked under the total control of government agencies.

The sample disappearance methodology was a state-controlled system, approved after the disastrous performance of the Russian Olympians at the Olympic Games 2010 in Vancouver.<…>

Through the efforts of the FSB, a method was developed to invisibly open containers with analyzes to ensure sample swapping. The cornerstone was the formation of a bank of clean samples, from which samples were taken for swapping.

At a convenient moment, usually closer to midnight, when no one else was in the room, the employee passed the A and B samples to the protected athletes through a hole in the wall,<…>where Dr. Rodchenkov and others were waiting for them.

The FSB had an operating room and a sleeping room on the 4th floor of the laboratory building, and FSB officer Blokhin had access to the laboratory disguised as a plumber.<…>Witnesses say that Blokhin entered the building in the evening when others were leaving.<…>Blokhin brought clean samples (B) of athletes to the laboratory from the FSB building.

The very next day after the publication of the report, July 19, 2016, the IOC Executive Board made preliminary decisions regarding the participation of Russian athletes at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It was decided that officials from the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation and any persons affected by the report, including coaches and athletes, will not receive accreditation for the Games. As for the athletes, the issue of their participation was to be decided by the respective sports federations on an individual basis. As a result, 107 athletes were admitted to the Games. A tougher decision was made for the Paralympians. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) did not allow them to the Games, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne (Switzerland) later confirmed this decision.

December 2016 McLaren presented the second part of the report (150 pages) on the use of doping in Russian sports... According to the report, Russia used a "unique cheating scheme" involving more than a thousand athletes representing winter and summer views sports. However, not a single surname of the athletes was named.

The WADA report claimed that they were involved in the manipulation of doping samples former minister Sports of Russia Vitaly Mutko and his deputy Yuri Nagornykh. McLaren was confident that in 2012, with the help of Rodchenkov, the use of doping in Russia moved from a regime of "uncontrolled chaos" to a "legalized, controlled and disciplined" system.

On the whole, McLaren's new report fully confirmed the conclusions contained in its first part. The second report indicated that 44 samples of medal winners at the Sochi Olympics were rechecked, and 12 of them contained damage and marks inside the tubes. In the samples of two gold medalists of the Sochi Olympics, they found such an amount of salt that cannot be present in urine healthy person(Rodchenkov oversalted after all). The names of the athletes were not disclosed, but it was noted that the two athletes won four Olympic gold... In addition, two members of the Russian women's national hockey team had male DNA in doping tests; in some cases, foreign DNA was present in different urine samples from a supposedly one athlete. Sometimes positive doping tests were replaced not by pure preparations of the same athletes, but simply by someone else's tests. "Outside actions were carried out with the urine of 21 prize-winners of the Sochi Paralympics," concluded McLaren.

His commission also concluded that the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory several times during the preliminary screening of doping samples in some cases simply hid positive samples if they could not be replaced. The decision on each such case was taken personally by Deputy Minister of Sports Nagornykh, the report says.

The system has been in effect since 2011, the Russians used doping until RUSADA's accreditation was revoked in 2015: at the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014, in London in 2012, as well as at the World Championships in Athletics in Moscow in 2013 and at the Universiade in Kazan 2012.

Thomas Bach, who has friendly relations with Putin and who himself was delighted with the organization of the Games in Sochi, wanted to be 100% sure of the guilt of Russia as a state

Many sports analysts believe that it was the second part of McLaren's report that made the greatest impression on IOC President Thomas Bach: the document contained evidence of the systemic use of doping in Russia in almost all sports, including the method of "disappearing samples" (those same bottles) - the system was very effective and allowed Russian athletes to take doping directly during the competition.

“Athletes all over the world sin using doping, and the USA is ahead of Russia in terms of the number of athletes punished for doping,” states Gilles Carbonneau. "But the problem is something else: only in Russia, at least for today, the use and promotion of doping functioned as an institutional system."

2016-2017: Oswald and Schmidt Commissions

* Denis Oswald, former IOC Presidium member for Switzerland, 13 times Swiss rowing champion, after graduation sports career became a lawyer. Samuel Schmid - former Swiss minister, in charge of the army and sports

Thomas Bach, who has friendly relations with Putin and who himself was delighted with the organization of the Games in Sochi, wanted to be 100% sure of the guilt of Russia as a state. To this end, in July 2016, the IOC decided to create its own commissions under the leadership of Denis Oswald and Samuel Schmid * to conduct two independent investigations of the doping scandal. The first one rechecked the doping tests from the Games in Sochi, the second - the involvement of employees of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation in the concealment of violations of Russian athletes. By the way, literally on the eve of the Lausanne session of the IOC Executive Committee, the Swiss newspaper TagesAnzeiter was surprised that it was Schmid who, who had absolutely no experience in investigating sports frauds, was entrusted with heading the commission - they say, was it not more practical to resort to the services of professionals. However, Schmid has an impeccable reputation on his side. The one that Mutko does not have now. And there are already enough professional experts in the Schmid Commission.

Early November 2017 Rodchenkov, who once promised with his revelations “to destroy olympic sport in Russia for the next 5-6 years ”, according to the British newspaper The Daily Mail, gave the Oswald and Schmidt commissions new testimony under oath. As a result of the very first published results of the work of the Oswald Commission Russian skiers Evgeny Belova and Alexander Legkov were accused of using illegal drugs and deprived of the gold at the Sochi Olympics. They were also barred from further participation in the Olympics. The last crushing blow was dealt to the Sochi Olympics.

TO November 29, 2017 as a result of the doping scandal, Russia lost a total of 13 medals. A number of athletes were banned from international competitions for life.

The price of triumph at the 2014 Olympics turned out to be much higher: a ruined reputation, a humiliated country and the shattered fates of a whole generation of Russian athletes.

2017, November-December: Before and after Lausanne

November 16, 2017 The WADA Board of Founders has decided to refuse RUSADA to renew its membership. WADA found two points unfulfilled road map: Russia has not fully recognized the conclusions of the McLaren Commission on the systemic use of doping in Russia and has never provided access to doping samples sealed by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation as part of the investigation in the criminal case against .... Grigory Rodchenkov.

Meanwhile, in Russia, all the blame for the doping scandal was shifted exclusively to Rodchenkov, on whom two criminal cases were opened. in November 2017, he himself distributed doping among athletes and coaches, and also had access to the database of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory and could change it while already in the United States.

However, this version of events three years ago did not convince the IOC. Nor was it convinced by the reorganization in RUSADA, including a change of leadership, which seemed to have even been positively received by the Olympic officials. Neither the Kremlin's attempts to avoid an aggravation of the situation, nor various signals sent to the IOC - do not, they say, bring Russia to a boycott of the Olympics (as stated by the presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov), nor the good personal relations between Putin and Bach could stop that snowball , which began to pick up speed on the slopes of Sochi, and stopped at the approaches to the South Korean Pyeongchang. The triumph at the 2014 Olympics was ensured by the mutual guarantee of liars and schemers in power. The price of this triumph turned out to be too high: a ruined reputation, a humiliated country and the shattered fates of an entire generation of Russian athletes.

Economic sanctions were followed by sports sanctions - and at the very moment when Putin's plans, as political analyst Kirill Rogov aptly noted, did not include a new round of confrontation with the West.

But this is not the end yet. After the decision of the IOC, politics will inevitably invade sport, and quite weighty and perhaps even rude. In recent years, the authorities have persistently tried to convince our fellow citizens, using all methods and forms of propaganda, that they live in the regime of a besieged fortress - they are surrounded by enemies, they do not like Russia ... Now, the economic sanctions were followed by sports. And they followed at the very moment when Putin's plans, as political analyst Kirill Rogov aptly noted, did not include a new round of confrontation with the West. It turns out that this confrontation is already following its own logic and the Kremlin is unable to influence it. Therefore, many analysts, recalling after the decision of the IOC in Lausanne that Russia had previously rejected the option of participating in the 2018 Games under neutral flag, ask the question: what will Putin answer?

Most likely, Kirill Rogov sneers on his Facebook, from tomorrow they will start to suggest to us that Rodchenkov came up with everything about the hole in the wall through which they replaced the Olympic urine. Just as before that Litvinenko and the British came up with everything about polonium, and "dill" with the West - about the Malaysian "Boeing" shot down by the Russian "beech". And so on.

On the evening of December 5, the members of the Russian delegation in Lausanne, after the announced decision of the IOC, held a press conference only for Russian journalists. And foreigners were ordered not to let in. Apparently, as foreign agents.

Amendments to anti-doping legislation are planned to be extended not only to coaches, but also to instructors, doctors and other personnel interacting with the athlete. Each of them will be able to be suspended from work if the fact of manipulation of a prohibited drug is established even outside the competition period. Such norms are contained in a bill submitted to the State Duma for consideration, the second reading of which is scheduled for early December. At the same time, the deputies will consider the initiative to create a sectoral certification system sports coaches... The Ministry of Sports told Izvestia that they support both innovations. Experts believe that solving the problem requires, first of all, effective law enforcement and “anti-doping education”.

The State Duma is preparing for the second reading two draft amendments amending the law "On Physical Culture and Sports in Russian Federation". Both were introduced in September 2017 by deputies from the Liberal Democratic Party, and later supported by a specialized committee, parliamentarians from other factions and the Ministry of Sports. At the same time, the authors of the documents were recommended to finalize them. The amendments are already ready, and in December the projects are planned to be considered at a meeting of the chamber.

The initiative to remove coaches from work for violation of Russian and international anti-doping rules implies three reasons for such a decision. The first is if a prohibited drug is found with the mentor or it is proved that he distributed it (both during and outside the competition). The second is an attempt to falsify control samples, and the third is if “facts of intentional complicity” in the use of doping by an athlete are established.

In November, the government introduced its additions to the bill, proposing to expand the Labor Code with a similar norm. Also, the amendments (available to Izvestia) were prepared by one of the authors of the project, Dmitry Svishchev (LDPR) and Valery Gazzaev (Fair Russia). The deputies proposed to include in the list of those who fall under the law, “other specialists in the field physical culture and sports ". As practice shows, anti-doping rules are often violated by instructors, sports medicine specialists or other athlete personnel, the parliamentarians said.

The second bill is aimed at creating a system of certification of coaches, including the national teams of Russia. There are three categories: second, first and highest. The criteria for the certification will be approved by the Ministry of Sports. Regional executive authorities and all-Russian sports federations will be able to make a decision on awarding a certificate.

The adoption of the proposed norms will allow us to move forward on the path of increasing the level of professional skills of coaches, the effectiveness of their activities, as well as, which is important, to attract young personnel to the industry, - said one of the authors of the project, deputy Dmitry Svishchev, in a conversation with Izvestia.

He said that for the second reading of the bill, a number of additions to it, together with parliamentarians and the professional community, were prepared by the Ministry of Sports. Thus, it is proposed to certify not only trainers, but also other industry specialists. Subsequently, the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation should approve their list, as well as qualification requirements and the procedure for assigning categories. The assignment of the lowest - the second - category can be entrusted to local governments. In addition, the possibility of introducing an additional qualification category is being discussed.

The deputy stressed that both bills are aimed at improving Russian sports legislation and bringing it in line with world practice.

The Ministry of Sports supports both projects and is interested in their adoption, deputy head of the department Natalya Parshikova told Izvestia.

The bills are very important and relevant. The coaches certification initiative is in line with the president's instructions and will allow the industry to develop. The anti-doping regulation is also ripe and will allow improving anti-doping measures in accordance with the plan developed by the independent public anti-doping commission, the Deputy Minister explained.

The problem of doping cannot be solved only by changing the legislation - this is a matter of law enforcement, says Anatoly Peskov, a lecturer at the Russian International Olympic University, member of the board of directors of the International Association of Sports Law. It is necessary to put things in order first of all in sports clubs and federations, to apply existing norms and "impose" a complete rejection of doping, the expert said.