Russia has not fulfilled the conditions for the fight against doping. Athletes will be allowed to the Olympics?

On November 16, the World Anti -Doping Agency (Vada) decided that Russia has not taken sufficient measures for two years to fight with prohibited substances in sports. Such a decision can play a major role in discussing how Russian athletes will participate in the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang in February 2018. If at all.

Russia was deprived of the right to independently check the athletes for doping in 2015. The reason was Wada's report on large -scale violations that were patronized by sports officials. Since then, the control of athletes in Russia has been engaged in the Anti -Doping Agency of Great Britain (Yukad). Only in the summer of 2017, Russian experts were allowed to independently conduct testing. The further investigation of Wada led to the fact that Russian athletes and weightlines were not allowed to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in the summer of 2016.

Two years later, Wada concluded that Russia did not take the necessary measures to correct the situation. Russia was supposed to fulfill the roadmap, but the two criteria provided for by this plan have not yet been observed : Moscow refuses to recognize the existence (formerly) of the mass use of prohibited drugs and does not give international experts from the Moscow laboratory. Russian officials at all levels deny the conclusions of the VADA commission on the state program of doping, and samples from the laboratory are held as evidence in a criminal case instituted by the UK against its former director Grigory Rodchenkov.

Vad's decision is not a ban on participating in the Olympics. The head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach once again made such a statement. The IOC will make his decision on Russia in early December: according to The New York Times, the Committee may prohibit the execution of the Russian anthem or remove the Russians from participating in the opening ceremony. In summer games in Rio de Janeiro, a decision on the admission or prevention was made by separate sports federations. The situation is more complicated with the Paralympians - the entire Russian team remains disqualified since the summer of 2016. The International Paralympic Committee insists that Russia must fulfill the requirements of WADA.

In Russia, they hope that it will not reach the complete ban on participating in the Olympics. After the decision of WAD, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov in the commentary of Interfax recalled the words of the head of the IOC and assured that the team continues to prepare for the games. Even if the Russian anthem is banned, athletes can still go to Pyeongchang - Russian officials decided not to officially comment on such restrictions. At the same time, the head of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, opposed the participation of Russians in games under a neutral flag.

Mikhail Zelensky