The Russian national flag and the Olympic flag are seen during the closing ceremony for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, Feb. 23, 2014. Photo: Reuters/Jim Young/File Photo
The decision by the IOC to ban Russia from attending the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang comes as no surprise. The alleged systematic state-organized doping use was of course the pretext for the ban. It’s not a surprise as Russia was on the verge of a complete ban during the Summer Olympics in Rio last year. The IOC went as far as banning the whole Russian Paralympics team where they showcased their anti-human and anti-sport nature.
It’s as obvious as it can get, it’s a political decision, it has nothing to do with sports. The Russian athletes who are found to be “clean” can participate under “neutral flag”. Basically, the IOC didn’t ban the athletes, they banned the Russian flag and anthem. This is yet another brick in the wall of the proxy war against Russia. Most of the leading figures in the IOC come from the UK and the US which makes it even less of a surprise that Russia is being demonized.
This decision, however, is having more than just the obvious effects. Now, the athletes and the official authorities in Russia have tough decisions to make. The instincts say to boycott the Olympics. Yet, Russia is not as powerful as the Soviet Union used to be and won’t have the support of other countries. This time, they have to play it very smart. The athletes, on the other hand, have to make a decision what is more important – their Motherland or their careers?
There is no right answer. If you’re an athlete and you’ve trained your whole life to get to the ultimate goal of participating in the Olympics, can you quit because the political decision of the IOC is doing everything possible to stop you and your country? On the other hand, the pride of being Russian is being brutally harmed and discriminated by not waving the Russian flag. Many people in Russia would also call you a traitor of the Motherland.
However, who are the real traitors? The real traitors are those Russian sport authorities who throughout the years have done NOTHING to defend the interests of athletes and the Russian Federation. These people have made mistake after mistake and their greed, self-interest and incompetence has led to this situation. As the Russian political analyst Mikhail Delyagin ironically stated, the Russian sport authorities must start defending the rights of LGBTQ community. That way the liberals in Russia would be happy because finally someone would defend them and the conservatives would also be happy because, knowing how they defended the interests of the athletes, they’ll just make them look worse.
This is yet another attempt to discredit Russia and Putin. Everything must be handled with precise thought and no decisions should be made in a rush. This time the IOC went too far and if Russia plays its cards right, they can give a major blow to the reputation of the IOC and all of the country’s enemies.
The March 2018 Russian Presidential elections are now just a few months ahead of us and we’ll witness more and more provocations against Russia anywhere you can think of. After the elections comes the FIFA World Cup in Russia which will be a great test for Russia if they can handle all the pressure and beat all of their enemies. 2018 will decide the future of the Russian Federation. If they handle every attack against them, they’ll show that they are ready to be an alternative to the current global order.
Judging by the Occidentals ‘investigations’ these days, I have to side with the idea this is a political play. It will backfire with a tremendous blast. I don’t understand why the West keeps sticking it’s hand into the running lawnmower.
Russia will probably wait until the time is right. They did that with the US organizations in Russia itself. After a number of pinpricks by the US, they eviscerated the entire intel and counter regime op that was painstakingly built over decades, in a single swipe.
A last thought, is that the machine is going off the rails at this point. The ban does not amount to a fine tuned, coordinated blow against Russia. It is one more disjointed, unsupported effort by a facet of the machine. Meanwhile, they are blowing each other up in unending scandals back in D.C.. It’s tough to be organized when one is busy eating their own. My take on things. I wish well to all.
“Most of the leading figures in the IOC come from the UK and the US..”
Yep and figures as to why the IOC has become nothing more than a political actor. I love how they try to claim they’re not acting politically as they present no evidence for their actions while they destroy the lives of clean athletes who’ve worked hard their entire lives in order to compete. What we are witnessing is the true values, different from the ones espoused, by the ‘west’. As for the planet, I agree that it DESPERATELY needs an alternative to the current world order.
I think it’s time for some countries to gather and create an alternative for some “international” bodies and organizations as the current ones cannot be called “impartial” or “neutral” and “unbiased”. Maybe even 20 countries together can make a difference.
It’s not just limited to political bodies like the UN and the ICC. Almost all sport related international organizations are also corrupt and biased. One thing is sure. As long as these bodies act the way they do, there’s no chance that countries other than the empire can protect their rights.
what about the athletes proven un-clean but from other countries—are these countries banned ? DON’T COME AND TELL ME THERE IS EVEN ONE COUNTRY THAT HAS NO UN-CLEAN ATHLETES !!!!
I just wonder how much this decision cost in bribes and backhanders. Western officials come rather cheep, may be all they needed was a pat on the head. I only hope that Russia comes with enough hangman’s rope when it next comes and saves Western Europe
Lets face it, the real culprits is not the West, not the IOC, but the Russians themselves. They encouraged or turned a blind eye to doping practices to such a scale and point that the IOC could no longer ignore it. And they really wanted to ignore it, because bans are just bad for business. And the IOC is all about business. As in lining their own pockets. The Russians broke the 11th commandment ‘Thou shalt not get caught!’ and got caught with their pants down. Next time, be like the rest and be more subtle about it. Make it so that the next time the Russian state, like in other countries, can claim plausible deniability and say its all the athlete’s fault.
But they haven’t been caught, that’s the point, they claim that there is a govmnt. supported doping program in Russia but they failed to prove that instead they have tried to force russians to aknowledge that there is one, without any proof, IMHO, when the russians refused they have refused to restore the rights of russian anti doping comite.
Or produce a record number of TUEs
Got caught? You seem so sure – no one else is. There isn’t a scrap of proof.
I hate how geopolitics has taken over the Olympics. Anyone with a thinking brain knows this is an American deep state strike on Russia just like all the other BS coming out of America and shows that Trump doesn’t have control yet over the most corrupted government in human history.
It was like that even long before, but covert.
No, the athletes should not go by a neutral flag. They will keep getting attacked if they go, now as individuals and in a game designed to make them loose, denigrate or humiliate, or make them smaller otherwise. All just because they are Russians and the US empire and his dogs want their annihilation, no one should doubt that at this point in history.
Once they allow themselves to compete under a neutral flag – the Russian’s chance of getting back in plummets. They want the skaters and the stars to compete to attract an audience. They want to use Russian stars to sell tickets. However they want to insult Russia. I trust no one will play that game. I sincerely hope no Russian goes and I certainly will have my TV definitely off. And without the Russians the medals won are meaningless. But the US, Canada and other nations will stoop to any level to win the skaing medals if nothing else. Medals they would never win with Russian competition as most people well know.
Don’t you find that all this ‘bash’ the Russians stuff us soooooo retrograde! It’s like being back in the sixties! I am much more afraid of the EU cretins than I am of Putin.
дерьмо́
I am afraid that my Russian is non existant! So your beautifully written comment has been entirely wasted! Smile!
Certainly, Irinna. You are good, but a native English speaker can always tell the subtle difference in the way you use our language.
Иди на хуй!
What do you think of this, Emily? Is it more than just wishful thinking?
Remarkable insight by Joaquin Flores at Fort Russ: “US’s ‘ban’ plot backfires as Russian Olympians are set to compete”, 12 Dec 2017
At first, I thought that Flores was simply looking for a way to put the best possible face on the unjust politically-motivated scapegoating of Russia in the upcoming Olympic Games.
I assumed that Russia would simply boycott the games, a gesture that would achieve next to nothing — “out of sight, out of mind”, as Flores writes. I was disappointed when I read that Russian athletes would attend — as individuals. I feared that attendance would seem to legitimize the unjust and outrageous IOC ban. It would seem like capitulation to injustice.
Flores has convinced me otherwise. Attendance will actually enable Russia to make an extremely strong statement.
Think of the football players who kneel during the national anthem. They stand out, and because they stand out, they draw attention to their cause. Their protest is controversial, however, because they are flaunting unspoken rules.
The Russians, likewise, will stand out at Pyeongchang. To begin with, they will all be wearing the same uniform: white. But their protest will not be some willful quixotic gesture: It has been ordained, unwittingly, by the IOC itself!
The Russians will be competing with the athletes of the West, many of whom who employ “Therapeutic Use Exemptions” (TUE’s) to dope legally. We will see the contrast between the clean Russian athletes, all dressed in white, and TUE dopers and steroid users from the West.
White is more than just the color of cleanliness: It is also the color of innocence. The IOC allegations are based on false testimony by an embittered and unstable individual, Grigory Rodchenkov. They are unsubstantiated.
Russia is innocent and is the subject of political persecution by the war-addicted Empire of the West. Russians, wearing white, will symbolize innocence and freedom from the dirty political games played by the West’s pro-war Establishment.
The white uniforms also symbolize neutrality and universality. For the past hundred years or so, all over the world, we have seen the Empires of the West using a “divide and conquer” strategy — fostering nationalism and rabid ethnic hatred, sowing strife, fomenting cataclysmic wars. Russia has pursued a different course — e.q., the communist vision of working class unity. Although Russians are proud of their nation, the communism of the past and the Eurasianism of today both transcend nationalism and envision a community of nations.
The Russians, wearing white, will remind us that there is something more precious than the flag of the nation, and that is the human individual. Where the West uses military force to reduce the world to slaves and plutocrats, Russia’s multi-polar vision preserves room for the individual. The affection Russian athletes have for their motherland will be undiminished, but their neutral status will enable them to speak for all nations.
The IOC, in effect, has designated Russia the world spiritual leader, and has ratified its claim to the high moral ground.
you dont make decision instead of them!
they invested own time,own energy, own money. not you, not putin.
political analyst Mikhail Delyagin ironically stated, the Russian sport authorities must start defending the rights of LGBTQ community.
Do we have to have this issue rammed down out throats yet again. Most normal people are sick to death with it. And I cannot see how it is relevant to the article or to the issue at all. What rights don’t they have? Its ludicrous.
“There Is No Surprise In Russia Olympics Ban”
sure not. over 1000 drugged sportsmen …
Russia has all ready proved itself worthy of being an alternative to a brutal American empire by changing the course of history in the ME, among other things. A highly politicized sports spectacle and a culturally biased view of a narrow interest group are minor considerations in Russia’s future on the world stage.