Total chaos in Russia's sports world

Some coaches and athletes packed their bags after Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin began his war of aggression against Ukraine on February 24. Currently, however, football and ice hockey clubs, figure skating and athletics associations fear for their substance because more and more athletes are being called up for military service. But no one wants to die as “cannon fodder” on the battlefield in Putin’s war.

“Sport cannot be treated as a separate polite society that should receive any extraordinary privileges,” said Sports Minister Oleg Matyzin last week at the “Russia – a Sports Great Power” forum. The athletes would also have to prove themselves to be patriots. But only a few publicly acknowledge the “duty of defending the fatherland,” as the power apparatus calls it.

Is ex-boxing world champion Nikolai Valuyev going to war?

There was a lot of attention when ex-boxing world champion Nikolai Valuyev spoke out via video and claimed that he had a draft certificate as a reservist. However, many doubt that the 49-year-old, who could rely on his protected status as a member of the State Duma, will ultimately go to war against Ukraine for Putin. Some people see this as a propaganda ploy aimed at the hundreds of thousands of men who are currently fleeing Russia to avoid being drafted as reservists. Sports associations are demanding exceptions Meanwhile, Sports Minister Matyzin is confronted with a whole wave of requests from sports associations demanding exceptions for footballers, ice hockey players, swimmers and track and field athletes. They argue that IT specialists, representatives of the state media and other groups are officially spared by the Ministry of Defense.

But the former table tennis professional Matyzin is considered a man without much influence in politics. The 58-year-old official, who has a lot of work to do in addition to the fight against doping, at best shows understanding for the concerns. “Yes, we understand that athletes and coaches are the golden treasure, especially those who are preparing for the Olympic Games.” Perhaps, said Matyzin, “individual categories” could receive a postponement. He is in dialogue with the government about this. Biathletes as officers However, the head of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Posdnyakov, also said that there was nothing he could do. “Service for the homeland” is one of the honorable duties of citizens. He did not say whether he was also referring to the many prominent athletes who only received high military ranks as an award after the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Among Russia's biathletes, there are some reserve officers, including Alexander Loginov and Eduard Latypov. At the moment, however, less prominent athletes are primarily receiving their call-up notices.

Russia's top biathlete Eduard Latypov. © ANSA / MARTIN DIVISEK

One example is 24-year-old Alexander Samarin, vice-European figure skating champion in 2019. Many people are like him: although he trains in an army sports club, like almost everyone else, he has no combat experience. This is actually considered a prerequisite for military service. But even Kremlin leader Putin had to admit that there were many violations and that people were being called up unjustly. Ice hockey star wanted to buy his freedom However, many athletes do not feel represented, which is why they are looking for a way out. A court in the megacity of Ufa sentenced ice hockey player Wladislaw Lukin on Monday to a fine of 2,2 million rubles (around 38.000 euros) because he is said to have tried through an intermediary to buy his way out of military service at the district military replacement office. The player from the Jurga club from Khanty-Mansiysk is said to have paid a bribe of 230.000 rubles (around 4.000 euros) for this. Lukin wasn't the only one.

The call-up of the goalkeeper of the national ice hockey team, Ivan Fedotov, also caused a stir in the summer. He is currently not at risk of being deployed in a war zone because those doing military service are not supposed to fight there. But no one knows how long the war will last - and how far Putin will go with his mobilization. The 25-year-old Fedotov, who played a key role in Sbornaya's silver medal at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, was drafted in early July.

Russian commentators said that the case was probably a case of punitive military service for the former CSKA player. Fedotov signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers of the North American National Hockey League in May. Instead of going to the USA, the star went to the dreary Russian north to a military base in the area around the port city of Arkhangelsk.

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Total chaos in Russia's sports world

The war in Ukraine is increasingly affecting Russia's sports world. It's not just the exclusion of Russian athletes from international competitions and many other sanctions from the West that are causing problems for the proud sporting nation.

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