Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports Dmitry Svishchev commented on the discriminatory measures against skaters for participating in shows in Russia.
The day before it became known that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had deprived Ukrainian figure skater Viktor Petrenko of a state scholarship for participating in Tatiana Navka’s ice show “The Scarlet Flower”.
In addition, the Lithuanian authorities have expressed their intention to deprive figure skater Margarita Drobyazko of citizenship and her wife Povilas Vanagasa – state awards for their participation in the Swan Lake show in Navka.
– In their anti-Russian hysteria, some countries have started to go to extremes. Ukrainians deprive their honored athlete of the scholarship only because he earns his living by participating in commercial shows. This is a direct ban on freedom of activity and freedom of choice. And now Lithuania will also deprive Margarita Drobyazko of citizenship and her husband, Povilas Vanagas, of state awards.
They have already imbued the sport with politics from head to toe. Although people do not do anything illegal – they develop sports, show the public their skills. We do not refuse such excellent athletes, we are always delighted to see them on our arenas. Their performances are a great opportunity for our sports fans to see such masters with their own eyes,” Svishchev told reporters.
Source : MatchTV
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