Russia demands, does not demand, its return to the international scene. Chronicle of Veronika Stepanova

We never asked to be allowed back on the international scene. They ask for favors and indulgence, they defend legal rights. This is what we have been doing since the beginning of March and continue to do in the letter and the spirit of international sports cooperation. I already said it the other day in an interview with the Norwegian Dagbladet: political differences cannot and should not prevent athletes from competing with each other.

If someone wants to boycott me on the track, it will be their personal decision. But as far as I know, international sport does not allow boycotts. Those who attempt to boycott, for example Israeli athletes, are immediately disqualified. What is the difference between us, the Russians and the Israelis or the Americans?

Israeli Avishag Semberg, my age, by the way, is a sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces. And Olympic medalist in Tokyo. Upon her return, Chief of Staff Tsakhal personally congratulated her. In the Arab press, as far as I know, they wrote a lot about this. And I have no doubt that many in the world did not like this combination (Olympic Games and Tsakhal). But, remind me, who came up with the idea of ​​removing Avishag from competition? Or “it’s different”?

I don’t expect us to be covered in roses when we arrive at the contest – the fierce propaganda against anything truly Russian hasn’t started this year, many (albeit a minority) in the same Scandinavia fell under his influence. But I demand that we, personally, be treated the same as my Israeli counterpart Avishag – respecting the rights of athletes that have been respected for decades. Isn’t it clear that otherwise – it’s hypocrisy and the destruction of the basic principles of sport?

Otherwise, like during the Cold War, when Soviet athletes were “banned and canceled”. Oh, excuse me, in those years no one could have imagined such a thing in the West?! Maybe because the heads were much smarter in power there than those who are now?

Who are we going to fire tomorrow? The captain of the Serbian national football team on the grounds that he refused to wear an armband of certain colors during the World Cup? One of the best basketball players in the NBA because he refused to be vaccinated after being sick? However, the latter seems to be happening already.

…I keep replaying a winter episode in my head. The very end of February, Lugna, Norway, world championship for juniors and young people. All Norwegian TV channels are full of information about Russia, where our country is as soon as it is not called, as soon as it is not marked. And the championship is launched and the winners are awarded medals not by just anyone, but by Eric Reste himself! He is a great man, not even in cross-country skiing – in skiing in general: the president of the Norwegian Ski Association, vice-president of the FIS, at the same time occupies a high position within the International Olympic Committee. And here in Lugna, every time, Resta must reward our skiers. And here we are with the flag and the coat of arms on the overalls. And the Norwegian official smiles at us, shakes our hands, doesn’t grimace. And rightly so – after all, sport is out of politics, after all, such an attitude always has been. And now read what Rest, from March, began to say: “Yes, the Russians should not be allowed, but no one will understand that! ..” Had he had such a restructuring of consciousness? Or did they call / write from above? I don’t have an answer – I just remember a cheerful handshake and a rather friendly smile. Have you forgotten, Mr Rest?

The reality is that international sport has fallen into the hands of a small group of people who are not particularly interested in principles. But following the political moment is the most important thing in the activity. Moreover, the political moment is exclusively in the understanding of the various influence groups in the West. The moment will change – they will change their shoes. For now, we have what we have.

It seems that little depends on the athletes and even the sports officials. They will wait for the green light from their politicians.

In such a situation, I begin to think: do we need it? Do you really need it?

President Putin recently proposed the creation of sports associations within the framework of the SCO – the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Such associations could solve the main problem – to tear the sport away from the opinion of Western politicians, to bring it back to a normal and neutral state.

But that simply won’t be the case. In winter sports, almost all the top teams are European or North American. They won’t let us compete. This means that we must develop competitions between private teams, as in the KHL or the NHL. Yes, cross-country skiing is not hockey, but our budgets are completely different. In the summer, a fairly well-known European skier wrote to me: already make commercial competitions, make a series of races so that the prizes cover the costs several times – we will come to you, what do we have to lose? Indeed, most ski federations in the same Europe are penniless. It will be extremely difficult for them to prevent an athlete from participating in our competitions.

I have no naivety or high expectations about the upcoming international season, and I never have. But at 21, I have time to train, experiment and learn how to win. In a fair fight with skiing rivals, not with a bunch of Western politicians who think they control all international sports.