Russian senators and deputies stand for the Russian Olympic team

“If Americans really want the medals, we can make some on our money factory for them.” – Gennady Raykov, the leader of People’s Deputy faction member advised.

Something unimaginable was happening today in the Russian parliament. Everybody was talking in protection of the Russian Olympic team, which does not have a good time at the Winter Olympics. Such unanimity has never happened in the parliament during the discussion of the Russian laws.

The address from the Russian parliament was called “About the situation with the Russian athletes at the international competitions.” The document is addressed to the chairman of the Russian State Committee for Physical Training and Sports, Pavel Rozhkov and to the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Leonid Tyagachev.

First of all, the Russian delegation was recommended to refuse from the participation in the closing ceremony. This is supposed to take place in case if the International Olympic Committee refuses to apologize to Russia and give the clear explanation of its policy. Secondly, the Russian sports administration is urged to strive for the repeated ski race – the race, in which the Russian athletes were forbidden to participate. Then it was said that the American judges should be dismissed from refereeing Russia – USA hockey semifinal.

Four hundred and twenty-two deputies of the Russian parliament voted for the document, there was not even one vote against it. Russian senators are going to support the deputies. The Federation Council is preparing a special statement to the International Olympic Committee in connection with the discriminating policy against the Russian team. The decree on the subject is to be passed at the coming session. The speaker of the Federation Council Sergey Mironov claimed that Russia “did not have a right to keep silent.”

The idea of the Olympic movement, which unites the world and makes all the people come together, has been brought down totally. The story started with the figure skating competition, when a Canadian couple protested the judges’ decision to award the gold medals to Russian skaters Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sukharulidze. The show continued with biathlon athlete Pavel Rostovtsev, who claimed they had taken too much of his blood for dope control tests, short before the beginning of the race. Then there was an acrobatic freestyle skiing competition, in which our athlete Olga Koroleva was condemned – she was deprived of any award at all. The Russian hockey team had to play in the minority in the match with the Czech republic. Russian figure skater Irina Slutskaya was deprived of the first place that she deserved: millions of TV viewers could see her crying. The first place was given to American Sarah Hughes (16 years old), who was then clinging to the fourth place after the short program. These examples are not complete and the list could go on.

The bluntest humiliation of the Russian team was the disqualification of all Russian female skiers this night before the long-distance competitions. Let us see, what happens with Russia-USA hockey game.

Sergey Stefanov PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov