Russian sports will be governed in the same way as in the USSR. Vladimir Putin approved
Andrey Shitikhin October 19, 2024, 14:15 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev will concentrate all power in his hands. Or does anyone have questions?
Russian President Vladimir Putin officially allowed Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev to nominate a candidate for the vacant post of head of the ROC. All power in Russian sports will be concentrated in one hand. In the USSR there was such a combination of positions, and even today in other countries civil servants work in public organizations. What will this lead to?
The answer is total control of sports by the State. In fact, in Russia sport has always been property of the State. And in other realities it simply did not exist. But the sports federations worked quite freely and without total control. Now your job will definitely change. At least in terms of access to financial resources. Now the State will decide who is worthy of receiving money from a special fund provided by betting houses and who can do without it.
Why did they begin to unite sports federations in Russia?
“Sorry, that’s your problem.” How Russian sport is coming under state control
And the head of the ROC will not argue with the Minister of Sports, not to mention the heads of individual federations, about whether it is worth sending athletes in a neutral status to international competitions. This question does not seem to require further discussion.
In the USSR, by the way, a similar combination existed. The first head of the NOC of the USSR, Konstantin Andrianov, worked as the first deputy head of the USSR Sports Committee, his successor Sergei Pavlov generally headed the State Sports Committee, as did Marat Gramov, who later came to the leadership . The former (very cautious) head of the ROC, Alexander Zhukov, also worked in government positions.
At the forum “Russia – sports power” held in Ufa, the state policy in the field of sports was clearly outlined: develop sports, attract more people to active activities, build sports facilities, eliminate any trade in children’s sports, promote the return of Russian athletes to international competitions, but in conditions of suspension, they focus on internal outings and new formats.
Vladimir Putin
Photo: RIA Novosti
“If our Minister of Sports really heads the National Olympic Committee, then he, the Minister and the President of the NOC in one person, will have more opportunities and powers to communicate with the regions, regulate work in the regions and work more closely. with the federations”, – said Vladimir Putin.
More powers to communicate and regulate: this is precisely why Mikhail Degtyarev was appointed to the position of Minister of Sports. And the merger of positions was probably planned immediately, only everything was clearly done in accordance with the Olympic Charter. Perhaps the next step is to reduce the national team rosters in all sports.
Is this good for sports? It’s too early to draw conclusions. But, at a minimum, the restructuring of sport in Russia should lead to people actually working, and not just holding positions.
Not everyone in world sport has forgotten Russia. Here and there they remember:
“They made me cry.” In the United States, the flags of Russia and the USSR were raised in honor of our champions.
