The Russian Olympic Committee has issued an official statement regarding the IOC's recent moves confirming that the suspension of Russian athletes from competition remains in place:
“For more than four months, the ROC, despite the unprecedented pressure on the Russian sports community and unlawful sanctions against Russian athletes, continues to prove its commitment to the letter and spirit of the Olympic Charter, to uphold the true Olympic values.
Unfortunately, the forced escalation of anti-Russian hysteria continues. This happens in the absence of any reaction to the widespread interference of Western state structures in the affairs of NOCs, which are ordered to support restrictions and suspensions on a national basis, and are forbidden to participate in competitions where Russians compete. <…>
The rhetoric that we hear from high tribunes, as well as restrictions on Russian sports, indicate that the unity of the Olympic movement and a non-discriminatory approach to all its participants in the current situation are being denied under the pressure of a destructive agenda.
The recent statements and actions of the IOC continue to testify to the unprecedented external interference of forces that are far from the true ideals of sport and Olympic values.
“The ROC’s commitment to the letter and spirit of the Olympic Charter” is evident in the fact that during the entire war, none of its officials tried to condemn the Kremlin’s aggression. But this war, among other things, was a gross violation of the Olympic principles.
In ancient times, all wars were suspended for the duration of the Olympic Games; it was called ekecheiria or Olympic truce. In 1992, the IOC, seeking to revive this tradition, appealed to the states of the world with an appeal for a truce. As a result, in October 1993, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding that a truce be observed, starting 7 days before the opening of the games and ending 7 days after they close. Later, the end of the truce began to be considered 7 days after the end of the Paralympic Games, which take place after the Olympic Games at the same sports venues.
In December 2021, the UN General Assembly approved the dates for the next Olympic Truce: from January 28 to March 20, 2022. It was during this period that the so-called Russian special operation began.
And this is the third violation of the Olympic Truce by Russia. On August 8, 2008, on the opening day of the Beijing Olympics, Russia attacked Georgia. And on February 27, 2014, Russian special forces seized the buildings of the Crimean authorities; this happened 4 days after the closing of the Olympics in Sochi, and on March 7, the Paralympic Games began.
In February 2022, when the online publication Inside the Games reported that the Chair of the ROC Athletes' Commission, two-time Olympic fencing champion Sofya Velikaya signed a letter from Ukrainian athletes urging the IOC to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian Olympic and Paralympic Committees, the ROC declared it a fake . In March, the Grand Commission headed by the head of the IOC sent a letter to the head of the IOC Thomas Bach with the opposite content – with accusations against Ukraine and criticism of the IOC, which removed Russian athletes from the competition. Whether the Great personally signed this letter was not reported. She herself did not comment on the situation with the two letters, although the head of the information service of the ROC stated that she allegedly confirmed that she did not sign the letter of the Ukrainian athletes.
