The former star of Soviet sports and the gray eminence of Russian biathlon, in his typical way, went to the IBU and to all the countries that agree to the sports sanctions against the two mentioned states. The start of the Russians and Belarusians could generally only be imagined by the other countries if the competitors stood up against the bloody invasion of Ukraine.
“The fact that the IBU is asking us to distance ourselves from the Russian military is complete nonsense. They should mind their own business, namely the development of biathlon. The executive committee now has the weakest composition in history,” said the 75-year-old Tikhonov in an interview with the state-controlled Ria Novosti channel.
The holder of the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Star was himself previously the vice-president of the IBU, which subsequently convicted Tikhonov of corruption in an internal investigation. He should have tried to bribe the then General Secretary of the IBU to sweep the case of Russian doping sinners under the table.
However, it is now back in the limelight. “We will punish them. It’s just raining in Europe. Soon there will be no snow in the Czech Republic and Germany. He’s still creeping up on us. I would have turned off all of their gas a long time ago,” Tikhonov quickly moved on in the interview to threats from a changing climate to classic Russian blackmail leverage towards neighboring countries in the form of gas.
At the recent IBU congress in Salzburg, only two countries were against the extension of the ban on the start of Russians and Belarusians (whose representatives did not vote, of course) on the international stage. It is not officially known which countries wanted their return.
Photo: Russian Biathlon Union
Alexander Tikhonov with medals and orders.Photo: Russian Biathlon Union
Tikhonov suggests that the US was against the extension. “The Americans have already come with the support of our representatives. They want Russians to be able to compete in international competitions. All these sanctions will not last long. But the Americans are also driving it. That’s the only problem. However, I am sure that they will still kneel before us,” thundered Tikhonov.
A member of the former Communist Party of the Soviet Union, he has not only a past as an athlete and a buffoon. After the end of his career, he tried to start a business and also start a political career. In 1999, he unsuccessfully ran for governor of the Moscow region.
In 2000, together with his brother Viktor and other persons, he was accused of planning the murder of Aman Tuleyev, the governor of the Kemerovo region. In 2007, he was sentenced to three years in prison, but his sentence was forgiven due to an amnesty.
