Men with power: Vladimir Putin (left) and Alisher Usmanov share a trusting relationship.
Bild: picture alliance/dpa
The Russian oligarch Usmanov, as president of the world federation and Putin confidant, made fencing his subject with a lot of money. The Ukrainian athletes are feeling it – and the IOC is watching.
Zfor example Sting. Anyone who wants to know how the game with influence works, how Russia has made international sports federations compliant – buying is such a mundane term – can start with the British musician. Paris, Grand Palais, November 30th, 2013. The Federation Internationale d’Escrimage (FIE) turns 100 years old. The World Federation of Fencing celebrates its birthday. And the President pays.
A six-figure sum was due for the heating costs alone, according to the magazine of the German Fechter-Bund. All in all, Alisher Usmanow spent five to ten million euros on the anniversary. Sting’s performance included. “Things were stylish,” the Germans summed up at the time, and “money is no longer an issue.” That’s wrong. basic wrong. Money plays the crucial role. Alisher Usmanov spoke for him when he was elected President of the FIE in 2008. Since then he has been re-elected three times, most recently in 2021 by acclamation.
