Russia Olympics Return: Flag Application & Sports Presence

Formally, no Russian or Belarusian can represent their country at the Olympics in Italy. Athletes from both countries have a chance to compete. It is enough for them to receive the status of “individual neutral athlete” from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In order for someone to receive an exemption, they must meet the classic qualification and anti-doping conditions. He must not be affiliated in any way with the military or Russian security forces and must not actively support the war in any way.

In short, the athlete needs to clearly demonstrate neutrality in order to receive permission from the IOC to start without state symbols, i.e. without the flag and anthem in Italy.

Six athletes have received the green so far, which may not be the final number. The year before in Paris, 32 Olympians had a special permit.

“I think everyone knows where we’re from, and maybe it attracts more attention,” ski alpinist Nikita Filippov told AP.

The native of Kamchatka subsequently explained that it must be clear to everyone who he is going to fight for anyway. Missing national symbols doesn’t matter: “It makes me more competitive in the race because I want to prove to everyone that we are strong even without a flag or an anthem and that we can beat anyone.”

The Molfar Intelligence Institute, a Ukrainian independent organization focused on intelligence analysis and investigation, opposes the approval of some exemptions. Its outputs are used by Ukrainian authorities and international media to document Russian influence operations, war crimes and sanctions evasion.

Molfar compiled according to the sheet Kyiv Post a list of more than 50 athletes of Russia who violate the fundamental rule of neutrality and supported the recent invasion of Ukraine or are connected to state forces. Thus, they should contradict the thesis issued by the Olympic Committee about neutrality.

The aforementioned skier Filippov is also included in the list. In 2024, he published celebratory posts on his Facebook profile for the “Day of Russia”, and last year he took a photo in a T-shirt with the emblem “I love the Russian Federation”. According to Molfar, the cases should be proof that Filippov does not meet the part about the athlete “not being allowed to support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.”

The sports world is gradually moving towards returning Russians and Belarusians to its structures. According to the IOC statement in December, athletes worldwide have a fundamental right to access sport and to compete without political interference or pressure from governmental organizations.

The output i states that sports associations should allow all Russians to compete in the youth without any restrictions: “Sportsmen and sportswomen, especially young sportsmen, should not be held responsible for the actions of their governments. Sport gives them access to hope and a way to show that all sportsmen can follow the same rules and respect each other.”

Subsequently, the IOC’s press department said in a statement to the Russian news agency TASS that the organization must take into account the current political context, but does not take sides in global conflicts.

“This statement is correct, so the IOC must now accept all the world’s athletes, regardless of whether there are conflicts in their countries,” immediately responded Dmitry Svishchev, the Russian vice-chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports.

In addition, the Russians managed to break one essential barrier.

They succeeded at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which recently said skiers from Belarus and Russia could return to international competition as neutral athletes. Thus, they should get the opportunity to participate in the Olympic qualifications.

An athlete who fulfills the condition of neutrality may not be rejected from the competition by the International Ski Federation. Which, of course, can still be a problem, because some countries prohibit the entry of Russians into their territory, so they are not allowed to participate in every race.

“I have nothing at all against Russian competitors as people. It was nice to compete with them, but the whole matter is more complicated,” he started for the paper The Express Swedish skier William Poromaa. “I still have the same opinion here and I’m all the more sorry for what happened. It’s damn dangerous to change positions and retreat from a decision just because time has passed,” he added, arguing why he doesn’t like the CAS verdict.

At the moment, we are also waiting to see how the dispute with biathlon will turn out in arbitration. Like the ski federation, it cut Russians and Belarusians from its structures and does not plan to accept them there during the war in Ukraine.

The International Biathlon Federation claims that its statutes do not allow Russians and Belarusians to be awarded the position of neutral athlete. In addition, it adds that its members have strong legal reasons to vote to suspend the Russians from the competitions.

So far, biathlon remains the only sport in the program of the Winter Olympics where individual medals are sought, but the Russians are not offered the opportunity to compete for them even as neutral athletes. The arbitration court has not yet issued an official verdict.

Russian athletes are gradually returning to international competitions.

February 2022 gave them a stop sign, when four days after the end of the Olympics in Beijing, military activity in Ukraine intensified. At that moment, the most visible part of the war began, where Russia wants to conquer the territory of a foreign state.

At that time, most sports federations excluded Russians from their structures. At the same time, Belarusian athletes were also cut off, because strikes on Ukraine were carried out from their territory right from the beginning of the conflict. The International Olympic Committee subsequently suspended Russia and Belarus for violating the Olympic Truce Charter.

But judo, for example, left the theme of war. Already at the end of last year, it allowed Russian athletes to compete for their country, under their flag and with the Russian anthem.

As far as team sports are concerned, there is still no way for Russians to participate in competitions. No one invited them back. Neither did the NHL, which can hold its own tournaments without the stamp of the International Hockey Federation. Last year, it organized a tournament of the four best hockey countries and did not invite the Russian team.

In the same way, the ban applies, for example, to figure skating pairs and, for now, to bobsledding – i.e. to all disciplines where individuals do not compete.

In connection with the gradual return of Russians to the world of sports, Dmytro Tymoshenko, the first secretary of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations, spoke recently in New York. In an emotional speech, he said that Russia had killed at least 644 members of the Ukrainian sports community in the war, wounded 20, held 20 captive and 13 others were missing.

“The international community should continue to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions. Allowing participation would undermine confidence in sport as a factor of peace. In essence, it would be tantamount to tacit approval of the destruction of Ukrainian athletes,” Tymoshenko said.

Ukraine, attacked in the conflict, will send its own expedition to Italy for the Olympics, which according to the latest reports includes 20 athletes.