Commitment against doping

Russian sport has announced a firm commitment to eradicating doping in the country.

A policy of "zero tolerance" towards doping transgressions has been adopted - with work beginning to install this philosophy from childhood.

In 2020, more than 230,000 athletes and doctors completed online anti-doping training and were rewarded with certificates.

Competition regulations for many sports now insist that these certificates are a mandatory requirement for taking part.

In addition, more than 8,000 doping samples were taken as part of Russia's testing programme.

Education on doping is a key theme.

More than 200 information and training sessions on anti-doping were carried out in Russia in 2020.

National Federations are also required to post mandatory anti-doping information on their websites.

There has also been analysis and restructuring of the leadership of all Russian and regional sporting federations, particularly those where there is a previous history of doping violations.

In May 2021, Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin attended the Seventh Session of the Conference of Parties to the International Convention Against Doping in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

He stressed Russia's readiness to further cooperate with foreign countries on anti-doping matters, as well as international regulators.

"Creation of conditions in the international arena for systemic and effective counteraction to doping in sports is one of the priority tasks for the entire world sports community," Matytsin said.

"The Russian Federation adheres to clear principles of zero tolerance to doping in sport and implements in its policy a consistent approach to eradicate it."

At the Session, Russian sports manufacturer Forward announced a contribution to the budget of the Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sports, which is run by UNESCO.

Forward is the first commercial entity to contribute to international anti-doping efforts in this way.

Russia's anti-doping efforts have received backing from Witold Bańka, the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

"In Russia, we have no longer to deal with an unprecedented system of doping support, which once shocked the world of sports," Bańka told Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita.

"The Russians were punished, we came to the end of a certain saga."

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin welcomed Bańka’s comments. 

"There has never been any Government support for doping - this position has always been principled," he said.

"The opinion of the WADA President was received with satisfaction.

"We are glad that at present a constructive dialogue has been built, that the dark page has been turned, and WADA does not consider Russia as some kind of exceptional country, the only one to have a problem of doping.

"Witold Bańka said that there are isolated cases in many countries.

"Today the efforts of the Ministry of Sports and the state, together with the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, are aimed at creating a system of counteracting doping through educational programmes, through strict control, through interaction with federations and regions.

"This work has yielded results, and I see the WADA President's statements as an endorsement of this work."

Speaking after a law was drafted in Russia aimed at counteracting "unlawful influence" on the results of official sports competitions, Matytsin added: "There is no place for unfair play in sports.

"Compliance with the rules of a fair fight is one of the main values of Olympism.

"Russia stands for fair sports and will continue to fight against any manifestations of illegal influence on the results of the competition."