On March 28, the International Olympic Committee made a proposal to allow Russian athletes to compete in the Paris Olympics under a neutral flag as long as they did not explicitly support the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In view of past strong objections to its proposal, the committee offered to establish a screening panel, which would determine compliance and exclude those associated with the military.
Ukraine is opposed to Russian participation in the Games under any guise, and it has the support of over 30 other countries. It says that Russia is an aggressor state that invaded Ukraine and committed war crimes, killed athletes, and destroyed athletic facilities. The Olympics was established to promote peace and fellowship.
WHY IS BIDEN BENDING TO PUTIN'S CRIMEA RED LINE?
But aside from the issue of support for the war, many Russian athletes willingly endorse Putinism and his Great Russian chauvinism. Just as Hitler once used the Olympics to promote his regime, Putin uses Olympic athletes to promote his ideology of the “Russian world” and the expansionism necessary to achieve its goals.
This was described by Ian Garner, a Canadian historian, in his presentation at the recent Berlin conference, based on his new book, Z Generation: Into the Heart of Russia’s Fascist Youth. In this case, "Z" does not indicate millennials but Russian tanks invading Ukraine. He says that a significant part of Russia’s youth fully accepts Putin’s ideology and supports his regime. He gives two examples of youth indoctrination: the All Russian National Association of Patriots Young Army and social media. The Young Army is a paramilitary organization for children 6-18 years old. This organization, with its 1.3 million members, promotes physical and spiritual health to become good citizens and soldiers, ready to demonstrate their dedication to Putin and the all-encompassing Russia.
Leaders of this movement are not middle-aged bureaucrats who led communist youth organizations Komsomol and Young Pioneers in the Soviet times. They are extremely popular and accomplished Olympic athletes. For men, there is Nikita Nagorny, a 25-year-old gymnast, multiple world and European champion, who was part of the Russian Olympic gymnastics team that won gold and silver medals in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
For women, there is 22-year-old Veronika Stepanova, a gold medalist cross-country skier from the Beijing Winter Olympics. There are other Olympians at different levels. Even though this is a youth club, praise for Putin and his imperialistic policies is all-encompassing. Members are very influential on social media, which uses entertainment to indoctrinate masses of Russian youth in a violent language of war and hate for the West, Great Russian chauvinism, and admiration for Putin’s authoritarian rule. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, membership in this organization shot up.
Thus, allowing Russian athletes to compete in the Paris Olympics in any manner increases their stature and popularity, which they will likely willingly use to promote ideas antithetical to the Olympic movement. Even if the most chauvinist athletes are excluded, new 2024 Russian Olympic champions will be pressured to join the Putin movement when they return home.
This is why the current decision of the International Olympic Committee to include Russian athletes with restrictions is a betrayal of the Olympic spirit. A complete ban is an appropriate strategy to stop Putin from using the Olympic movement to prop up his regime and his violent, imperialistic policies.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Dr. Lucja Swiatkowski Cannon is a senior research fellow at the Institute of World Politics in Washington. She is a strategist, expert, and author on Eastern Europe, Russia, and US-East European relations.