MOSCOW, 22 Apr. Dmitry Smith, President of the Russian eSports Federation (FCSR), proposed to grant Russian cybersportsmen a deferment from military service. On Friday, a meeting of the working group for the development of eSports, which was created under the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, was held. The working group was headed by the deputy chairman of the committee Amir Khamitov. In addition to Khamitov and Smith, representatives of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, State Duma deputies took part in the meeting. «Now there is a lot of pressure, they are trying to lure many athletes away. Our task is to keep our athletes inside the country. We are not saying that all cybersportsmen should not serve, there will be a delay, but then, when the time comes, let them serve in a specialized or sports company. Fine motor skills are important there, and in the conditions of modern weapons, where decisions need to be made in tenths of a second, they can bring benefit and maximum effect to the country, «Smith said, adding that the package of support measures may include preferential mortgages and special lending conditions. «Due to the unprecedented pressure from unfriendly countries, unfortunately, sports did not stand aside. My colleagues and I are actively working in the State Duma Sports Committee to develop proposals for improvement of legislation, including consideration of measures to support domestic owners of sports equipment, equipment, tax and other preferences for all market participants. Equally, all the proposed measures can be applied to e-sports, taking into account the peculiarities of this sport,» Khamitov added. The members of the working group put forward a proposal to introduce out-of-competition selection to universities for bachelor's and specialist's programs for e-sports athletes who showed high results in international competitions .»This is only an initiative, and it still needs to be supported by the government. The proposal, it seems to me, should be worked out with the regions, we still need to get feedback from them. In this regard, both the Public Chamber and various ministries can be involved. Because this is such an initiative that concerns different departments. And interdepartmental coordination is already important here,» said Dmitry Pirog, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Sports Committee.
