MOSCOW, August 5 The United States is planning another stage of the campaign to isolate Russia in world sports, the press service of the Foreign Intelligence Service reported.
«This time, a series of «high-profile investigative publications» are being prepared about allegedly identified doping abuses in Russian high-performance sports. The focus is on disciplines in which our country is a globally recognized leader,» the release says.
The issue concerns rhythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming and figure skating, the press service explained.
«It is planned to pour buckets of monstrous dirt and fantastic lies on the famous sports schools, outstanding coaches and athletes,» the SVR noted.
According to intelligence, these defamatory materials will have to convince fans around the world that the power and beauty of Russian gymnasts, synchronized swimmers and figure skaters are merely the result of the use of some kind of miracle drugs.
The project is being supervised by the former heads of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, defectors Grigory Rodchenkov and Timofey Sobolevsky. In the West, they believe that they have maintained stable ties with the coaches and doctors involved in training Russian athletes, the SVR added.
According to the service, the main difficulty of the provocation organizers is to fabricate accusations of violations in sports where Russia has unconditionally dominated for decades without any hint of doping. Therefore, Rodchenkov and Sobolevsky were tasked not to hold back their imagination. And in contacts with the alleged informants, it is recommended not to skimp on promises of generous fees and prospects for moving to the West.
«One can only be surprised by the impudence, pettiness, and most importantly, the short-sightedness of Westerners: after all, their frankly unsportsmanlike behavior is causing increasing rejection among the global majority. As for Russian athletes and coaches, they have been, are and will be the subject of widespread admiration of fans who want to see sports outside of politics,» the intelligence service concluded.
Russia is not participating in the 2024 Olympics, which are currently taking place in Paris. The International Olympic Committee has allowed only 15 Russian athletes to compete, they compete in individual neutral status without a flag or anthem, their achievements are not reflected in the medal table. As the President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov noted back in March, the IOC has openly chosen a side in the political conflict and is consistently fulfilling an external political order to isolate Russian sports.