In Makhachkala, the stadium named after two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva was renamed Trud. This is stated in the decree of the government of Dagestan.
The decision was made on 18 August. A month before, the head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, proposed renaming the stadium.
“Many of us remember how hastily, without taking into account the opinion of the townspeople, the athletics stadium in the center of Makhachkala was renamed in honor of Elena Isinbayeva six years ago. Yes, this is a talented athlete who has set more than one world record, but she has never connected her life, her past and future with Dagestan. And the last statements of the athlete, made from behind the cordon, are a serious signal for us and a reason to reconsider the name of the stadium, ”said Melikov.
According to him, the name of the stadium should have been chosen by the residents of Dagestan. “I admit that people will even want to return the former name — "WORK". And in honor of Elena Isinbayeva, let them name some gym in Spain, which she preferred to Russia, ”concluded the head of the republic.
On June 14, the Spanish newspaper El Digital Sur wrote that Isinbayeva had moved to a «luxury complex» on the island of Tenerife. After that, the athlete wrote on social networks: “I have always believed and will believe in the best sides of every person, even those people who are“ ready to throw a stone at me today ” just because someone somewhere said something, wrote or distributed a photo 10 years ago.
The team of Alexei Navalny confirmed that Isinbayeva bought two houses in Tenerife at the beginning of 2022, they estimated the total value of the property at 2 million euros. Investigators suggest that on the basis of this purchase, the athlete received a Spanish residence permit.
Since 2016, Isinbayeva has been a memberof the Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). At the end of June 2023, it became known that the IOC ethics committee was conducting a check against her “for involvement in the armed forces of the Russian Federation” and support for the war in Ukraine.
Later, the athlete said that in September 2023 she would resume her activities in the IOC, since the organization had “no doubts” about her. “Friends, I appeal to everyone who distributes fake articles and information: I am a man of the world, I have always been and will remain so!” Isinbayeva said.
Isinbayeva was a confidant of Vladimir Putin in the 2012 and 2018 elections. According to Sports.ru, she received the military rank of major and signed a five-year contract for military service — she was appointed athletics instructor of the Central Army Sports Club. Isinbayeva was also a member of the working group that rewrote the Constitution. These amendments allowed Putin to nullify the presidential term.
In her post dated July 17, the athlete claimed that the title assigned to her was “nominal”, since she “is not and never was in the service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.” After that, the Minister of Sports Oleg Matytsin called Isinbayeva's attitude «to the military rank, to the civil position and the events that take place in your native country» unacceptable.