Doping in Russia

Many athletes from Russia used special drugs to get better at sports. This is called doping. It is not fair to others and can be bad for health. Because of this, many Olympic medals from Russian athletes were taken away.

The World Anti-Doping Agency found that the government in Russia helped athletes use these drugs. They gave out drugs such as steroids to help athletes do better. Because of these big rule breaks, Russia was not allowed to join big sports events like the Olympic Games for a while.

In 2019, the ban was set for four years but was later made shorter to two years. During this time, Russian athletes could still compete but had to use a neutral flag instead of Russia’s flag. This shows how important it is to keep sports fair and safe for everyone.

Soviet era

During the Soviet era, some leaders tried to help athletes use special substances to improve their performance. A report from 1989 suggested that many winners at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow may have used these substances. Later documents showed that the Soviet Union planned to help athletes use these substances for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, even before they chose not to participate.

Timeline of the doping

Doping issues from 2008 to 2009

In 2008, seven Russian track and field athletes were suspended before the Summer Olympics in Beijing for issues with their urine samples.

Multiple Russian biathletes were involved in doping problems before the 2010 Winter Olympics. The president of the International Biathlon Union said, "We are facing systematic doping in one of the strongest teams of the world."

A report reviewing blood samples from 2001 to 2009 found that samples from "Country A" had more issues than other countries. One of the authors said that Country A was Russia.

In October 2009, an official wrote to Valentin Balakhnichev that blood samples from Russian athletes "recorded some of the highest values ever seen since the IAAF started testing."

2010–2014: allegations of state-sponsored doping and 2014 ARD documentary

In 2010, an employee at the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), began sending information to the World Anti-Doping Agency about possible doping in athletics. In December 2012, an athlete sent an email to WADA with details about an alleged state-run doping program in Russia. In April 2013, an athlete was banned for ten years after failing a doping test. In December 2014, a German broadcaster aired a documentary, which uncovered alleged Russian state involvement in doping.

2015

In January 2015, an official resigned as treasurer of the International Association of Athletics Federations.

In response to the documentary, WADA did an investigation, and the report was published on 9 November 2015. The report said there was widespread doping and cover-ups by Russian authorities. It suggested that the athletics federation be declared non-compliant.

A day later, WADA suspended the Moscow Anti-doping Center. On 13 November, the athletics council decided to stop Russia from world track and field events. Russia was also not allowed to host major events, and the federation had to let an international court handle doping cases. The federation agreed to the suspension and did not ask for a hearing.

In November, France started a criminal investigation into a former athletics president, alleging that he took money from the federation to hide positive doping results of at least six Russian athletes.

2016

January to May 2016

In January 2016, the IAAF gave lifetime bans to the former head of the Russian athletics federation and a top Russian coach.

In mid-January, WADA released a second report. Two former directors of RUSADA died unexpectedly in February 2016. In March, German broadcaster ARD aired a documentary alleging that competitors were told about testing plans and offered banned substances. On 19 May, WADA appointed an investigator to look into the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

On 15 March, the International Olympic Committee announced that they were re-analyzing stored urine samples from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics to find banned substances that were not noticed at the time.

A Russian boxer and a tennis player failed drug tests in March and May respectively. A Russian-Finnish footballer failed a drugs test later in the year.

June 2016

Yuliya Stepanova

An ARD documentary in June 2016 said a Russian sports minister might have helped hide doping by a football player. An IAAF deputy general secretary was suspended over allegations that he took money to delay naming Russian athletes.

In June, WADA reported problems with its testing because of unavailable reports, missed tests, and not enough information. WADA also reported intimidation of officers, delays, monitoring by security staff, delays in receiving competitor lists, and opening of sample packages by Russian customs. 90% of Russian competitors did not respond or refused when WADA asked to interview them.

On 17 June, the IAAF Council met to give the Russian Athletics Federation another chance to meet conditions for membership. The council recommended not reinstating Russia. The IAAF voted to keep its ban.

A week later, the International Weightlifting Federation decided to give Russia a one-year ban, and on 3 August the IOC agreed to the decision, and Russia's weightlifting team missed the 2016 Summer Olympics.

July 2016

August to September 2016

Russia sent a list of 389 participants for the Rio Olympics. On 7 August 2016, the IOC allowed 278 competitors, while 111 were removed because of the scandal.

Because of government interference, competitors could only enter as independent athletes.

The International Paralympic Committee found evidence that a method was used at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi. On 7 August 2016, the IPC’s Governing Board decided to ban the whole Russian team from the 2016 Summer Paralympics. On 23 August 2016, the Court of Arbitration for Sport turned down Russia's appeal. The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland also turned down another appeal by Russia.

An official said that Russia was threatening and there were attempts to hack and bug houses.

October to December 2016

2017

January to October 2017

In February 2017, an official spoke alongside a former Soviet competitor who said that East German successes due to doping are results of "good pharmacology" and should not be condemned. Later that month, WADA said that evidence against many individuals might not be enough.

A taskforce published an interim report in April. The report also noted the case of a whistleblower who had left Russia after being threatened.

In September, WADA turned down Russia's claims and said that Russia had chosen to appoint an official as head of the laboratory. The organisation also said that Russia should take responsibility for a system of cheating.

Seventeen national anti-doping organisations criticised the IOC for not holding Russia accountable.

November to December 2017

Official sanctions

On 5 December 2017, the IOC said that the Russian Olympic Committee had been suspended from the 2018 Winter Olympics, but those Russians with no previous drug violations and a history of drug testing could compete under the Olympic Flag as an "Olympic Athlete from Russia" (OAR). No Russian government officials could attend the Games, and the Russian flag and anthem would not be used; the Olympic Flag and Olympic Anthem would be used instead. On 20 December 2017, the IOC suggested an alternative logo for the OAR competitors' uniforms. IOC President said that "after following due process [the IOC] has issued sanctions for this manipulation while protecting clean competitors."

As of January 2018, the IOC had identified 43 Russian competitors from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi that it intended to ban from the 2018 Winter Olympics and all future Olympic Games as part of the Oswald Commission. All but one of those competitors appealed their bans to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The court turned down the sanctions for 28 of the appellants, so their Sochi medals and results were given back, but the court said there was enough evidence against eleven competitors to keep their Sochi sanctions. The IOC said "the result of the CAS decision does not mean that athletes from the group of 28 will be invited to the Games. Not being sanctioned does not automatically mean an invitation" and that "this [case] may affect the fight against doping". The IOC said the CAS Secretary General "said that the CAS decision does not mean that these 28 competitors are innocent" and that they would consider appealing the court's decision. The court also said the 39 competitors should only be banned from the 2018 Games, not all future Olympic Games. The remaining three Russian competitors did not appeal their decisions until March 2020 and in September 2020, two of them were cleared of doping whilst the remaining one was found guilty, however all three had their life bans turned down. After the partly successful appeal, 47 Russian competitors and coaches appealed to the CAS, in a final attempt to get an invitation to the Games. This appeal was turned down on 9 February 2018, the day of the opening ceremony, a decision that was supported by the IOC.

An original group of 500 Russians was considered for the 2018 Games and 111 of them were immediately removed from the group; this included the 43 competitors who had been sanctioned by the Oswald Commission. The remaining 389 had to meet conditions, such as more tests and re-analysis of stored samples, and they would only be considered for invitation to the Games if these requirements were met. The final number of neutral Russian competitors invited to compete was 169. However, one competitor chose not to compete, so the total was 168.

Reaction in Russia

In the past, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and other government officials had said that it would be a shame for Russia if its competitors were not allowed to compete at the Olympics under the Russian flag. However, despite rumours, his spokesman later said that no boycott had been discussed before the IOC's announcement. After the IOC decision was made public, the Head of Chechnya, said that no Chechen competitors would be allowed to compete under a neutral flag.

On 6 December 2017, Putin confirmed that the Russian government would not stop any of its competitors from taking part in the 2018 Games as individuals, despite calls from other leading Russian politicians for a boycott. A leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, suggested sending fans to the Games with a Soviet Victory Banner. The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that the United States "fears honest competition", agreeing with Vladimir Putin's view that the United States used its influence within the IOC to "orchestrate the doping scandal".

According to a newspaper, 86% of the Russian population did not want to take part in the Winter Olympics under a neutral flag.

Vladimir Putin and Lamine Diack

Many Russians thought that the IOC was reacting to Russia because of their anti-gay law which caused controversy with the IOC during the 2014 Winter Olympics when it was hosted in Sochi, Russia.

2018

January to February 2018

In January 2018, it was reported that all leading Russian competitors avoided meeting doping officers and passing anti-doping tests in a track and field competition in Irkutsk.

During the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February, two Russian competitors from the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) delegation failed doping tests and were disqualified: a curler who won a bronze medal; and a bobsleigh pilot who finished twelfth. The IOC said they were unhappy about the positive doping tests and said that the OAR team would not be allowed to parade under the Russian flag at the closing ceremony.

Despite the two disqualifications, the IOC announced on 28 February that it had chosen to lift Russia's Olympic membership, just after the end of the Winter Games, as no more cases of doping had been found in the delegation. The surprise decision to end the suspension caused anger among the international sporting community. The IOC had planned to lift Russia’s suspension after the Games if there were no more failed tests. Their statement said "The suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee is lifted with immediate effect."

May to August 2018

In the buildup to the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosted by Russia, a lab director and whistleblower said that he recognised one of Russia's players as a doper in one of his own doping programmes. FIFA had opened an inquiry into Russian doping in football after the report was published with 33 Russian footballers named in it, but said in May that they had found 'not enough evidence' of doping but said that some cases with players not in the World Cup were ongoing. The tournament ended with no players failing a drugs test. A few months after the tournament in September, the father of a Russian player said that his son had been taking growth hormone during the tournament. He was later cleared of doping by anti-doping authorities.

On 20 July, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) released details of 120 doping cases with some 85 of the cases involving Olympic and World Championships medallists and almost half (47.5%) involving Russians. On 27 July, 10 days before the start of the 2018 European Athletics Championships, the IAAF said that despite making improvements, Russia would still be suspended from international athletics competitions. 29 Russian athletes still competed in the championships as Authorised Neutral Athletes, and Russia eventually topped the medal table of the inaugural European Championships.

September 2018

The World-Anti Doping Agency voted on 20 September whether to let the Russian Anti-Doping Agency join again after being suspended in 2015. WADA had said that Russia needed to meet two criteria before RUSADA could be let back in; accept the findings of the McLaren Report and let them see Moscow's anti-doping laboratory. WADA voted to let the Russian Anti-Doping Agency join again at their congress in the Seychelles. The decision got a lot of criticism and the head of WADA had to defend the decision.

With RUSADA now let back in, the Russian Athletics Federation tried to ask the IAAF to end their ban from athletics competitions, but the IAAF turned down the request, which was later taken back by the Russian athletics federation. By 26 September, 77 Russians were serving doping bans in athletics including 72 athletes and five coaches.

November to December 2018

It was announced in November that the International Olympic Committee would re-analyze stored samples from the 2012 Olympics, testing for all banned substances. This came after 48 problems were found in previous re-analysis of samples with 22 of them being Russian

On 14 December, a newspaper reported from Moscow that officials at the Russian Ministry of Sport were still not fully working with WADA over giving over the testing data from its anti-doping laboratory. WADA said that their Expert Team had traveled to get the data. Later, it came out that WADA could not get the data because their equipment had not been properly certified.

The letting RUSADA join again led to claims of bullying and a call for reform within the World Anti-Doping Agency, however the IAAF decided to keep Russia's suspension from athletics into 2019 with 63 Russians allowed to compete as neutral athletes for the year. A team of five WADA experts traveled to Moscow on 17 December to be given full access to the laboratory, but on arrival, they were not given full access which put RUSADA close to being suspended again with their president asking Putin for a solution.

2019

January 2019

WADA had given Russia a deadline to hand over data from their Moscow laboratory by 31 December, a deadline which they missed. WADA got full access to the Moscow laboratory on 10 January, 10 days after the deadline. The WADA president called it a "big step forward for clean sport" and said they were now starting their second phase of checking the data to make sure it had not been changed and to build strong cases against Russian competitors who might have doped. WADA managed to get 2262 samples from the Moscow lab. Even though they missed the deadline, RUSADA was still considered to be following the rules and was not punished.

February to March 2019

It was announced on 8 February that the International Paralympic Committee would now let Russia join again by 15 March after they were suspended in July 2016.

On 19 March, France issued arrest warrants for two former Russian athletics officials as part of an investigation into a doping cover-up.

June to July 2019

Russia's 2008 Olympic high jump champion left his position as the vice-president of the Russian Athletics Federation in June after it was reported that he was under investigation for a possible doping violation following a re-analysis of his sample from 2013.

Vitaly Mutko, The Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth of Russia

In July Reuters reported that two Olympic Russian boxers competed in 2018 while serving doping bans applied by RUSADA.

The first cases of possible Anti-Doping violations against Russian competitors' samples taken from the Moscow Laboratory were handed over to the individual sporting federations in July. The first sporting federation to suspend competitors from the data received was the International Weightlifting Federation who suspended 12 Russian weightlifters including Olympic, World and European medalists.

September to November 2019

On 21 September, it was widely reported that some of the data retrieved from the Moscow laboratory may have been changed and tampered with before it was retrieved by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

On 21 November, a number of Russian athletics officials were suspended for getting in the way of and not helping an investigation into the whereabouts of a high-jumper. President of the Russian Athletics Federation was suspended along with 6 others associated with RusAF, including the athlete and his coach.

Doping ban

WADA then suggested that Russia be declared not following the rules again and banned from hosting sporting events for four years. On 9 December, WADA banned Russia from major international sporting events for four years, on charges of changing doping-related reports. Russia will not be allowed to host, take part in, or bid for international sporting events during this time. As before, WADA will allow cleared Russian competitors to compete neutrally, but not under the Russian flag. This will not affect Russia's co-hosting of UEFA Euro 2020, as WADA does not see UEFA as a "major event organization" covered by the ban. Regarding this ban, WADA president said that "For too long, Russian doping has affected clean sport". He also said that "Russia was given every chance to fix its problems and join the global anti-doping community for the good of its competitors and the integrity of sport, but it chose to continue to hide and deny". Russia appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

2020

January to April 2020

In January 2020, WADA suspended the Moscow laboratory from carrying out its only remaining accreditation, analysis of blood samples.

In March, World Athletics said that no more than 10 Russian track and field athletes would be allowed to compete as neutrals at the summer's Olympics. It also fined the Russian Athletics Federation $10 million because of obstruction and forgery of documents relating to the doping case of a high-jumper and said that all Russian neutrals would be banned if half of the fine was not paid by 1 July. The 2020 Summer Olympics were later put off until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 30 April, WADA said that they had finished their 'careful' investigation of the 298 Russian competitors whose data they had received from the Moscow laboratory in January 2019.

July to December 2020

The Russian athletics federation did not pay half of its $10 million World Athletics fine by 1 July. RusAF avoided being kicked out from World Athletics after the Russian Sports Minister made an 'unconditional' promise to pay the fine by a new deadline of 15 August. Russia paid the fine of $5 million and $1.31 million in costs three days before the deadline and avoided being kicked out by doing so.

In a case similar to that of a high-jumper, a Russian figure skater was given a 10-year ban from the sport by RUSADA for giving a false medical document about her three missed doping tests and the presence of a banned substance in her body.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport, reviewing Russia's appeal of its case from WADA, ruled on 17 December to reduce the penalty that WADA had given. Instead of banning Russia from sporting events, the ruling allowed Russia to take part at the Olympics and other international events, but for two years, athletes and teams representing Russia would not be allowed to use the Russian name, flag, or anthem, and would have to present themselves as "Neutral Athlete" or "Neutral Team". The ruling did allow their uniforms to show "Russia" on the uniform but only up to the same importance as the "Neutral Athlete/Team" designation, as well as the use of the Russian flag colours within the uniform's design.

However, the ruling also made clear that the sanctions do include any official World Championship and, subsequently, racing drivers from Russia cannot officially represent Russia in FIA-sanctioned World Championships as long as the sanctions are in place.

2021

The IOC announced on 19 February 2021 that Russia would compete in both the 2020 Summer Olympics (which was put off to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia) and 2022 Winter Olympics under the acronym "ROC", after the name of the Russian Olympic Committee. However, the name of the committee itself in full could not be used to refer to the delegation. The ROC team would be represented by the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee. On 22 April, the IOC approved a fragment of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 to be used instead of the Russian national anthem.

At the 2020 Summer Olympics, no more than ten Russians were allowed to compete in Athletics and no more than two Russians (one male and one female) were allowed to compete in Weightlifting because of doping. Two qualified Russian rowers were taken off the rowing team after testing positive for the banned substance Meldonium and two qualified Russian swimmers were taken off the swimming team based on evidence from the Moscow Anti-Doping laboratory. On appeal to CAS, they were let back into the swimming squad and allowed to compete. Only one doping violation related to Russians competing at the Olympics was recorded. A triathlete tested positive for Erythropoietin (EPO) in a test five days before he competed at the Olympics.

2022

The medal ceremony for the Olympic figure skating team event, where the ROC won gold, was planned for 8 February, but it was delayed because of what International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams called a situation that needed "legal consultation" with the International Skating Union. Several media outlets reported on 9 February that the problem was over a positive test for trimetazidine by the ROC's Kamila Valieva, which was officially confirmed on 11 February. Valieva's sample was taken by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) at the 2022 Russian Figure Skating Championships on 25 December, but the sample was not tested at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) laboratory where it was sent until 8 February, one day after the team event ended.

Valieva was given a temporary suspension after her positive result. But on appeal, she was cleared by RUSADA's independent Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee (DAC) on 9 February, just a day after getting the temporary suspension. Following appeals by the IOC, the International Skating Union (ISU), and WADA to review RUSADA DAC's decision, the CAS was expected to hear the case on 13 February with a decision scheduled for 14 February before her scheduled appearance in the women’s single event starting 15 February. Because Valieva was a minor at the time, as well as being classified as a "protected person" under WADA guidelines, RUSADA and the IOC said on 12 February that they would widen the scope of their investigations to include members of her group (e.g., coaches, team doctors, etc.).

On 14 February, the CAS said that Valieva would be allowed to compete in the women’s single event, deciding that stopping her from competing "would cause her terrible harm in the situation", though her gold medal in the team event was still being considered. The favorable decision from the court was made in part because of her age, as younger athletes are subject to different rules than adult athletes.

2023

On 23 March 2023, World Athletics said that Russia's doping suspension had ended nearly seven and a half years after they were suspended in November 2015. However, Russian athletes would still not be allowed to compete because of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

International competitions

Russian hosting

In July 2016, the International Olympic Committee asked sports groups to choose different hosts for some events. But Russia kept the right to hold big sports events. These included the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2018 FIFA World Cup, and 2019 Winter Universiade. In September 2016, Russia was chosen to host the 2021 World Biathlon Championships because the IOC's suggestion did not apply to events already chosen or planned.

Some Olympic winners, like Steven Holcomb, Matthew Antoine, Martins Dukurs, and Lizzy Yarnold, questioned holding the FIBT World Championships 2017 in Sochi. Some countries thought about not joining. On December 13, 2016, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation decided to move the event to another place. Some athletes were worried they might accidentally eat something not allowed if the host changed food or drinks.

Biathlon teams from the Czech Republic and Great Britain chose not to join a 2016–17 Biathlon World Cup event in Tyumen. On December 22, 2016, Russia said it would not host that World Cup event or the 2017 Biathlon Junior World Championships in Ostrov. The same day, the International Skating Union decided to move a speed skating event, the 2016–17 ISU Speed Skating World Cup stage in Chelyabinsk. Russia was later not allowed to host the 2016–17 FIS Cross-Country World Cup final stage and the 2021 World Biathlon Championships in Tyumen.

Vladimir Putin at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony

On December 22, 2017, it was reported that FIFA dismissed Jiri Dvorak, a doctor who was looking into doping in Russian football. FIFA said this dismissal was not related to his work on doping in Russian sports.

Russian participation

The IAAF allowed Russians who had tests done by groups outside Russia to compete as neutral athletes. They could not use the Russian flag, colors, or anthem.

There were suggestions to not let Russia join the 2018 Winter Olympics and 2018 Winter Paralympics, or to let Russians join only as neutral athletes. Later, Russia was allowed to compete as Olympic Athletes from Russia in the Winter Olympics and Neutral Paralympic Athletes in the Paralympics.

After a court decision in late 2020, the FIA, the group that controls car racing, said that racing drivers from Russia could not represent their country in any world championship races while the sanctions last. However, they could still race as neutral competitors.

Media coverage

Russian doping has been shown in several TV shows and documentaries from Germany, France, and the United States. Some of these include:

Geheimsache Doping: Wie Russland seine Sieger macht (The Doping Secret: How Russia Creates Champions), ARD / Das Erste, aired 3 December 2014
Geheimsache Doping. Im Schattenreich der Leichtathletik (The Doping Secret: The Shadowy World of Athletics), ARD / Das Erste, aired 1 August 2015
Geheimsache Doping: Russlands Täuschungsmanöver (The Doping Secret: Russia's Red Herrings), ARD / Westdeutscher Rundfunk, aired 6 March 2016
Russia's Dark Secret, 60 Minutes / CBS News, aired 8 May 2016
Plus vite, plus haut, plus dopés (Faster, higher, more doped), Arte in partnership with Le Monde, aired 7 June 2016
Icarus, Netflix, directed by Bryan Fogel, 2017

Reactions

International

Some sportspeople from other countries felt that an agency called WADA was slow to look into the issue. WADA said they did not have the power to investigate until 2015. In 2016, many athletes and leaders from different countries sent a letter saying they were unhappy with the lack of action.

In July 2016, some athletes and leaders said they were shocked to see how much unfair practice there was. Leaders from many countries asked that Russia not be allowed to compete in the Olympics that year. Some people said it was not fair to ban the whole team, but others felt that Russia had gone too far with unfair practices.

In Russia

Vladimir Putin awards Alexandr Zubkov at the ceremonies for Russian athletes, 24 February 2014. Zubkov would be stripped of his gold medals 3 and a half years later.

Some people in Russia thought the accusations were made to hurt Russia. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, said that Russia had never supported unfair practices. Some leaders in Russia said the accusations were made to get back at Russia for its independent ways.

After some Russian athletes were not allowed to compete, one athlete said that foreign athletes could now win medals without real competition. Russia’s foreign ministry called the decision unfair.

Some Russian leaders said that reports from other countries were part of a plan to weaken Russia. In 2019, Russia’s president again said the decision to ban some athletes was political. He said Russia should still be allowed to compete under its own flag.

Statistics

The World Anti-Doping Agency makes reports each year about rule breaks in sports. Russia was often at the top for these breaks between 2013 and 2015, and again from 2018 to 2022.

Stripped Olympic medals

Because of rule breaks, Russia lost many Olympic medals. By 2019, they had lost 43 medals, more than any other country. These medals came from several Olympic Games, including the 2002 Winter Olympics, 2006 Winter Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics, 2010 Winter Olympics, 2012 Summer Olympics, 2014 Winter Olympics, 2004 Summer Olympics, and 2016 Summer Olympics. By 2021, the total number of medals taken away grew to 51.

Hashtag controversy

Further information: Internet Research Agency

Some people in Russia used the internet to spread a message on Twitter with the words #NoRussiaNoGames. This happened after Russia could not take part in the 2018 Winter Olympics. One account, @ungestum, said it was from the city of Orenburg and sent many messages with this hashtag. It seems these messages were sent by computers and not real people. Other accounts also helped spread the message many times.