Russian Olympic Committee

History

Russia's Olympic Committee was founded in 1911 by representatives of Russian Sports Societies at a meeting in Saint Petersburg, in the premises of the Imperial Russian Society for Saving on the Water (Sadovaya Street 50), when the Statute was adopted and members of the committee were elected.

The first chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee was Vyacheslav Sreznevsky.

In 1951–1992, the Russian Olympic Committee was essentially the Soviet Olympic Committee, based in Moscow.

By decision of the Constituent Assembly on 1 December 1989, the All-Russian Olympic Committee was established as an independent public organization within the Soviet Olympic Committee. On 13 August 1992, it was officially named the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). Full and final recognition of the ROC as the legal successor of the Soviet Olympic Committee by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was received at the 101st Session of the IOC in September 1992.

2017–19

On 5 December 2017, the Russian Olympic Committee was suspended by the IOC over its participation in a state-sponsored doping program. It was banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and ordered to pay $15 million in costs for doping offenses which IOC president Thomas Bach called an "unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games and sport".

On 28 February 2018, following completion of doping test checks for Russian athletes who participated in the 2018 Winter Olympics, the IOC reinstated the Russian Olympic Committee, despite two failed drug tests.

Since he was elected in May 2018, as Vladimir Putin's choice, former fencer Stanislav Pozdnyakov has served as the President of the Russian Olympic Committee. He was re-elected in 2022 and 2024.

On 9 December 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia from all international sport for four years after it found that data provided by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency had been manipulated by Russian authorities with a goal of protecting athletes involved in its state-sponsored doping scheme. Russia filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the WADA decision. The Court of Arbitration for Sport, on review of Russia's appeal of its case from WADA, ruled on 17 December 2020 to reduce the penalty that WADA had placed. Instead of banning Russia from sporting events, the ruling allowed Russia to participate at the Olympics and other international events, but for a period of two years, the team was not allowed to use the Russian name, flag, or anthem and must present themselves as "Neutral Athlete" or "Neutral Team". The ruling did allow for team uniforms to display "Russia" on the uniform, as well as the use of the Russian flag colors within the uniform's design, although the name should be up to equal predominance as the "Neutral Athlete/Team" designation.

2020–present

On 19 February 2021, the IOC announced that Russia would compete under the acronym "ROC", after the name of the Russian Olympic Committee. It would be disallowed to use team uniforms bearing the words "Russian Olympic Committee" or any mention of the word "Russian". The Russian national flag would be substituted by the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee.

On 15 April 2021, the uniforms for the Russian Olympic Committee athletes were unveiled, featuring the colours of the Russian flag. On 22 April 2021, the replacement for Russia's anthem was approved by the IOC, after an earlier choice of the patriotic Russian war song "Katyusha" was rejected. A fragment of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 is used.

In September 2022, ROC president Stanislav Pozdnyakov urged Russian athletes to fight for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, saying the athletes should feel honored to do so. He said: "From the point of view of the Russian Olympic Committee, we, being citizens of the country, consider service to the motherland is an honourable duty and an honourable duty of every citizen, including members of national teams." That month, Olympic synchronised swimming champion Anastasia Davydova quit her job as ROC secretary general in protest of the invasion, and fled to Dubai. In April 2023, Pozdnyakov expressed surprise that there was talk of Russian athletes losing motivation during their continued ineligibility to compete in major international events, as a result of the invasion.

On 12 October 2023, the IOC issued a statement noting that after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the ROC unilaterally transferred four regions that were originally under the jurisdiction of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine: Donetsk Oblast, Luhansk Oblast, Kherson Oblast, and Zaporizhzhia Oblast to the ROC; at the time, Pozdnyakov said "I don’t see any difficulties here." The IOC stated that the ROC's unilateral action constituted a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violated the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, and further announced the immediate suspension of the membership of the ROC. The IOC stated that as a result the ROC was no longer entitled to operate as a National Olympic Committee as defined in the Olympic Charter, and could not receive any funding from the Olympic Movement, and that as stated in the IOC's position and recommendations of 28 March 2023, the IOC reserved the right to decide about the participation of individual neutral athletes with a Russian passport in the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

On 13 December 2024, Minister of Sport Mikhail Degtyarev is elected as the new president of ROC.

In 2025, under the leadership of Kirsty Coventry, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is signaling a shift towards inclusivity by considering the return of Russia to the Olympic Games. Despite the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Coventry has expressed openness to revisiting Russia's participation. This move aligns with the IOC's broader mission to make the Olympics inclusive for all nations.

On 10 December 2025, the position of the head of the ROC has been renamed from president to chairman.

Presidents

IOC members

Member federations

Russian National Federations were the organizations that coordinated all aspects of their individual sports. They were responsible for training, competition, and development of their sports. They were 37 Summer Olympic and 12 Winter Olympic sport federations in Russia, all headquartered in Moscow.

Notes

References

References

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2. Son to [[Izmail Sreznevsky]].
3. "НОК СССР: факты и события — Олимпийский комитет России".
4. (2017-12-05). "IOC suspends Russian NOC and creates a path for clean individual athletes to compete in PyeongChang 2018 under the Olympic Flag". International Olympic Committee.
5. Ingle, Sean. (12 October 2023). "Russia's Olympic Committee suspended by IOC for violations against Ukraine". The Guardian.
6. "IOC statement".
7. Leo Goretti (May 2022). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep41318.pdf "The Sporting Sanctions Against Russia: Debunking the Myth of Sport's Neutrality,"] Istituto Affari Internazionali.
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10. "Russian Olympic Committee; Russian Federation". ANOC.
11. (2019-12-27). "Russia Confirms It Will Appeal 4-Year Olympic Ban".
12. Dunbar, Graham. (2020-12-17). "Russia can't use its name and flag at the next 2 Olympics". [[Associated Press]].
13. (14 April 2021). "Russia's flag banned but national colors on Olympic uniforms".
14. (2021-02-19). "Olympics: Russia to compete under ROC acronym in Tokyo as part of doping sanctions". Reuters.
15. (April 15, 2021). "No flag allowed, but Russian colours plastered on uniforms for Tokyo Olympics".
16. (15 April 2021). "Uniforms for "neutral" Russian team at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games unveiled".
17. (22 April 2021). "Tchaikovsky Selection To Replace Banned Russian Anthem At Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympics". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
18. (23 April 2021). "Tchaikovsky music approved as replacement for banned Russian national anthem".
19. (13 October 2022). "Russian Sports Minister denies involvement in athlete mobilization".
20. Christine Brown. (September 22, 2022). "ROC head Pozdnyakov claims Russian athletes should be honoured to fight in war".
21. (29 September 2023). "Russian Olympic Committee cut staff by a quarter since Ukraine invasion".
22. Lord, Craig. (27 September 2022). "Athletes On The Front Line – Anastasia Davydova, Synchro Star & Secretary General Of Russia Olympic Committee Flees Putin & ROC's War Cry – State Media".
23. Sutherland, James. (April 28, 2023). "ROC Chief "Surprised" By Talk of Lack of Motivation Among Russian Athletes".
24. (5 October 2023). "Russian Olympic Committee accepts members from annexed Ukrainian territories".
25. "Михаил Дегтярев избран новым Президентом ОКР – Олимпийский комитет России".
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28. "Должность руководителя ОКР переименовали с президента на председателя".
29. "Russian Olympic summer sports federations, associations and unions".
30. "Russian Olympic winter sports federations, associations and unions".