Staff Articles

He who does not punish evil invites it: sanctions on Russian figure skaters

Sarah Lage

In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many sports organizations have chosen to ban Russian (and sometimes Belarusian) athletes from participating in international competitions. Among the sports affected are track and field, ice hockey, skiing, soccer, tennis, and figure skating. 

Figure skating differentiates itself from most other sports affected by these sanctions because of its athlete pool. While the majority of Russian women’s soccer and tennis players may range in age from roughly 20-30, the majority of successful Russian senior-level women’s figure skaters are teenagers. Before the ban, the most successful female figure skaters in the world were Russian teens– all coached by Eteri Tutberidze at the Khrustalny ice rink, which is located at Sambo-70, a sports school in Moscow. 

Eteri Tutberdize is a controversial figure in the skating world. This article is not about her, but suffice to say that she has found a strategy for raising champions that, although not particularly ethical, works. Since 2014, Tutberidze’s skaters have completely changed figure skating. It started with the introduction of programs containing more than one difficult triple-triple combination, and hyper-extended Bielmann and Y-spins– the likes of which nobody had seen before. It progressed to difficult triple-triple combinations performed with the arms over the head, a challenging feat that was rewarded under the old scoring system. By the 2018 Olympics, Tutberidze presented the world with a 15-year-old skater who had the stamina to jump only in the second half of her programs (called “backloading”), an impressive show of athleticism that raked in a 10% scoring bonus. By the 2022 Olympics, every female figure skater (competing in singles) on the Russian Olympic team performed quad jumps. All of them were coached by Eteri Tutberidze.

It’s wonderful to watch a sport evolve, but such progression shouldn’t come at the price of health and children’s lives. Eteri Tutberidze and her colleagues at Khrustalny are able to push the technical boundaries of the sport by teaching their students improper technique that only works on young, slender bodies. For this reason, the most successful female figure skaters in Russia right now are teenagers and, because of how dependent their technique is on low weight, their careers tend to be quite short. To put this into perspective, Alina Zagitova, the 2018 Olympic champion (who was 15 when she won), skated for less than three seasons on the senior level before suspending her career at the age of 17.

This is important context for considering whether the sanctions imposed by the International Skating Union (ISU), which prohibit Russian skaters from participating in international competitions, are justified. In my opinion, the lack of longevity among Russia’s top ladies is regrettable, and it certainly makes the prohibition of Russian athletes from international competitions more unfortunate– but I don’t think the sanctions are morally unjustifiable. Sad? Yes. But wrong? I don’t believe so. 

The reality is that Russia has a history of ignoring sanctions. Russia has been pseudo-banned from the Olympic Games since 2018 as punishment for the systematic, state-sponsored doping of their Olympic athletes. Although this was officially called a “ban,” it wasn’t really– essentially, the Russian flag and anthem were banned from the games. Russian athletes were still allowed to compete as “Olympic Athletes from Russia” in 2018 and again in 2022 as the “Russian Olympic Committee.” At the 2022 Olympics, it was revealed that despite these sanctions, which were supposed to put the fear of God in Russian sports authorities, a 15-year-old Russian skater had been doped with a cocktail of banned heart medications to enhance her performance. Not only was this not punished at all– the skater was actually allowed to compete with the other athletes, who were all drug-free. The justification for this was that the skater was a minor. Obviously, this makes zero sense, but that’s a story for another article. 

This decision sent a clear message to Russia that the world wasn’t going to take violations of the rules and instances of unfair play seriously. And through what Russia did to an innocent 15-year-old, they sent a message to the world: they don’t care about haphazard sanctions.

We are now very likely witnessing a genocide perpetrated by Russia against the people of Ukraine. Innocent citizens are being driven out of their lifelong homes. Others are being forced to serve in the military and are leaving the service traumatized and injured. Many have been murdered– and in objectively horrible, painful ways. Russian soldiers have mutilated civilians, tortured innocent people, raped women, and stolen valuables from the bodies of their victims. Forgive me, but this deserves more than a desultory sanction. 

I wish sports and politics could be separate, but the reality is that they’re not– especially in Russia, where a 15-year-old girl who was doped by her coaches became a nationalistic symbol, representing a Russian triumph over the west and their supposed objective to never let Russia win anything (yes, the propaganda was so ludicrous that many Russians became convinced that western Olympic authorities tampered with the girl’s blood sample to take her out of the competition, since she was the favorite to win Olympic gold). Sports and politics are completely intertwined in Russia–  unlike the United States, the Russian government funds its top athletes. And as such, they are expected to attend patriotic ceremonies, pose in photos with Vladimir Putin, and post pro-United Russia things on social media. 

As a fan of figure skating – and many of the Russian skaters who are now banned from competition – I’m certainly sad that Russian skaters can’t compete right now. It’s especially upsetting because I know that today’s top Russian ladies may not be competitive once the ban is lifted. But when I start to feel upset about it, I quickly remind myself of what I should feel even more upset about– the unjustifiable loss of innocent life in Ukraine and the murderous government behind it. I think about the mental control that the government has exercised over its citizens, to the point where the majority of them agree with this war (until, of course, they or their loved ones face the possibility of being drafted). 

This needs to end, and that involves strong international responses beyond typical economic and trade sanctions. Sports has been used as a vehicle for Russian nationalism and Putinism for a long time, and the slaps on the wrist international sports organizations have traditionally given Russia have accomplished nothing thus far. The current prohibition of Russian athletes from international competitions is a harsh stance, yes, but I ultimately think it’s the right one. It’s a necessary one.

Citations:

Grez, Matias, et al. “These Are the Sports That Russia Has Been Banned From.” CNN, 7 Mar. 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/01/sport/sports-russia-banned-from-football-rugby-spt-intl.

Photographs:

Wikimedia Commons. “File: Vladimir Putin and Evgeni Plushenko 24 February 2014.jpeg” Wikimedia Commons, 24 Feb. 2014, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimir_Putin_and_Evgeni_Plushenko_24_February_2014.jpeg.

Wikimedia Commons. “File: Vladimir Putin Visited the Iceberg Skating Palace (2014-02-09) 06.Jpg.” Wikimedia Commons, 9 Feb. 2014, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimir_Putin_visited_the_Iceberg_Skating_Palace_(2014-02-09)_06.jpg.

Wikimedia Commons. “File:Vladimir Putin, Alina Zagitova, Evgenia Medvedeva.Jpg.” Wikimedia Commons, 28 Feb. 2018, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimir_Putin,_Alina_Zagitova,_Evgenia_Medvedeva.jpg.

Russia, a state addicted

Maxwell Vindman

When I mention Russia, the country conjures a few images in your mind: bears, snow and cold, goose-stepping soldiers with AK-47s, people in traditional Russian garb, and vodka. Heavy alcohol use and vodka in particular have been part of Russian culture since before Russia was itself a state; there is evidence that the liquor has been around since the 1300s (Hansen). 

The Russian addiction to vodka is often used as a tool of oppression by the Russian state and has been used to keep the Russian population in check for centuries (Lanchester). For a large portion of Russians, vodka may be a coping mechanism for their government’s corruption and their own poor living conditions. For many Russians, their own government may even be the group directly responsible for their addiction; in the past, the government owned a very widely-known and popular vodka company called Stolichnaya (Lanchester). The reason for this government involvement is likely due to the mind-altering effects of alcohol. In short, alcohol has a stupefying effect, makes people more pliable, and is deleterious to brain function (Zhang).

There are numerous other health effects of alcohol addiction, some of which are:

• Domestic violence is often caused by alcoholism. Alcoholism is shown to have a positive correlation with violent crime and removes one’s inhibitions by damaging cortical gray matter (Zhang). In Russia, alcohol abuse has precipitated some high profile instinces of domestic abuse, such as the Russian streamer who let his girlfriend freeze to death on camera. 

• Alcohol consumed in large quantities can lead to liver and even heart failure. In Russia, this has led to poor health outcomes and may even contribute to a lower average life expectancy.

• Due in part to the loss of cortical brain material, those addicted to alcohol are far more likely to be addicted to other harmful substances.

The decay in society caused by alcoholism and pliability of the intoxicated Russian population contributed to many tragic episodes in Russian history. The current tragic war in Ukraine can be counted among these. There appears to be a tangible connection between alcohol abuse and the atrocities committed against the Ukrainian people in numerous occupied areas in Ukraine. We can only hope in the future that Russia will eventually be able to kick the habit as a society. 

Works cited

Zhang, L et al. “The nexus between alcohol and violent crime.” Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research vol. 21,7 (1997): 1264-71.

Lanchester, Joseph “How Vodka ruined Russia” Kraut https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vK7l55ZOVIc

Villines, Zawn “the serious effects of alcohol on the brain” WebMD https://www.webmd.com/connect-to-care/addiction-treatment-recovery/alcohol/serious-effects-alcohol-on-brain#:~:text=It%20is%20a%20myth%20that,%2C%20head%20injuries%2C%20and%20accidents.

Oscar-Berman, Marlene, and Ksenija Marinkovic. “Alcoholism and the brain: an overview.” Alcohol research & health : the journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism vol. 27,2 (2003): 125-33.

Philips, Matt “Russia is quite literally drinking itself to death” QUARTZ https://qz.com/403307/russia-is-quite-literally-drinking-itself-to-death/

Hansen, Simon “What Was Vodka Originally Made From” Homebrew Advice.com https://homebrewadvice.com/vodka-originally-made