Russian athletes will not receive special exemptions from Putin’s military operation

With Vladimir Putin’s mobilization of troops last week, Russian athletes are now being called to fight in the war in Ukraine. Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin has said those athletes who have now been drafted should not expect any special treatment and should show themselves as patriots.

Those athletes who have been called upon span across many sports, and Putin will not discriminate based on what discipline these men hail from. Several federations have confirmed their athletes have received summons to report for duty.

Denis Tikhomirov, head of the Russian Snowboard Federation, told TASS that two of the federation’s snowboarders were requested to serve. The federation did not release the names of the individuals who are expected to report to military registration. The Russian Cycling Federation President Vyacheslev Ekimov also shared three cyclists received summons.

The most notable athletes who have been confirmed to receive orders to report are European figure skating gold-medalist Dmitri Aliev and retired international soccer player Diniyar Bilyaletdinov.

Bilyaletdinov won 46 caps and scored six goals for Russia between 2005 and 2012. His career included time playing for several Russian clubs, as well as top tier English Premier League team Everton before retiring in 2019. His father confirmed he had received his orders earlier this week.

Aliev won a silver medal in 2018 in men’s singles and a gold medal in 2020 in men’s singles at the European Championships. In 2016, he won a bronze medal at the Youth Olympics. Fellow Russian figure skater Makar Ignatov, who won silver at the 2021 Russian Championships, was also called up.

Matytsin shared at a forum, “Sport cannot be singled out as a separate refined community that should enjoy some kind of exclusive privileges. It was many times announced at the start of a special military operation, they supported the president and expressed an absolutely unequivocal opinion that sport is a single family.”

He went on to say, “All the problems, difficulties and tasks that the state is now solving, sport will solve together with everyone. There will be no and should not be any exclusivity. Yes, we understand that athletes and coaches are a golden fund, especially those who are preparing for the Olympic Games, members of national teams. Certain protection measures for certain categories will possibly be given a delay while we are in dialogue with the Government.”

With mobilization efforts just beginning and men around Russia attempting to flee to avoid serving, it remains to be seen what kind of punishments those individuals may receive if they do not serve. Unfortunately, with the athletes having more of a spotlight on them, it will be harder for them to fly under the radar and escape the warzone.

As the military operation continues to grow, it is expected that confirmations of more athletes fighting will come forward.