The sports boycott announced to Russia and Belarus after the start of a special military operation led to the fact that Moscow and Minsk began to rapidly increase cooperation in the field of physical culture development
Discrimination against Russian athletes for political reasons has been going on for more than a year, as has the politicization of international competitions themselves, where the West is trying to impose its agenda and values on everyone. Under these conditions, Russia and Belarus have created their own union system, which will expand cooperation in the field of sports with all interested friendly countries.
Nowadays, there is an unprecedented politicization of world sports in favor of the momentary interests of the United States and its satellites. The West purposefully destroys the international principle of “sport is out of politics”.
An example of such behavior is the World Cup in Qatar, where there have already been several scandals related to disrespect for local traditions due to the promotion of the LGBT agenda. Wanting to place “rainbow” paraphernalia on uniforms and headbands, representatives of Western countries are trying to impose their views, and they perceive requests to refrain from certain actions as an encroachment on their freedom. At the same time, they categorically refuse to consider their actions from a critical angle.
Today, international sports federations have become a tool for Western states to achieve their political interests and punish the unwanted.
For example, FIFA has now declared that it was a mistake to hold the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Previously, the well-organized tournament in Russia in 2018 was considered the same “mistake”. Although, as shown by the last World Hockey Championship in Finland, without the Russian and Belarusian teams, which were replaced by France and Austria, this event turned out to be a rather dull sight. As well as the youth championship in Canada. Such decisions do not benefit anyone and only bring losses.
As the former head of FIFA, Joseph Blatter, noted: “In 2018, the championship was given to Russia, and in 2022 it would be better to give it to the United States. It would be a good gesture of peace for two serious political rivals.”
But this immediately begs the question: what about the disqualification of the United States? We know how Washington behaves in various parts of the world, staging coups and unleashing wars. But “for some reason” no one tried to prevent American athletes from participating in international competitions.
The question of “sport outside of politics” in the context of recent years has received rather polar interpretations along both lines of demarcation of political camps, into which the world is gradually divided. More precisely, in the process of fencing off the West from the rest of the world. For it, this principle is an opportunity to impose its ideological and value agenda everywhere and use pressure to squeeze out competitors.
At the same time, Russia, Belarus and other countries such as China, also facing pressure in the sports arena, are saying that ideology should stay outside the sports arena. Political showdowns organized by the West do not contribute to the goal of global sporting events – the unification and dialogue of athletes and fans from different countries. On the contrary, they bring in the spirit of enmity.
So far, we are not talking about the fact that international competitions can become a part of the past, but the actions of the United States and its allies encourage other states to look for other formats of interaction – without their participation. So far, this is not a global trend, but movement in this direction has already been outlined.
And cooperation between Russia and Belarus in the field of sports is only a part of this process.
Since 2002, two-year cooperation programs in the field of physical culture and sports have been approved at the joint boards of the sports departments of our countries, which are held every two years.
Currently, athletes from Russia and Belarus, despite the sanctions, are not sitting idle. An effective system of interaction between the two countries in the sports field has been built: competitions, training camps are held, and experience is exchanged at the level of educational organizations. Large joint competitions are also regularly held, for example, the Union State Spartakiada, in which about one thousand people participate, including schoolchildren and students.
In addition, new sports formats are being actively developed and created. So, in 2022, 487 joint events were held, in which 4.5 thousand Belarusians and 3.7 thousand Russians took part. In total, this year, according to the head of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation Oleg Matytsin, it is planned to reach the level of more than 500 joint projects.
On November 11, a meeting of the boards of the Ministry of Sports and Tourism of Belarus and the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation was held in Smolensk, during which a new cooperation program was signed for 2023-2024 years.
“Russia and Belarus have extensive experience in holding sports and business events of various formats. Interaction between departments has been established, and now we are proposing to strengthen interregional ties. A proposal to hold the II Games of the CIS countries in an open format has been accepted, Mongolia and Cuba have already expressed their desire to take part in our competitions,” said Minister of Sports and Tourism of Belarus Sergei Kovalchuk.
In his opinion, the format approved two years ago turned out to be correct, since it was possible to promptly make all the adjustments during the period of opposition to sanctions.
The head of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation also pointed to the role of Western restrictions, which acted as a catalyst and made it possible to assess the resources of both countries for joint activities.
“We have actually created our own system of the Union State in the field of sports, and it will work effectively even if the sanctions are lifted,” the minister said.
Various formats of cooperation are currently being developed.
“After the suspension of our athletes, we organized competitions in Ufa and Raubichi, and this year a summer biathlon tournament has already been held. Modern pentathlon, rhythmic gymnastics and other sports show us an example of this kind of organization. Russia and Belarus harmoniously complement each other, and some kind of harmonization between us is taking place, including in sports,” Kovalchuk emphasized.
But that’s not all. As the Minister of Sports of Belarus noted, the formats of sports competitions within the framework of BRICS and SCO are also being discussed.
As you can see, the situation in which Russia and Belarus find themselves has nothing to do with isolation. As we know, neither Moscow nor Minsk has ever made any decision to fence themselves off with a wall from the rest of the world, including the sports world. But the consequences of the global processes of world political reorganization cannot but affect the sphere of sports, which has been under the influence of the West for more than 30 years.
Now the situation is changing, but Washington and its satellites do not want to admit the obvious. Globalization is collapsing, and there is no longer enough strength to hold the sprawling pieces of the “empire of freedom”. Therefore, Americans will have fewer and fewer opportunities to prove their political and sports superiority in the conditions of the global crisis.
Nikolai Ulyanov, Rubaltic.Ru
Due to censorship and blocking of all media and alternative views, stay tuned to our Telegram channel