ISU Statement on Russia's war against Ukraine - Participation in international competitions of Skaters and Officials from Russia and Belarus

[caseyedwards]

The ISU doesn’t want citizens of Russia competing. I don’t see why they would allow these blatant ban evasions

 

[Karen-W]

It's all very easy to say that Russian and Belarusian skaters will be back "as soon as the war is over," but what does that mean? A ceasefire? A peace treaty? The payment of reparations?

Would there have to be something akin to twentieth-century denazification? After World War II, the ISU resumed holding its Championships in 1947, but Germany didn't send any competitors until 1951. (Italy started sending them in 1949.)

The question of whether Russia should be banned for state-sponsored doping and related issues is yet another issue, and it may lead an even longer ban on Russian participation in all Olympic sports, including figure skating, at the international level.

We shall see what happens..

Best guess? A ceasefire. Or maybe when the IOC and other international feds start moving in the direction of letting Russian & Belarusian athletes compete again?

I do agree, though, that Belarus is more likely to be invited to participate in international competitions sooner than Russia.

 

[Karen-W]

The ISU doesn’t want citizens of Russia competing. I don’t see why they would allow these blatant ban evasions

But some of those Russians have legitimate ties to other countries - Diana Davis is, after all, also an American. Same with Annabelle Morozov, who is not only American but also French, and her new partner, Naryzhnyy, was born in Ukraine. And then there's Jonathan Guerreiro who was born in and lived in Australia until he was a teenager and, of course, his partner, Tiffany, isn't even Russian by birth, but rather British, and she also represented France earlier in her career.

We don't know what sort of ties the likes of Danielian, Petrosian, or Aliev have with the Armenian or Azerbaijani sides of their families - they could visit relatives in those countries frequently for all we know. Same goes for skaters with Jewish or Georgian ancestry.

Did it make more sense for these skaters to compete for Russia, which had much more robust funding and skating infrastructure? Sure, same as it makes more sense for most US and Canadian skaters to represent their own countries until they're not getting international assignments, etc. If the ISU applied the same "sit out one year from your last competition" rule to these skaters who wished to change countries now, I wouldn't have a problem with it. That would effectively prevent all of those skaters from being selected for the GP.

At best, we might see some former Russians at Euros (if they weren't on the Russian Olympic team last year) or possibly Worlds.

 

[coppertop1]

I don’t think we can really predict when Russia and Belarus will be back. If Thomas Bach puts his money where his mouth is, and Tutberidze is thoroughly investigated, Russia could be banned from 2026 (as they should be). Meanwhile, the opportunities for small feds like Belgium, Georgia and Estonia is there. The women's will be the most interesting it has been for a while.

 

[Trillian]

6. Are Davis and Anabelle Morozov going to get new partners and/or join new federations?

7. Has Smolkin been able to establish U.S. residency that would count toward the five-year requirement for citizenship?

My understanding of the U.S. citizenship process is that it can be expected to take a minimum of seven years for people who aren’t married to U.S. citizens. Isn’t it a five year wait after receiving a green card? And I doubt Smolkin began that application process unless he already planned to settle in the U.S. Unless he and Davis get married, I doubt there’s a scenario where 2026 is an option for them in the U.S. They’d have to be shooting for 2030.

Frankly, if either Davis or Morozov wants to compete in the Olympics for a country besides Russia, they’d also probably be better off choosing any country besides the U.S. Neither of them is that good.

 

[airgelaal]

When the Putin regime falls, I think we will learn a lot of interesting things about russian sports. And it is also very interesting whether russia will be able to continue to finance sports so well.

 

[PRlady]

My husband is applying for US citizenship right now, he’s been on a green card 3.5 years and is married to a US citizen. Just the process can take more than a year with a straightforward case. Anyone without a green card now isn’t going to make 2026.

 

[Nadya]

My husband is applying for US citizenship right now, he’s been on a green card 3.5 years and is married to a US citizen. Just the process can take more than a year with a straightforward case. Anyone without a green card now isn’t going to make 2026.

Mine has waited for his citizenship for four years and it took all kinds of threats to get it.

 

[Nadya]

Armenian citizenship takes 4-6 months for anyone with an Armenian grandparent or evidence of baptism in the right church.

I mean Medvedeva can switch tomorrow if she wanted to.

 

[Nadya]

We don't know what sort of ies the likes of Danielian, Petrosian, or Aliev have with the Armenian or Azerbaijani sides of their families - they could visit relatives in those countries frequently for all we know. Same goes for skaters with Jewish or Georgian ancestry.

It's a pretty safe bet anyone with a last name like Danielyan or Petrosyan has at least one Armenian grandparent.

There is no requirement for visitation, let alone frequent visitation, to qualify for Armenian citizenship for ethnic Armenians.

 

[PRlady]

Mine has waited for his citizenship for four years and it took all kinds of threats to get it.

Our friends - she’s American, he’s Swedish - took almost that long, for someone with no political implications at all who’s been working here for many years. The Trumpies did slow the process to a standstill and it’s taking a while to get back to normal, which wasn’t great to start with.

They also had to hire a lawyer.

 

[reut]

In russia they love to have specific lists of those who are "against them", their "biggest enemies", etc. Hence I wasn't surprised to see this "list of countries that initiated cancellation of Rostelecom Cup".
Source, not sure how much it can be trusted.

USA, Canada, France, Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, THANK YOU.

 

[Karen-W]

In russia they love to have specific lists of those who are "against them", their "biggest enemies", etc. Hence I wasn't surprised to see this "list of countries that initiated cancellation of Rostelecom Cup".
Source, not sure how much it can be trusted.

USA, Canada, France, Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, THANK YOU.

I'm a little surprised that Poland and Great Britain weren't part of this group...

Quite a few other countries will support the effort when it's put to a vote of the full ISU Congress, I'm sure.

 

[clairecloutier]

In yesterday's release, the ISU specified:

"... over 20 ISU Members who urged the ISU Council to also decide that the ISU Members of Russia and Belarus will not be permitted to attend the 2022 ISU Congress or other official meetings and seminars etc., and that candidates from Russia and Belarus will not be permitted to stand for election at the 2022 ISU Congress for any position"

The list given in the Russian article only includes 14 countries, so several have been omitted.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Germany wasn't on the list either.

I'm interested in seeing the abstentions. When RUS is back, they will remember, and they will act.

 

[Amy L]

It's a pretty safe bet anyone with a last name like Danielyan or Petrosyan has at least one Armenian grandparent.

Both of Artur's parents are Armenian and he speaks the language at home with them. He would obviously be a good candidate to switch, but his family is not wealthy. The Armenian federation has no money and the skaters have to fund 100% of their training themselves. Anastasia Galustyan said she could only afford it because her dad was her coach and she didn't have to pay him.

Hell, does anyone know the Kardashians' reps? They donate to Armenian causes, they could easily fund the whole federation lol

 

[Trillian]

Germany wasn't on the list either.

I'm interested in seeing the abstentions. When RUS is back, they will remember, and they will act.

Another good reason to not invite them back anytime soon. If the ISU knows a member federation is going to target other members for retaliation, it would be in the ISU’s best interest to not give that federation the power to do so.

 

[caseyedwards]

But some of those Russians have legitimate ties to other countries - Diana Davis is, after all, also an American. Same with Annabelle Morozov, who is not only American but also French, and her new partner, Naryzhnyy, was born in Ukraine. And then there's Jonathan Guerreiro who was born in and lived in Australia until he was a teenager and, of course, his partner, Tiffany, isn't even Russian by birth, but rather British, and she also represented France earlier in her career.

We don't know what sort of ties the likes of Danielian, Petrosian, or Aliev have with the Armenian or Azerbaijani sides of their families - they could visit relatives in those countries frequently for all we know. Same goes for skaters with Jewish or Georgian ancestry.

Did it make more sense for these skaters to compete for Russia, which had much more robust funding and skating infrastructure? Sure, same as it makes more sense for most US and Canadian skaters to represent their own countries until they're not getting international assignments, etc. If the ISU applied the same "sit out one year from your last competition" rule to these skaters who wished to change countries now, I wouldn't have a problem with it. That would effectively prevent all of those skaters from being selected for the GP.

At best, we might see some former Russians at Euros (if they weren't on the Russian Olympic team last year) or possibly Worlds.

But people aren’t talking only of Russians with legit ties to other counties. They are taking about people with none like trusova or scherbakova

 

[airgelaal]

I don’t understand at all how people can say that athletes are so afraid for their lives that they can’t say anything, so they can’t be punished and banned from competitions. This is contrary to logic. If a country can intimidate its athletes, then this is direct evidence of state interference in sports. What else in such a country are people afraid to talk about? What honest results of athletes can we talk about?

 

[Holy Headband]

I think the biggest change is going to be in the women's discipline. For too many years, we've been conditioned to accept tiny jumps with questionable technique as okay and I'm not sure the rest of the feds are going to want to go back to that. The longer the Russian women are missing from competition, the more jarring and obvious those jump deficiencies will be when they do return.

I fervently hope that's how it works out.

 

[Holy Headband]

I don’t understand at all how people can say that athletes are so afraid for their lives that they can’t say anything, so they can’t be punished and banned from competitions. This is contrary to logic. If a country can intimidate its athletes, then this is direct evidence of state interference in sports. What else in such a country are people afraid to talk about? What honest results of athletes can we talk about?

Right, these measures are necessary precisely because of figure skating's entanglement with the state propaganda machine and individual skaters' feelings and opinions don't matter; they're used as props in a political spectacle that's much bigger than them.

However, I'll just note the appeals for sympathy for individual Russian athletes I've seen from international fans of sports like figure skating and artistic/rhythmic gymnastics are not even based on an accurate understanding of the Russian public sphere.

I follow chess, which is another competitive activity (some might even say sport, though I find that funny) that is a source of national pride in Russia and receives support from the state for that reason. Almost all prominent Russian chess players, with one single big exception, have come out against the invasion of Ukraine. There's been an open letter to the government appealing for peace, interviews by top players in the international press in which they say they're ashamed and heartbroken, talk about attending anti-war protests and even speak of a Russia without Putin. There have been fundraisers for Ukraine organized by Russian players, the major Russian chess news portal has published and shared anti-war content, etc.

All this is to say that it's still possible to take a principled position in Russia if you're a public figure, or if you don't have the guts to do that (which I understand--I don't know if I would be that brave, especially given that the noose is tightening day by day), it's certainly possible to say nothing. Sports like figure skating and gymnastics are full of warmongerers and sycophants because, frankly, those communities are more conservative, less educated and more financially dependent on the Kremlin on average. These are sports in which children are separated from their parents and raised by their coaches from an early age and taught not to question how things are done. Sports that are seen as a way out, or a golden ticket, by athletes and families alike. Sports whose funding structure and pro-government culture create a sense of absolute reliance on official and unofficial patronage. BUT they're not sports in which anyone HAS TO wear a Z on their clothes or gloat over dead Ukrainians on Instagram purely in order to survive.

Russian athletes have agency, however narrow their scope of action may be. Again, they could still choose to say nothing. But a high percentage of them choose to support the war, be it for personal gain or because they buy into the non-stop propaganda or simply because it's easier than facing the truth of what is happening in Ukraine, just like a high percentage of the general population. We need to celebrate and support Russians who speak out against the war, but giving its cheerleaders the benefit of the doubt without any evidence is an insult to the moral clarity and bravery of real anti-war activists.

 

[DreamSkates]

Isn't Putin on steroids for his thyroid problem? That would surely render him immunocompromised. Furthermore, steroids can cause personality disorders. My mother-in-law was on high steroid dosages for her heart condition, and she announced that she and her family no longer needed doctors or medicine, because SHE was DOCTOR CURE. "Delusions of grandeur" it is called.

I think this situation goes beyond medication. He had already placed Russian military in Eastern Ukraine, and annexed Crimea. The port of Odessa and Moldova are on his radar. Look at a map. Russia would control natural gas (Donbas) and the sea in that area.
Delusions of grandeur, yes, but it doesn’t take medication to get there although meds could exacerbate the delusions already present.
Of course I’m not his personal psychiatrist so I can’t say for sure but it seems apparent from where I live across the ocean.

 

[once_upon]

Personally I think he is evil and power hungry. I dont give the benefit or excuse of medications. I wonder if as a kid he killed puppies, cats and other creatures for fun.

 

[Carolla5501]

My husband is applying for US citizenship right now, he’s been on a green card 3.5 years and is married to a US citizen. Just the process can take more than a year with a straightforward case. Anyone without a green card now isn’t going to make 2026.

one of my employees his wife is from Bermuda (not exactly a hotbed of immigration to the US) and they went through more hoops to get her green card - it was unbelievable and they did severything right she came here on the student visa, they met, they fell in love they got married, they started a family and then they started a green card application. She was able to get a work visa because she is in a critical healthcare profession. But it still took a very expensive lawyer and a lot of work just to get her green card! it’s not an easy process in between Trump and Covid it’s gotten worse.

 

[MacMadame]

I follow chess, which is another competitive activity (some might even say sport, though I find that funny)

It's classified as a sport by the IOC.

I also find it funny. But I don't make the rules.

 

[Jaana]

I believe that Russia´s war with Ukraine is only the beginning of other attacks against peaceful nations to follow.

 

[allezfred]

Russia has already threatened Finland and Sweden about joining NATO, Kazakhstan about not having a May 9 parade and cut off gas to Poland and Bulgaria. This is not normal behaviour for a country in the 21st century.

 

[karmena]

In yesterday's release, the ISU specified:

"... over 20 ISU Members who urged the ISU Council to also decide that the ISU Members of Russia and Belarus will not be permitted to attend the 2022 ISU Congress or other official meetings and seminars etc., and that candidates from Russia and Belarus will not be permitted to stand for election at the 2022 ISU Congress for any position"

The list given in the Russian article only includes 14 countries, so several have been omitted.

No wonder that several countries have been omitted...what is or what is not and how it is published in Russian media is done with an ultimate goal to shape/brainwash public opinion; to make that opinion ready to support whatever Putin's does.

 

[karmena]

Personally I think he is evil and power hungry. I dont give the benefit or excuse of medications. I wonder if as a kid he killed puppies, cats and other creatures for fun.

...in my opinion it is his deeply rooted inferiority complex which he feeds by his actions

and yes, of course, one can say he is evil... but not everyone is able to accept that terminology

 

[karmena]

In russia they love to have specific lists of those who are "against them", their "biggest enemies", etc. Hence I wasn't surprised to see this "list of countries that initiated cancellation of Rostelecom Cup".
Source, not sure how much it can be trusted.

USA, Canada, France, Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, THANK YOU.

?!? oh, my... I am speechless. It is so miserable to have such a lists...I even cannot grasp it! it is a plain propaganda, absolute and total psychological war to shape public's opinion...