Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation bringing the country’s anti-doping framework into closer alignment with international standards established by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The legislation formally establishes the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) within the country’s physical culture and sport system and requires the organization to comply with the WADA Code.
Under the law, RUSADA must publish on its website all anti-doping rules and regulations approved by WADA and other international anti-doping organizations.
The legislation further requires that doping prevention and anti-doping enforcement be conducted in accordance with Russia’s international treaty obligations. As well as the WADA Code, international anti-doping regulations and the country’s own national anti-doping rules.
The law states that Russia’s anti-doping regulations must incorporate the provisions contained within the WADA Code. National and regional sports federations, as well as professional sports leagues, will also be required to comply with anti-doping regulations.
Russia was declared non-compliant by WADA following years of investigations into systematic doping and efforts to conceal anti-doping violations. Investigative reporting by Germany’s ARD television network was crucial at the time. As were Britain’s The Guardian and The Sunday Times, along with other media outlets. Additionally evidence provided by former Moscow laboratory director Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov and whistleblowers Yuliya and Vitaly Stepanov, played important roles in exposing the scandal.
Subsequently, Athletics Illustrated and Let’s Run provided extensive analysis of the crisis.
Concerns surrounding Russian athletics intensified following the 2012 London Olympic Games. Subsequent retesting of samples collected during the Games produced numerous anti-doping violations involving athletes from several nations, including Russia.
In December 2014, ARD aired the documentary Geheimsache Doping: Wie Russland seine Sieger macht (“The Doping Secret: How Russia Creates Champions”). The documentary brought allegations of systematic doping in Russian sport to an international audience.
The suspensions
In November 2015, the International Association of Athletics Federations, now known as World Athletics, suspended the Russian Athletics Federation. This effectively barred Russian track and field athletes from participating in international competitions.
The 2016 McLaren Report alleged state-sponsored manipulation of anti-doping systems across multiple sports. This led to broader sanctions affecting Russian participation in Olympic and international events.
Beginning in 2019, WADA imposed additional sanctions after determining that data from the Moscow anti-doping laboratory had been manipulated.
Some Russian athletes subsequently competed as neutral athletes, without the Russian flag or anthem, and under enhanced anti-doping testing protocols.
The Russian attack on Ukraine
Separate from the anti-doping sanctions, many international sporting federations currently restrict Russian participation because Russia invaded Ukraine. The resulting measures differ by sport and governing body, with some athletes continuing to compete under neutral status. Belarus is typically named and sanctioned along with Russia over suspensions for doping and war.
The former president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, was known to defend the premise of war by Russia. He stated on several occasions that many wars were going on in the World. At the time, the Tigray War in Ethiopia was flaring up. Mexico’s war on the cartel and the illegal drug industry, as well as attacks and flare-ups happening in the Middle East, were ongoing.
However, Russia’s attack on Ukraine was considered illegal.
