Win-Win: THe Russian doping scandal and putin's russia

By Emily Holland and Hadas Aron

In what seems like a new Olympic tradition, scandals over corruption, shoddy construction, and even kangaroos have dominated the headlines in preparation for the 2016 Summer Games. But amongst the usual crimes, Russia’s doping scandal stands out as particularly shameful. Although Russia avoided a blanket ban from the IOC, many Russian athletes, including the entire Track and Field team, will not be allowed to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games. But while the ban represents a huge personal tragedy for the athletes involved, the scandal may in fact be a win-win situation for Moscow.
 

1. Part of the sustaining logic of Putin’s regime is the framing of Russia as a victim against a traitorous and hypocritical West. As we have written before, Putin has defined his regime through a particular type of nationalism that frames him as the protector of the Russian nation while also justifying the curtailing of liberal rights and high levels of corruption. The outcry against the Russian doping scandal supports this narrative. According to the Russian athletics federation president Dmitry Shlyakhtin, “other countries don’t have any fewer problems…but for some reason they’re searching for problems in Russia all the time.” While the International Olympic Committee calls Russia’s actions a “shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sport,” Putin views the investigation as a witch-hunt, publically stating, “Today we see a dangerous relapse of politics intruding into sports.” To Russia’s domestic audience, Moscow is sending the message that it is the West, and not the Putin regime, that is responsible for Russia’s failings.
2.  Now that Russia has managed to avoid a blanket ban from participating in the Olympics, Moscow can still use the scandal to its advantage. As our colleague (and advisor!) Kimberly Marten has noted, “Putin’s first major goal is to go down in history as the man who made Russia great again after humiliating setbacks.” If Russian athletes who have been cleared to participate manage to win in the face of Western hypocrisy and oppression their victory is sweeter.  On Wednesday, Russia’s Olympic Team received a heroic send-off from the Kremlin not dissimilar to that of an army heading off to battle. Putin gave a rousing speech, calling the scandal a “targeted campaign” with “no concrete, evidence based accusations”, and even argued that the ban was “open discrimination” that reduced the integrity of competition at the 2016 games. After his speech, two-time Olympic gold medal pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva (now banned from participating) hugged him tearfully, thanking him for his unwavering support and pronounced, “We are one team, we are one big world power. You can do it, we believe in you, don’t let yourself be destabilized, don’t let yourselves be pressured. Walk with your head held high and proud….so that all these pseudo-clean foreign athletes understand they didn’t attack the right people.” 

While Moscow may be able to spin the doping scandal to its advantage, the magnitude of the institutionalized doping ring is not without long-term consequences. In addition to the negative reputational effects internationally, the doping scandal has brought to light just another example of the nature of pervasive corruption in Putin’s Russia. The Russian affair goes beyond even the doping scandal in competitive cycling: the involvement of the FSB and other state agencies show that rather than sport being a corrupt exception to the rule, corruption in Putin’s Russia is the norm.