Russia is hosting a two day meeting of the seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNESCO Convention against Doping in Sport in Moscow, which ends today. “This year will forever go down in world history”, said Oleg Matytsin (Олег Матыцин), Russia’s Minister of Sport, in a statement. “The pandemic has become a test for which the world was, to a certain extent, not ready. Sport is no exception. The virus knows no boundaries and is a global challenge. In these new conditions, it is extremely important to unite the efforts of States in the fight against doping in sport. Moreover, these issues need to be resolved professionally, in a constructive manner, without attempts to politicise and without outside interference.” 

Yesterday, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) found that agents working for the main intelligence directorate of the Russian military (GRU) instigated sophisticated campaigns designed to disrupt the PyeongChang 2018 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Both the DoJ and NCSC alleged that such campaigns were coordinated by GRU Unit 74455, located at 22 Kirova (Кирова) Street in the Moscow suburb of Khimki (Химки).

Russia’s Ministry of Sport has also launched a social media advertising competition under the slogan ‘Sport against Corruption’. Entrants are invited to submit videos about how to combat corruption in sport by 4 December. ‘The goal is to increase the effectiveness of social advertising in combating the rejection of all forms of corruption in society’, reads a statement.