Russian Sports and Politics

"You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand that Putin will win]."
"My choice, who I was willing to give my voice to at the election, he was not allowed to run for the presidency."
"After two days thinking [on being approached with an invitation to take a parliamentary seat for United Russia party in parliament], I thought something is a bit dodgy and I don't want to be involved."
"My voice isn't going to be counted as whatever I think. So I said I don't want to be there just for pressing the button [to vote]."
"I always thought sports and politics should not collide together on the same path, should be completely separate. Unfortunately as of late, someone's using the professional athletes for their own benefit."
"I've always been open-minded and people obviously know that Yevgeny Kafelnikov is not for sale. There is no chance that I could sell myself for something like this."
"I'm sure other athletes who are supporting so-called Putin's team, they do have a choice but they've chosen the path which they're comfortable with. I'm not going to judge each one, why they did this."
Yevgeny Kafelnikov, formerly ranked No.1 tennis player backing Alexei Navalny

"I just support my country, you know? That's where I'm from, my parents live there, all my friends."
"Like every human from different countries, they support their president."
Alex Ovechkin, NHL player, Washington Capitals

Russian President Vladimir Putin during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Vladimir Putin who fancies himself an equal of just about any sport figure and who himself once practised competitive judo in his younger years, and still enjoys a game of competitive hockey, playing against NHL-competitive-grade Russian hockey players and manages to score (if, on the other hand, he's not allowed to score), has a passion to display Russian sport prowess through the expertise of his countrymen. Trouble is, he is so passionate about it that he ordered the Russian sports federation to pull out all the stops.

Vladimir Putin with ice hockey players during a meeting with athletes ahead of Winter Olympics (AFP)

And their pulling out all the stops resulted eventually in Russia being blackballed out of the wold's premier sport venues, like the Olympics, as a penalty for state-sponsored doping and other malfeasance unbecoming the dignity and reputation of a state. Russian athletes were permitted in some fields of endeavour, to compete in the latest Olympics events held in South Korea, as individuals, unrepresentative of their country, whose flag was not flown nor national anthem heard with wins.

One might logically think that Russian athletes would be resentful that their president feels that they cannot compete successfully on the world stage in their fields of sport-competitive excellence without cheating. And that state manipulation resulted in being shamed on the world sporting stage, along with their exclusion from international competition events. Evidently not, not if people like Olympic gold medallist, NHL player Alex Ovechkin's position can be judged. And it's not only this man but many other Russian sport figures that have signed on to Ovechkin's "Putin Team" social media campaign.

They're all boosting Vladimir V. Putin for re-election as Russian president. Actually unneeded since he is expected to win 70 percent of the vote, if state polls can be believed. Mr. Putin removed his only serious political adversary from contending for the presidential election, Alexei Navalny, who, unable to contend in a clearly thuggish, illegal move on the part of the current president, has urged his supporters to boycott the election.

The Capitals' Alex Ovechkin has long been a polarizing figure in the world of hockey. His recent support of Russian president Vladimir Putin will only add fuel to the fire.  (John McDonnell / The Washington Post)

There is nothing new, evidently, in Russian sport figures being allied with government, since sport is controlled by government agencies which also dispense funding. Some elite Russian sport figures get involved in political campaigns, and become sitting members of parliament in Mr. Putin's United Russia party. And although Yevgeny Kafelnikov won't support Putin, he uses his social media presence (24,000 Twitter followers) for exposure to political commentary on his part, including banter passing between himself and Navalny, alongside chatter about Spartak Moscow soccer team.

Alex Ovechkin, on the other hand, launched an athlete and other celebrity social media campaign in support of Vladimir Putin, complete with a rally in Gorky Park, central Moscow. A non-governmental organization monitoring potential election violations -- Golos -- took especial note of the Putin Team rally where promises of free gifts on attendance clearly violates a bribery code. It's unknown who funds the Putin Team organization with its valuable prizes for supporters.

At a March 3 rally at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow where the soccer World Cup final will take place in July, Putin held a rally. Accompanying him on stage was 15-year-old figure skating gold medallist Alina Zagitova, as well as the gold medal-winning men's hockey team. The Russian Sports Ministry with its wide-ranging power in funding and hiring of coaches is inextricably linked with Vladimir Putin, as president of Russia in perpetuity.

State-controlled companies fund Russia's top sport clubs in soccer and hockey.

Kafelnikov has contact with other Russian athletes as opposition minded as he is, but who take care not to openly discuss politics. "I'm sure there are plenty. I'm hoping so. There are some who share my thoughts toward what's happening and what's going to happen. I do have some supporters", he said in an interview.

The Canadian Press