Moscow Times
October 26, 2009
Kremlin: State, Sports Don’t Mix
By Alexandra Odynova
President Dmitry Medvedev called on Friday for government officials to resign from leadership posts at sports organizations within a month in order to promote the development of sports.
Medvedev, speaking during a visit to Kazan, said he has already ordered his administration to take steps to remove sports portfolios from officials, including Sports, Tourism and Youth Politics Minister Vitaly Mutko, who also heads the Russian Football Union.
The new sports heads must be professionals ready to tackle problems “24 hours a day,” Medvedev said, according to an audio file of his remarks posted on the Kremlin’s web site.
He stressed that officials are wasting their time on foreign trips or simply sitting in their offices as part of their sports duties. The incumbent officials might head a sports organization’s supervisory board, but not the executive body, Medvedev said.
The changes concern government officials heading 10 sports federations, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of the Rowing Slalom Federation, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov of the Chess Federation and Transportation Minister Igor Levitin of the Table Tennis Federation.
None of the government officials affected by Medvedev’s announcement made any public comments about the proposed shift over the weekend. The Russian Football Union and other sports organizations could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Medvedev’s plan does not include State Duma deputies, such as Deputy Vladislav Tretyak of the Hockey Federation, Kommersant reported Saturday, citing a Kremlin source. It was unclear if state-connected business leaders, like Gazprom deputy head Alexander Medvedev of the Kontinental Hockey League, might face restrictions.
Medvedev’s new sports policy is a reversal from steps taken by then-President Vladimir Putin in 2004, when control of sports federations was handed over to government officials.
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Officials and Their Sports
Official Sports Body
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Rowing Slalom Federation
Transportation Minister Igor Levitin Table Tennis Federation
Sports, Tourism and Youth Politics Minister Vitaly Mutko Russian Football Union
Federal Guard Service director Yevgeny Murov Boxing Federation
Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Naryshkin All-Russia Swimming Federation
Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev All-Russia Volleyball Federation
Audit Chamber chief of staff Sergei Shakhrai Russian National Badminton Federation
Airborne Troops commander Vladimir Shamanov Russian Taekwondo Union
Tver Governor Dmitry Zelenin All-Russia Sailing Federation
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov Russian Chess Federation
MT
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