- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
http://ptichkafs.livejournal.com/41498.html
Here is an issue that has gripped Russian sports fans for the past few days. Since some of the article is not is not related to Figure Skating, I will be giving synopsis of some paragraphs rather than full translations. To clarify – CSKA is a club in Moscow that’s affiliated (and sponsored by) the army; many of the best Soviet and Russian skaters have represented it, from Rodnina and Ulanov/ Zaitsev, to Gordeeva and Grinkov, to today’s Khokhlova and Novitski.
March 2, 2009
The largest and most successful athletic club of Russia, CSKA, has yesterday confirmed receiving an order from the Defense Ministry of Russia yesterday. According to this document, all athletes of draft age representing the club must be dispatched to the military bases for immediate service, while the rest are to be cut and transferred to the civilian ranks. This news about the radical reformation of CSKA has already caused consternation among Russia’s athletic leaders who believe that this can become a heavy blow to national sport.
Head of the club Sergei Kushenko yesterday abstained from commenting on the order that is directed towards cutting non-essential expenses of the ministry (it provides about half of the annual budget of its athletic division, making it 300,000,000 rubles, or $10M, for 2007). Clearly, though, it is a serious blow to Russia’s most successful club, whose athletes won 16 out 18 gold medals that Russia got at the Beijing Olympics. Essentially, the order bars those who’ve reached the draft age of the right from practicing their sport by, at least at CSKA, forcing them to seek ways to avoid immediate service by, for example, moving to other clubs; after all, they can still move to “Dinamo”. Those athletes and coaches who are not of draft age lose their officers’ salaries and other benefits. We’re talking here about turning CSKA into an ordinary civilian sports club without any benefits compared to others.
The order became an unwelcome surprise to sports leadership even though it technically fits into the framework of the military reforms initiated by Russia’s defense minister Anatoly Serduk. On October 14, 2008, he announced its beginning. Besides [changes in the military hierarchy], he planned cutting more than 160 thousand officers over three years. This entailed going aggressively after non-essential personnel, meaning doctors, economists, journalists, and interpreters; it also means athletes.
[Our] source at the CSKA told us yesterday that the order is already being actively implemented. According to him, about thirty athletes have been sent to the barracks in Teply Stan. Among them, there are several famous ones, such as Olympic champion of Greco-Roman wrestling Islambek Albiev, one of the most promising Russian skaters Artem Borodulin, and a basketball player from one of the strongest Europeans basketball clubs Andrei Voroncevich.
[…]
Figure Skating federation president Valentin Piseev, on learning that he team could perhaps not have Artem Borodulin available for the Los Angeles World Championships, did not hide his disbelief, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more stupid order. I don’t know what kind of a fighter they can make of Borodulin, but they can sure destroy him as a skater.”
As we found out, last night there were urgent consultations those interested in keeping CSKA’s high profile. They have asked sports minister Vitaly Mutko for help, and he should be letting his position known today.
Here is an issue that has gripped Russian sports fans for the past few days. Since some of the article is not is not related to Figure Skating, I will be giving synopsis of some paragraphs rather than full translations. To clarify – CSKA is a club in Moscow that’s affiliated (and sponsored by) the army; many of the best Soviet and Russian skaters have represented it, from Rodnina and Ulanov/ Zaitsev, to Gordeeva and Grinkov, to today’s Khokhlova and Novitski.
March 2, 2009
The largest and most successful athletic club of Russia, CSKA, has yesterday confirmed receiving an order from the Defense Ministry of Russia yesterday. According to this document, all athletes of draft age representing the club must be dispatched to the military bases for immediate service, while the rest are to be cut and transferred to the civilian ranks. This news about the radical reformation of CSKA has already caused consternation among Russia’s athletic leaders who believe that this can become a heavy blow to national sport.
Head of the club Sergei Kushenko yesterday abstained from commenting on the order that is directed towards cutting non-essential expenses of the ministry (it provides about half of the annual budget of its athletic division, making it 300,000,000 rubles, or $10M, for 2007). Clearly, though, it is a serious blow to Russia’s most successful club, whose athletes won 16 out 18 gold medals that Russia got at the Beijing Olympics. Essentially, the order bars those who’ve reached the draft age of the right from practicing their sport by, at least at CSKA, forcing them to seek ways to avoid immediate service by, for example, moving to other clubs; after all, they can still move to “Dinamo”. Those athletes and coaches who are not of draft age lose their officers’ salaries and other benefits. We’re talking here about turning CSKA into an ordinary civilian sports club without any benefits compared to others.
The order became an unwelcome surprise to sports leadership even though it technically fits into the framework of the military reforms initiated by Russia’s defense minister Anatoly Serduk. On October 14, 2008, he announced its beginning. Besides [changes in the military hierarchy], he planned cutting more than 160 thousand officers over three years. This entailed going aggressively after non-essential personnel, meaning doctors, economists, journalists, and interpreters; it also means athletes.
[Our] source at the CSKA told us yesterday that the order is already being actively implemented. According to him, about thirty athletes have been sent to the barracks in Teply Stan. Among them, there are several famous ones, such as Olympic champion of Greco-Roman wrestling Islambek Albiev, one of the most promising Russian skaters Artem Borodulin, and a basketball player from one of the strongest Europeans basketball clubs Andrei Voroncevich.
[…]
Figure Skating federation president Valentin Piseev, on learning that he team could perhaps not have Artem Borodulin available for the Los Angeles World Championships, did not hide his disbelief, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more stupid order. I don’t know what kind of a fighter they can make of Borodulin, but they can sure destroy him as a skater.”
As we found out, last night there were urgent consultations those interested in keeping CSKA’s high profile. They have asked sports minister Vitaly Mutko for help, and he should be letting his position known today.
