A report-election Olympic meeting was held in Moscow to elect a new president of the Russian Olympic Committee. The only candidate for this position was Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sport of Russia, who was nominated by more than 40 members of the ROC.

Earlier, Mikhail Degtyarev's candidacy for the post of ROC President was proposed by Shamil Tarpischev, President of the Russian Tennis Federation and member of the International Olympic Committee, and supported by Vitaly Smirnov, Honorary President of the ROC and Honorary Member of the IOC, at the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sport under the President of Russia, which was held in October in Ufa.

Speaking at the Olympic meeting, Mikhail Degtyarev emphasised the importance of strengthening the position of Russian sport in the international arena.

‘It is important to preserve any opportunity for our athletes to win medals at international competitions and bring them home - to Russia. They do not renounce Russian citizenship, the whole world knows what country they represent. And we should not create additional obstacles for them inside Russia. It is time for us to stop aggressive rhetoric against international organisations. Many of them, including members of the IOC, have long realised that global sport without Russia ‘won't fly’. During numerous unofficial contacts, they directly say that they want Russia to return to the international Olympic movement,’ Mikhail Degtyarev noted.
He emphasised that it is important to strengthen legal work on the return of the Russian flag to the Olympic, Paralympic and Deaflympic Games, including strengthening the staff of lawyers who defend the interests of Russian sport in international courts and other instances.

Mikhail Degtyarev said that the ROC development strategy will include such initiatives as the removal of all restrictions and full participation of our athletes in all international competitions under the national flag, integration of Russian representation in the governing bodies of international sports organisations, restoration of the ROC status in the IOC.

The Olympic Assembly also held elections for other executive positions in the ROC. Roman Kramar was elected Director General of the ROC, Viktor Berezov was elected Secretary General. Oleg Belozerov, Dmitry Mazepin, Alexander Nikitin, Gennady Timchenko, Arkady Rotenberg, Marat Filippov and Pavel Fradkov became vice-presidents of the ROC.

Ruben Begunts, Stanislav Druzhinin, Igor Kucherenko, Denis Rogachev, and Valentin Khabirov became members of the Control and Audit Commission of the ROC.

The Executive Committee of the ROC was composed of 29 people: Mikhail Degtyarev, Roman Kramar, Viktor Berezov, Shamil Tarpishchev, Alexander Popov, Vitaly Smirnov, Yuri Borzakovsky, Evgeny Arkhipov, Oleg Belozerov, Natalia Gart, Nikolai Gulyaev, Alexander Dyukov, Dmitry Mazepin, Viktor Maigurov, Ilgar Mamedov, Mikhail Mamiashvili, Alexander Nikitin, Natalia Parshikova, Anatoly Pegov, Arkady Rotenberg, Dmitry Svishchev, Anton Sikharulidze, Gennady Timchenko, Vladislav Tretiak, Marat Filippov, Peter Fradkov, Sergey Tsoi, Stanislav Shevchenko, Sergey Shishkarev.

Within the framework of the Olympic Assembly amendments and additions were made to the ROC Charter and its approval in a new edition. A new category appeared in the structure of the ROC members - representatives nominated by the ROC Athletes' Commission, this innovation will increase the role of athletes in the management of the organisation. At the same time, regional Olympic councils have been excluded from the structure of the ROC, which will optimise the management system and comply with the Olympic Charter.

In addition, the charter more clearly defines the goals and objectives of the ROC, including ensuring the autonomy of the organisation, compliance with the requirements of the IOC Olympic Charter and Russian legislation. The new version of the charter opens up additional opportunities for international co-operation and strengthening the position of Russian sport in the world.


Press service of the Ministry of Sport of Russia