What does Russia think about the 2024 Olympics?

Excluded from the Olympics as a pariah because of the war in Ukraine, Russia is looking very fierce at the international sports tournament in Paris.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian athletes are barred from appearing in the 2024 Games unless they participate as “Individual Neutral Athletes.” So, there are only 15 Russian athletes competing at the Summer Games in France this year.

The various Russian media, the majority of which are linked to the Russian state, seem to enjoy the accidents and controversies – both important and less – that have arisen during the competition, starting with complaints about catering in the Olympic Village. for gender shocks in women’s boxing events.

With no winners and few losers, the Russian media coverage of the Olympics has always been negative about the competition, the host France and the organisers, the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The tone of Russian media coverage was set shortly after the opening ceremony, with the Russian press following the “scandal” and “disgrace” caused by the part of the pageant that featured drag queens, who were accused of mocking Christianity.

Claims by the organizers that the segment was intended to represent a pagan feast were ridiculed by the Russian media, with weekly newspaper Argumenty i Fakty describing it as the “Olympus of Hell” and reporting that “the world” had condemned the “blasphemous” opening. event.

Russian media later portrayed the Games as mismanaged and mismanaged, focusing on crime, controversy and pollution at the event, and accused host France of having a cavalier and careless approach to athletes’ welfare.

British athletes who complained about worms found in fish served to athletes in the Olympic Village were reported happy Tuesday, while the outbreak of Covid-19, which has affected more than 40 athletes, according to the World Health Organization, is a popular talking point.

Also, with the water quality of the River Seine in Paris: Russian media outlets had a field day with news of canceled training sessions and postponed races due to bacterial readings.

“The current 2024 Olympics in Paris has become a record holder for various scandals, starting with the opening ceremony. But all records of lack of common sense were destroyed by the permission of the organizers to hold water competitions in the dirty and dangerous Seine River. ” Moskovsky Komsomolets based in Moscow rushed Tuesday, asking experts for a list of “diseases that the Olympians could have in the Seine.”

In the same vein, Argumenty i Fakty published an online feature on Monday titled “Poisoned by Paris. Athletes go to the hospital, but the IOC doesn’t care.” The IOC has defended the use of the river for sporting events, despite disruptions in competitive events caused by water quality.

To give you a taste of the coverage, Moscow tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda’s main sports feature on Wednesday, which wraps up the latest news from Paris, headlines:

“Dozens of athletes get sick with Covid, (American gymnast Simone) Biles continues to eat fast food, police complain about bedbugs, champions find worms in fish. What happened at the Olympics on day 11.”

Like the Western press, gender outrage against boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting was also shown in the Russian media. What the Russian outlet did not mention is that Russian networks linked to the Kremlin have been accused of using online disinformation and propaganda to spread claims about the gender rights of boxers, The Associated Press news agency reported, and about the Games, in general. Barta Barat has also covered some of these topics, to a lesser extent.

CNBC has reached out to the Kremlin for comment.

It is perhaps not surprising that Russian press coverage of the competitive event has been muted, given the country’s lack of official involvement and bitter relations with Western countries, which have largely supported Ukraine in the war.

With no chance of taking a medal as in previous tournaments, Russia did not even broadcast the Games for the first time since 1984. Together with the rampant anti-Western rhetoric by the Kremlin and state media, this has reduced public interest in Russia. in competition.

Russia has been smarting from the decision of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2019 to ban the country from international sports competitions for four years. This comes after the country was found to be running a large-scale state-sponsored doping scheme, which Moscow denies.

The ban means Russian athletes will have to compete under the banner of the “Russian Olympic Committee” at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic – and at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, held just days away. before the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s aggression against its neighbor has prompted the IOC to ban athletes from Russia and Moscow’s ally Belarus from competing in the 2024 Olympics, unless they agree to participate as “Individual Neutral Athletes,” rather than as a team. They are also only allowed to compete if they are not actively supporting the war against Ukraine.

“No flag, anthem, colors or other identification of Russia or Belarus will be displayed at the Paris 2024 Olympics in any official venue or official function,” the IOC ruled as part of strict criteria for Russian and Belarusian participation. in the tournament. No government or state officials are allowed to attend.

The IOC published a list showing Russian and Belarusian athletes who agreed or refused to participate. Some initially accepted the invitation, but later withdrew – perhaps unsurprisingly, when some Russian sports leaders objected to the ban on athletes, or described Russian participants in the Games as “traitors”.

“Neutrals” Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider became the first Russians to win a medal at the Paris Games, when they took silver in women’s tennis doubles last Sunday. He refused to answer questions about Russian politics.

Russia has sought to use its exclusion from the tournament to its advantage, viewing it as another example of what it calls Western Russophobia and an attempt to isolate Moscow from the sporting world.

As the 2024 Games begin in late July, Russia’s Foreign Ministry called on the IOC to drop what it described as a “damaging anti-Russian course,” with a ministry spokesman saying that “the right to participate in sports competitions is an inalienable human right .” Russian state news agency Tass reports.

On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said the US was “again planning to damage Russian athletes on the world stage by creating another doping scandal.” Without providing evidence, SVR said in a reported statement that the US is “planning the next stage of a trite and futile campaign to isolate Russia from the global sports movement.” CNBC has contacted the US State Department for comment.

“One can wonder at the impudence, pettiness and, most importantly, shortsightedness of the Westerners: after all, the behavior is blatantly unsportsmanlike that is rejected by the global majority.”

“As for Russian athletes and coaches, they are, and will be, objects of admiration for fans everywhere who want to see real sports, free from politics,” the secret service said, Tass reported.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the name of the International Olympic Committee.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the US broadcast rights holder for all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.