"They did something stupid, but now they need to get out of the situation beautifully"

The other day, information appeared in the Swedish media: the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is calling on the winter sports federations to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics. In December, this was already done in figure skating, speed skating and short track. Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus are holding joint competitions, one of which was the recently completed Biathlon Cup in Raubichi, Belarus. In an interview with Izvestia, the Minister of Sports and Tourism of the republic shared his impressions of the organization of the event, called for new similar tournaments, and also assessed the chances of an early full-fledged return of athletes from the two countries to international competitions, from where they were suspended after February 2022.

"If it weren't for these competitions, we might not have seen or recognized many of our athletes"

— How do you like the Strongest Biathlon Cup in Raubichi?

— I would ask again: How do you like him? Because we organized these competitions in very difficult conditions. A week before the first start, the weather was such that it did not allow us to hold the Cup of the Strongest. There was a positive temperature, snow problems. But in the end, everything changed, the weather changed — there was snow, frost. I am glad that in the end, the difficulties did not prevent the competition from taking place — excellent conditions, exciting races, the competitive part is very interesting and beautiful.

I would like to mention the night races (on weekdays, the races did not start until 20:00 in darkness and artificial lighting. — Ed.). We can hold such a biathlon celebration due to the good competition between Belarusian and Russian athletes. We see 15-20 strong biathletes among men and women. Each of them can win or at least show a decent result. In general, the celebration took place — this can be seen from the emotions of the people and the attitude of the fans towards what is happening. The stands are crowded, there are many spectators — everyone is cheering, supporting their favorite biathletes. Moreover, they support biathletes from both countries, which is also very important. Therefore, thanks to the participants and the fans. And thanks to the press, which competently and beautifully covers such competitions.

— Will the holding of such competitions in the coming season depend on the admission or non-admission of Belarusian and Russian athletes to international competitions, including the Olympics?

— I'll say this: it doesn't matter to us. Looking at the biathlon competitions in Russia this season, whether it's the championship or the Commonwealth Cup, which we are holding together, we can say that we can organize events no worse than at the main international competitions. But it is important to understand, and I am primarily addressing the Russian side here: we are primarily raising and developing regional infrastructure. A huge number of people in the regions who participate in these events gain experience in organizing such competitions.

In addition, today we can see the depth of the reserve of both teams — Russia and Belarus. If it weren't for these competitions, we might not have seen or recognized many of our athletes. But with the help of these starts, we have new stars — very good athletes who can compete on a regular basis among the best top athletes in the world. Believe me, these include 10-20 athletes from your country and ours.

— So you plan to hold similar joint competitions in the future?

— Yes, I believe that they should be continued regardless of the international situation. Perhaps the venues need to be rotated somewhere. For example, in the case of biathlon, I would exchange competitions with Russia for the next season — the Cup of the Strongest would be held here, but at the same time, some stages of the Commonwealth Cup can be held here in Raubichi.

We need to change so that viewers in Russia can watch biathlon on the same scale and range as at the World Cup of the Strongest, when we held the sprint, the pursuit race, the mixed singles, the mixed relay, and the mass start, almost completely repeating the program of the World Championships held on the same days. We didn't have only men's and women's relay races. I think even if our strongest biathletes participate in the World Championships in the next seasons, nothing prevents us from holding the same competitions as the Strongest Cup with other Russian and Belarusian athletes. Believe me, the excitement will be high, as the fans will be able to watch it live, and not on TV, like the starts in Norway and Switzerland. And they deserve to see our best representatives firsthand.

"Everyone will see our new stadium. It will open in May, with a capacity of 33,000. viewers"

— In recent months, Belarusian and Russian athletes have been actively allowed to participate in international competitions in a neutral status, including water sports, figure skating, speed skating, and short track. Do you have a feeling that this is becoming a trend?

— By admission?

— Yes.

— I think everyone realized a long time ago that they had done a lot of stupid things by suspending Belarusian and Russian athletes. But it's necessary to get out of this situation beautifully — I mean, first of all, European sports officials. So they are slowly making and will continue to make efforts in this direction. And sooner or later, the sport will return to where it was before all these events. We will definitely come back. And we will compete with other athletes.

— Do you think there is a chance that Belarusians and Russians will attend the 2026 Winter Olympics en masse? Or will a large-scale dismantling take place later?

— I look at it calmly. If they allow it, it's good. If they don't let us, we run our competitions well. There is no need to inflate this topic and bother with it. They have already shown their essence — those officials who made the decision to suspend our athletes. It was shown and developed more than once.

— A friendly match between the national football teams of Belarus and Russia is scheduled to take place in Minsk in June. What do you expect from this match?

— Have a good game and let everyone see our new stadium. It will open in May, with a capacity of 33,000 spectators. And in June, we plan to play a match with Russia on it. The National Football Stadium of the Republic of Belarus is the most modern football facility in our country. And it will be one of the best in the entire post-Soviet space. The match with Russia will be the first international in this arena, so I hope the teams will delight the audience with good football, and the spectators from our countries will fill the stands as much as possible.

— Are you satisfied with what Belarus gets from the performance of its clubs in the same championships as the Russian ones, in the KHL, the VTB United Basketball League, and the Superleague in handball?

— I think there is even more potential for collaboration and the development of gaming sports. This applies to basketball, volleyball, handball, and hockey. We have done a lot in this direction, but there is still a lot of work to be done — at the level of the ministries of sports of our countries, Olympic committees, and national sports federations. In all areas, we need to integrate this work even more, deepen it and do it as well as possible.