“An instrument of Putin’s war against the West”

From September 15 to 29, the World Friendship Games will be held in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, Russia. At the will of Vladimir Putin, they aim to allow Russia, excluded from a certain number of major international sporting competitions due to the war in Ukraine, to participate in the creation of a new world order in sport.

So, what are these counter-Olympics called? When Vladimir Putin announces the revival of the Friendship Games, the message is more important than it seems for three reasons.

An alternative to the West

First, the Friendship Games were created by the USSR in 1984 to compensate for the Soviet boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics. The current head of the Kremlin is therefore in the pure tradition of the USSR from the Cold War era and further confirms its break with the West. In general, the Russian Sports Ministry has announced its ambition to organize not one, but many sporting events with strong geopolitical significance during the coming decade.

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Secondly, the break with the IOC seems complete in the medium term. Already since 2015 and the state doping affair in Russia, Russian sport was in difficulty. This situation currently does not present any avenue for improvement. Isolated at first, Russia is now looking for a way out.

Thirdly, the alternative sports competitions which will be held in Russia in the coming years are set to become sports platforms intended to build a new world order in sport by bringing together the poorly named countries. “Global South” in order to create a geopolitical alternative to the West.

CIO: the urgency to act

In this context, for the IOC, it was urgent to act. In November 2023, he, through James Macleod, declared that National Olympic Committees must “exercise caution” with regard to these alternative Games and that a rapprochement with the Russian regime would “contrary to the collective objective of the Olympic Movement to maintain the independence and autonomy of sport”.

However, from a legal point of view, the IOC does not have the possibility to ban these sporting events because sport does not belong to anyone. Only the Olympic brand is registered. In addition, a number of alternative sporting events already exist: the Commonwealth Games, the Francophonie Games or the Bolivarian Games. From then on, Russia sought to design a new sporting model: de-Westernized and freed from the historical structures that make it up.

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If the initiative in another context may seem laudable, it appears dangerous here because it contributes to further deregulating world sport. Indeed, the bonuses offered to athletes are extremely high and the usual anti-doping authorities (World Anti-Doping Agency) are not welcome there. The risk of massive use of doping products in a highly competitive context appears increased.

Breeding ground for the anti-West narrative

Furthermore, for the Russian government, sport has been, since 2015 and the revelations of state doping in Russia, fertile ground for spreading its anti-West narrative and thus using sport power as an instrument of sharp power. Any decisions taken against Russia in the field of sport are the pretext to describe world sport as a servant of the West, with the United States in the lead.

“Russia is taking advantage of the rejection of a lesson-giving West”

Vladimir Putin regularly calls on the IOC and others to depoliticize sport. A further illustration of Putin’s doublethink which consists of denouncing something while doing it yourself. Indeed, President Putin has made sport an instrument of power since he came to power in 2000. In this context, still according to the Russian narrative, if world sport is politicized by the West, an alternative must therefore be found.

A new non-Western order

Therefore, these Friendship Games are one intended to create a new non-Western order of sport. To achieve this, the Kremlin has worked hard, and the figures are impressive. Officially, the Games will cost more than 8 billion rubles. The first event in a long series, it should be divided into the Winter Friendship Games in 2026 in Sochi and the Summer Friendship Games in 2028 in a country allied to Russia.

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For the moment, Russian authorities announce that 70 countries and 6,500 athletes will be present at this event. By comparison, there should be 10,500 athletes and 206 National Olympic Committees at the Paris Olympics. If we do not yet know which countries are invited, it is a safe bet that Western countries considered enemies of Russia are not on the list.

A new “Potemkin village”

However, this data must above all be seen as an illusion. It is a safe bet that the Friendship Games will be used to become a “Potemkin village” to the glory of Russia. For example, during the Future Games held in Sochi at the beginning of March, the organizers announced that more than a billion viewers had watched the event. An unimaginable statistic but which shows how the regime will maximize the influence of these parallel sporting events.

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Therefore, we must consider these counter games as a tool used by the Russian president to spread his influence and accelerate the de-Westernization of the world. In the current chaotic context, a certain number of opportunities are available to him. Its goal ? De-Westernize to reign better. Sport is a way to achieve this.

In light of the emerging multipolar world, sport is a promising niche because it is at the dawn of a new era. As during the Cold War, Russia decided to seize it to make it an instrument of its hybrid war against the West.