Champions of terror

Russia uses sport as a tool of propaganda and to circumvent sanctions
Total number:
167
Individuals
Updated: 28.08.2025
The participation of russian athletes in international competitions is a means of whitewashing russia`s reputation (sportwashing), spreading disinformation, justifying and legitimizing aggression against Ukraine among foreign audiences and demonstrating russia`s continued presence in the civilized world
Russian officials in international sports committees and federations remain a russian lobby and an element of strategic influence outside russia, providing ways to establish international relations and cooperation bypassing sanctions
What needs to be done:
  • suspend russian athletes from international competitions
  • exclude russian sports officials from international organizations
Sport should symbolize peace again
 
 
Total: 167
LARIN Vladislav Vladimirovich
LARIN Vladislav Vladimirovich
Russian taekwondo athlete, Olympic champion, World taekwondo champion, Two-time European champion, Honored master of sports of russia
He is an active participant in international sports competitions, including the 2022 International Council of Military Sports (CISM) Taekwondo World Championships in Tehran (Iran) and the 2023 International Taekwondo Tournament in Taiyuan (China). He led the russian national team at the 2024 European Taekwondo Championships in Belgrade (Serbia).
He is a member of the national team of the russian armed forces and the russian national taekwondo team.
He holds the rank of warrant officer of the russian armed forces.
He plays for the Central Sports Club of the russian army (CSKA), which is subordinated to the Ministry of Defense of the russian federation, and is a silver medalist at the VII World Military Games 2019 in Wuhan (China).
CSKA regularly provides active assistance to the military and veterans of the so-called "SMO" by purchasing and delivering special equipment, FPV drones, generators and humanitarian supplies to the frontline, conducts military-patriotic education of children and youth, organizes and conducts sports and patriotic events and promotes international cooperation, in particular within the framework of the World Military Games project.
Thus, CSKA athletes at international competitions actually represent the armed forces of the aggressor state.
In November 2022, in his online video address, Larin called on russian citizens to support and finance the russian military involved in the armed aggression against Ukraine.
He is an ambassador of the national anti-doping organization of the russian federation - the Association "russian Anti-Doping Agency RUSADA".
In 2021, he was personally awarded the Order of Friendship by putin for "a great contribution to the development of national sports, high sports achievements, the will to win, resilience and dedication shown at the Games of the XXXII Olympics 2020 in Tokyo (Japan)".
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KHRAMTSOV Maxim Sergeyevich
KHRAMTSOV Maxim Sergeyevich
Russian taekwondo athlete, Olympic champion, World taekwondo champion, Two-time European champion, World Military Games champion, Honored master of sports of russia
He is an active participant in international sports competitions, including the 2022 World Taekwondo Championships of the International Council of Military Sports (CISM) in Tehran (Iran). He led the russian national team at the 2024 European Taekwondo Championships in Belgrade (Serbia).
He is a member of the national team of the russian armed forces and the russian national taekwondo team.
He holds the rank of warrant officer of the russian armed forces.
He plays for the Central Sports Club of the russian army (CSKA), which is subordinated to the Ministry of Defense of the russian federation, and is the champion of the VII World Military Games 2019 in Wuhan (China).
CSKA regularly provides active assistance to the military and veterans of the so-called "SMO" by purchasing and delivering special equipment, FPV drones, generators and humanitarian supplies to the frontline, conducts military-patriotic education of children and youth, organizes and conducts sports and patriotic events and promotes international cooperation, in particular within the framework of the World Military Games project.
Thus, CSKA athletes at international competitions actually represent the armed forces of the aggressor state.
On social media, it openly supports putin's policy and russia's military aggression against Ukraine, using the letter "Z" in its posts as a symbol of the so-called "SMO". In particular, in October 2022, he filmed and published a video in which he congratulated putin on his birthday and said he was proud to support him. His post on the social network VK also contained the hashtags #ZaПрезидента, #ZaМир, #ZaРоссию (for president, for peas, for russia).
In November 2024, Khramtsov held a sporting event "II Open Taekwondo Tournament" for the prizes of Olympic champion Maxim Khramtsov" in Moscow, to which the occupation authorities of Donetsk region sent a children's team of the so-called "DPR" to participate. In addition, Khramtsov called on the organizers of other russian tournaments to bring children from the so-called "new regions" - the temporarily occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions - to compete in russia.
In April 2025, he took part in a propaganda event - the federal marathon "Znanie.Pervye" and held a sports master class for children in the temporarily occupied Donetsk.
In 2020, Khramtsov was awarded the Medal "For Strengthening the Combatant Commonwealth" by the russian Ministry of Defense for winning the World Military Games.
In 2021, he was personally awarded the Order of Friendship by putin for "a great contribution to the development of national sports, high sports achievements, the will to win, resilience and dedication shown at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (Japan)".
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MININA (Kudashova) Tatiana Alexeevna
MININA (Kudashova) Tatiana Alexeevna
Russian taekwondo athlete, Six-time European champion, Russian taekwondo champion, Honored master of sports of russia
He is an active participant in international sports competitions, including the 2022 International Council of Military Sports (CISM) World Taekwondo Championships in Tehran (Iran), the 2023 Grand Slam Champion Series in Wuxi (China), the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships in Baku (Azerbaijan), the 2024 Taekwondo Tournament in Bulgaria and the 2024 European Taekwondo Championships in Belgrade (Serbia).
He is a member of the russian armed forces national team and the russian national taekwondo team.
He holds the rank of warrant officer of the russian armed forces.
He plays for the Central Sports Club of the russian army (CSKA), which is subordinated to the Ministry of Defense of the russian federation.
CSKA regularly provides active assistance to the military and veterans of the so-called "SMO" by purchasing and delivering special equipment, FPV drones, generators and humanitarian supplies to the frontline, conducts military-patriotic education of children and youth, organizes and conducts sports and patriotic events and promotes international cooperation, in particular within the framework of the World Military Games project.
Thus, CSKA athletes at international competitions actually represent the armed forces of the aggressor state.
In 2021, CSKA was awarded the Medal "For Strengthening the Combatant Commonwealth" of the russian Ministry of Defense at a ceremony personally attended by russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. In her post on Instagram, Minina thanked the Minister of Defense and expressed her honor to be part of the CSKA team.
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LEVITIN Igor Evgenievich
LEVITIN Igor Evgenievich
Russian statesman, Advisor of the russian federation, Member of the Presidium of the State council of the russian federation, Special representative of the russian president for international cooperation in the field of transportation, Chairman of the presidential Commission on the Development of General Aviation and Navigation and Information Technologies Based on the Global Navigation Satellite System GLONASS, Member of the maritime board under the russian government, Actual state counselor of the rf 1st class, Member of the presidential Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports, Chairman of the board of trustees of the russian Table Tennis Federation, Member of the presidential council of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), First Vice President of the all-russian Union of Public Associations "russian olympic committee"
Russian politician and sports figure.
He is a professional military officer with the rank of colonel in the reserve of the russian armed forces.
Using his membership in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), he lobbies for the interests of russian athletes in the international sports arena. In particular, it criticizes the requirements for russian athletes to condemn hostilities against Ukraine in order to be admitted to international competitions and calls such restrictions discriminatory, and states that russian athletes will never accept such conditions.
Currently, russian athletes of the russian Table Tennis Federation participate in international competitions as part of foreign clubs.
He is a member of the Organizing Committee for the preparation and holding of the World Friendship Games, an international competition launched as a russian alternative to the Olympic Games in response to the restrictions on the participation of russian athletes in the Olympic Games in Paris. The aim of the project is to demonstrate to the world russia's capabilities in holding sporting events at the highest level and to develop new formats of sports cooperation. The World Friendship Games project was presented at the largest forums "russia - CEF", "PMEF", "russia - Africa", "russia - Sports Power", and issues were separately resolved with the ministers of South Africa, China, Brazil and North Korea regarding the participation of athletes from their respective countries in the competitions.
In addition, Levitin also invited athletes from all countries to participate in the World Friendship Games during a meeting of the russian Olympic Committee's Athletes Commission.
Also as the first vice-president of the russian Olympic Committee, in September 2023, he made a statement of intent to establish cooperation with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on the participation of russian and Belarusian athletes in the Asian Games in China.
In 2022, he called on large russian companies to continue to finance domestic sports at the same level under sanctions.
Along with other federal officials, he is a member of the board of trustees of the Sirius educational center headed by putin. One of Sirius's activities is the intensive training, development and further professional support of gifted children in sports disciplines, including hockey, figure skating and chess.
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SHASHILOV Mikhail Viktorovich
SHASHILOV Mikhail Viktorovich
Soviet and russian biathlete, Master of sports of the USSR, Honored biathlon coach of the RSFSR, Coach of the CSKA winter sports team, Coach of the SAPEI of the Sverdlovsk region "Olympic Reserve School №1 (college)", Senior coach of the russian women's national biathlon team
As a senior coach of the russian women's biathlon team, he criticizes the requirements for russian athletes to condemn hostilities against Ukraine in order to be allowed to participate in international competitions and equates fulfilling these requirements with betrayal of the country.
Publicly expresses support for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, in the context of the so-called "SMO", he stated: "Our cause is right, the enemy will be defeated, victory will be ours."
He is a coach of the winter sports team of the Central Sports Club of the russian Army (CSKA).
CSKA regularly provides active assistance to the military and veterans of the so-called "combat zone" by purchasing and delivering special equipment, FPV drones, generators and humanitarian supplies to the front, provides military-patriotic education for children and youth, organizes and conducts sports and patriotic events and promotes international cooperation, in particular within the framework of the World War Games project.
In January 2023, he was awarded the medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree, for "ensuring the successful training of athletes who achieved high sports achievements at the XXIV Olympic Winter Games 2022 in Beijing (People's Republic of China)."
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AVERBUKH Ilya Izyaslavich
AVERBUKH Ilya Izyaslavich
Soviet and russian figure skater, World, European and russian champion, Entrepreneur, producer, choreographer
He supports putin's policies and has been his proxy in the presidential election since 2018, and is a member of the putin Team movement, which supports putin in the presidential election. Оn his own Telegram account, he systematically publishes posts congratulating putin on his birthday.
In June 2023, he publicly supported putin during the Wagner PMC mutiny, calling for "unity of the people, solidarity with the president and support for the course taken."
He criticizes the decision to ban russian athletes from international competitions, calling such restrictions discriminatory.
In 2023, he was elected Ambassador of the Republic of Crimea (TOT of Ukraine) in the field of physical culture and sports at the international exhibition-forum "russia". In addition, as part of his cooperation with the occupation authorities of Crimea, through his own company Naslediye, he is implementing a number of projects to build ice sports training centers in the temporarily occupied Simferopol, Kerch and near Yevpatoriya.
He is a trainer and producer of the TV show "Ice Age" on the federal Channel One, where in 2022 he presented a speech dedicated to the so-called "SMO".
He is the founder and head of a number of commercial companies engaged in entertainment and sports activities, including patriotic and propaganda activities, which are supported by the russian government and the presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.
In March 2024, Averbukh performed an anniversary show for the families of the so-called "SMO" participants, "Together and Forever 20 Years of Success".
He regularly visits the temporarily occupied Crimea.
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