April 09, 2024

A Team of "Foreign Agents" at the Paris Olympics


A Team of "Foreign Agents" at the Paris Olympics
An Olympics of yesteryear.  RussianLife files. 

On April 5, the President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Posdnyakov, wrote on Telegram that the Russian athletes competing in the Olympics are a "team of foreign agents."

Posdnyakov was referring to the Russian tennis players who will be competing under a "neutral" status at the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Paris. His Telegram post was in support of the words of President of the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, Irina Viner, who called the athletes a "team of vagrants" and "refugees." 

In response, Russian tennis star Daria Kasatkina wrote: "'Vagrant' Daria sends her greeting to all and wishes them a good day."

In December 2023, the International Olympic Committee voted to allow Russian and Belarusan athletes to compete in the games only under such a "neutral" banner, without the flag or anthem of their home country, in a move to distance the games from Russia's War on Ukraine.

Any athlete found to have publicly supported Russia's War on Ukraine will be banned from the games. 

You Might Also Like

Russia and the Olympics
  • November 12, 2001

Russia and the Olympics

Russia and the politics of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Also, list of Russian 2002 Olympic hopefuls by sport.
1980 Olympics: Songs and Cartoons
  • February 06, 2014

1980 Olympics: Songs and Cartoons

With the Winter Olympics set to kick off in Sochi tomorrow, we take a look back at the rich cultural legacy of the last Games Russia hosted.
Doping, Bus Stops, and Journalists
  • December 02, 2017

Doping, Bus Stops, and Journalists

This week's Recommended Reads for Russophiles includes a dope-master's diary, a revisiting of bus stops, and an intriguing theory about the Putin-Trump nexus.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955