Mikhail Degtyarev is the highest-ranking Russian official to have successfully shed EU sanctions. A longtime Putin loyalist and admirer of the late ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Degtyarev now aims to pull Russian sports out of international isolation. Having amassed unprecedented control over the country’s athletic administration body — and its billions in funding — Degtyarev has steered Russia back toward engagement with the global sporting community. In 2025, a growing number of Russian athletes are obtaining neutral status, allowing them to compete in top international competitions. Fencers and swimmers will appear in summer competitions at the European and global level, while Russian figure skaters are set to take part in Olympic qualification events this September.
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How Degtyarev rebranded Russian sports
For the past six months, Mikhail Degtyarev has been the dominant figure in Russian sports, a reality that would have been unimaginable before Russia’s near-total exclusion from international athletics following the Kremlin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Today, Degtyarev is both Minister of Sport and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). In a healthy system of government, these roles would be mutually exclusive, as national Olympic committees are intended to function as independent civil organizations. Government interference can result in sanctions, such as the suspension of a country’s athletes or the stripping of its right to use the national flag on the world stage. Guatemala, for instance, was suspended from the Olympics in 2022 over similar interference, and both North Korea and India faced comparable penalties in the past.
The name alludes to the Degtyarev machine gun (like the DP-27), a famous Soviet-era firearm designed by Vasily Degtyarev, who shares the same last name. Recognizable for its top-mounted pan magazine, the DP-27 was the Soviet Union’s standard infantry light machine gun (LMG) during World War II.
Degtyaryov is both Minister of Sport and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). In a healthy system of government, these roles would be mutually exclusive.
Yet Degtyarev’s dual role came with Vladimir Putin’s public blessing, and it signals a reversal of policy in Russian sport: from isolation to reintegration with the international community. During the first two years of full-scale war, the trajectory was the opposite. Russia spent heavily on alternative events like the BRICS Games — where some competitions had only one participant — and the Friendship Games, which were indefinitely postponed despite a 26-billion-ruble budget.
Now, former ridicule of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has turned into conciliatory remarks. Russian athletes once smeared for competing abroad under neutral status — called “bums,” “traitors,” or “Team Foreign Agents” — are now officially supported.
The name alludes to the Degtyarev machine gun (like the DP-27), a famous Soviet-era firearm designed by Vasily Degtyarev, who shares the same last name. Recognizable for its top-mounted pan magazine, the DP-27 was the Soviet Union’s standard infantry light machine gun (LMG) during World War II.
Russian propaganda’s former ridicule of the International Olympic Committee has turned into conciliatory remarks.
Similar insults were directed at the 15 Russian athletes who went to the 2024 Paris Olympics without a flag. Among the critics was former Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) president Stanislav Pozdnyakov, who likened his country’s representatives in Paris to rats.
Now, however, the political leadership of Russian sports is clearly seeking a return to global competition — including to the Olympics. According to Degtyarev, an array of factors — “discordant voices,” “chaotic decision-making,” and “uncoordinated public statements from athletes and federation officials” — had hindered Russia’s relations with its erstwhile international partners. At a meeting of all Olympic sports federation heads, it was decided that Russia’s sporting representatives ought to “synchronize contacts with the outside world.”
“For professional athletes, it’s crucial to compete and win medals. We don’t condemn those who obtain neutral status — they are still ours, and none of them are rejecting their Russian passports or citizenship,” Degtyarev said in December ahead of the World Short Course Swimming Championships in Budapest — one of the first major international events where Russians were allowed to compete again in Olympic summer sports.
Soon after, Degtyarev took an even firmer stance, saying that he would not allow athletes seeking to compete internationally under neutral status to be “branded as foreign agents or traitors.” He continued:
“Russian sport faces unprecedented external pressure. Thousands of our athletes are being discriminated against. The aim of these sanctions is clear: to provoke a reaction, to make us walk away. That outcome is predictable — if we slam the door, Russia’s return to the global sports stage becomes virtually impossible. There would simply be no one left to compete at the elite level that Russian sport has built over more than a century. To avoid this disastrous scenario, it’s especially important now to stay calm and to preserve every opportunity for our athletes to win medals and bring them home — to Russia.”
As soon as Degtyarev assumed both top leadership positions in Russian sports, many senior federation officials quickly changed their public positions. The most vivid example is Irina Viner, head coach of the national rhythmic gymnastics team and former president of the sport’s federation.
The name alludes to the Degtyarev machine gun (like the DP-27), a famous Soviet-era firearm designed by Vasily Degtyarev, who shares the same last name. Recognizable for its top-mounted pan magazine, the DP-27 was the Soviet Union’s standard infantry light machine gun (LMG) during World War II.
As soon as Degtyaryov assumed both top leadership positions in Russian sports, many senior federation officials quickly changed their public positions.
Before the 2024 Paris Olympics, Viner said: “A team of bums with no flag, no anthem, no fans is going to the Olympics. I find it humiliating when medalists stand under a white flag, and champions do so to music that sounds like a funeral march instead of a national anthem.”
But by December 2024, her tone had changed: “I used to criticize the neutral status, but now this decision has been made at the level of the Ministry of Sport after Mikhail Degtyarev’s statement that we need to return [to international competition].”
The name alludes to the Degtyarev machine gun (like the DP-27), a famous Soviet-era firearm designed by Vasily Degtyarev, who shares the same last name. Recognizable for its top-mounted pan magazine, the DP-27 was the Soviet Union’s standard infantry light machine gun (LMG) during World War II.
Viner shifted her stance while still serving as the national team’s head coach, but she soon lost her position. In fall 2024, she was removed as president of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation after the federation was merged with trampoline, aerobics, and acrobatics into a single umbrella structure. In February 2025, she also stepped down as head coach — a role she had held since 2001.
A source close to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) told The Insider that Viner’s ouster allowed the authorities to quietly sideline a figure considered toxic by the international community. Increased influence over Russian gymnastics and athlete preparation now lies with former Olympic champion and Putin’s unofficial romantic partner Alina Kabaeva. Despite her close connections at the highest levels of power, Kabaeva never spoke out against Russian athletes’ participation in international competition.
Bureaucratic trickery
One major obstacle to Russia’s reinstatement in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was the ROC’s October 2023 decision to include the Olympic councils of the so-called “new regions” — the occupied and illegally annexed Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. In response, the IOC immediately suspended the ROC until the situation was resolved.
This took place under former ROC president Stanislav Pozdnyakov, at a time when Degtyarev was still governor of Khabarovsk Krai. Once Degtyarev took over, the ROC updated its structure and removed all regional Olympic bodies. According to a participant in the vote that was held in late 2024, the plan had been coordinated with the regional councils in advance, and the general assembly simply formalized it by adopting a new charter.
The name alludes to the Degtyarev machine gun (like the DP-27), a famous Soviet-era firearm designed by Vasily Degtyarev, who shares the same last name. Recognizable for its top-mounted pan magazine, the DP-27 was the Soviet Union’s standard infantry light machine gun (LMG) during World War II.
To get around the IOC’s ban — introduced because of the inclusion of the so-called “new regions” in occupied Ukraine — the Russian Olympic Committee simply took all regional councils out of its structure.
In February 2025, shortly before the IOC elected new president Kirsty Coventry, Degtyarev commented:
“Regional Olympic councils are no longer members of the ROC. The number of ROC members has been reduced by 89. This is legal language. There are now no formal reasons for any kind of ban. The issues cited by the IOC Executive Board have been resolved — and we’ve informed the IOC of that.”
In essence, the new ROC charter now includes only national-level sports federations. Regional committees, which had previously overseen sports development within their territories, are no longer mentioned.
The new IOC president was elected on March 20, and the transition period continues until June 20, during which current president Thomas Bach remains in office. Roughly two months after the ROC’s charter changes were submitted, Bach said he had no updates on Russia’s status and that Russia must simply follow the rules.
The IOC did not respond to The Insider’s request for comment regarding the ROC’s current status or its engagement with Degtyarev.
Seizing the bookmakers’ cash
At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Sport is taking control of a critical financial pillar of Russia’s athletics industry: bookmakers and betting agencies. These companies are now among the largest private advertisers in Russian sports (second only to government-owned giants like Gazprom and Russian Railways), but more importantly, they are a key source of targeted allocations.
Since 2017, Russian law has required betting companies to dedicate a share of their revenue towards the development of sports, distributing funds to athletics federations proportionally based on betting volume per sport. Under Degtyarev, this system is being expanded and redirected.
Originally, the share was set to reach 2% by 2030, with a target of 1.7% between 2025-2027. However, in August 2023, amid rising budget pressures, the threshold was immediately raised to 2%. Shortly after Degtyarev took office, he proposed raising the share further — to 2.25% in 2026, and then to 2.5% in 2028.
The amounts are substantial: in 2024, bookmakers contributed a total of 35.3 billion rubles, an 85.3% increase over 2023.
Degtyarev’s ministry will now control the bulk of those funds. A Russian Sports Fund is being created under the Ministry of Sport on Putin’s initiative. It will manage betting-derived revenues from international sporting events (which account for roughly 85% of bets), and distribute them through a grant-based application system, with decisions made by a supervisory board.
This effectively puts tens of billions of rubles under the ministry’s discretion, replacing the former model in which each federation received funding strictly proportional to the volume of bets placed on their sphere of competition. The Sports Fund bill has already passed its first reading in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.
The president’s footsoldier
Mikhail Degtyarev became Minister of Sport in mid-May 2024, transitioning from his role as governor of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia’s Far East. Before him, the ministry was headed by Oleg Matytsin (2020-2024), who had previously overseen student sports.
A source close to the Ministry of Sport told The Insider that Degtyarev initially reacted coolly to the job offer and informally inquired as to whether he could decline the appointment and remain in Khabarovsk. But upon learning that the decision had been made at the highest level of the Kremlin, he refrained from making any serious attempt to resist the promotion.
Degtyarev indirectly confirmed his readiness to serve in any role within the current power structure during his first major informal interview, responding to a question about his initial reluctance to take the post by claiming:
“I welcomed the offer with enthusiasm — like a footsoldier of the president — with readiness and gratitude. Wherever and whenever I’m sent, I will go. Civil service isn’t much different from the military. And yes, it’s true I hadn’t planned to leave Khabarovsk. I was building a roadmap until 2031 — two full terms as governor.”
Though closely associated with the nationalist authoritarian Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) for much of his political career, Degtyarev actually started out in Putin’s United Russia. At 18, he led the Samara branch of the pro-Kremlin youth movement “Walking Together,” joining Russia’s ruling party two years later. He has now spent 20 years in the LDPR, having switched his allegiance in 2005 because of his admiration for Vladimir Zhirinovsky, whose “work ethic, love for people, and belief in youth” seem to have impressed him deeply.
Degtyarev ran twice as an LDPR candidate for the post of Moscow mayor, but Zhirinovsky was reportedly dissatisfied with the way his young protégé ran the campaigns. Degtyarev earned just 2.86% of the vote in 2013 (5th place out of 6) and 6.72% in 2018 (4th out of 5).
The candidate described the campaigns as a training exercise:
“It was training — even up against Alexei Navalny [who won 27.24% in 2013]. We torpedoed each other. It was unforgettable! What a character! Not much of a debater, though. We barely have any career politicians in this country. I think that’s the tragedy of our time. I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m building a career in politics.”
One incident that has followed Degtyarev for the past decade first surfaced during the 2013 campaign — a now-infamous photo of the young candidate in a sauna with Zhirinovsky.
The name alludes to the Degtyarev machine gun (like the DP-27), a famous Soviet-era firearm designed by Vasily Degtyarev, who shares the same last name. Recognizable for its top-mounted pan magazine, the DP-27 was the Soviet Union’s standard infantry light machine gun (LMG) during World War II.
Degtyarov’s path to senior government began in earnest when he became chairman of the State Duma Committee on Sports and Tourism in 2016. At the same time, he began gaining media attention with bizarre legislative proposals, including a bill to ban U.S. dollars in circulation, ideas to repaint the Kremlin white, and calls to replace the national flag with the Russian Empire’s tricolor and the anthem with “God Save the Tsar.”
In July 2020, Degtyarev received the most high-profile appointment of his career when Vladimir Putin sent him to Khabarovsk as acting governor following the arrest of Sergei Furgal, another LDPR member, who was officially removed due to suspicion of his involvement in organizing contract killings. At the time, protests in support of Furgal were ongoing in the region, and Degtyarev quickly became a target of local discontent.
The name alludes to the Degtyarev machine gun (like the DP-27), a famous Soviet-era firearm designed by Vasily Degtyarev, who shares the same last name. Recognizable for its top-mounted pan magazine, the DP-27 was the Soviet Union’s standard infantry light machine gun (LMG) during World War II.
Ignoring the unrest, he waited out the protests, and in September 2021 won an election officially securing his post. However, he served only half the term, stepping down in spring 2024 to take the post in Moscow.
Degtyarev frequently creates awkward public situations for himself. In 2018, as Duma committee chair, he got into a live on-air spat on Russia 24 with Vyacheslav Fetisov — a fellow MP, former Minister of Sport, former Detroit Red Wing, and two-time Olympic hockey champion. Towards the end of their heated exchange, Fetisov twice called Degtyarev a scoundrel in response to the career politician’s insinuation that Fetisov bore some responsibility for Russia’s 2014 Sochi Olympics doping scandal, as the hockey legend had once signed on to the appointment of Grigory Rodchenkov as head of the anti-doping lab.
In January 2020, Degtyarev mistakenly congratulated Russia’s junior hockey team on winning the World Championship — unaware that he, along with other fans, had been watching a recorded broadcast of the 2011 final, where Russia beat Canada 5-3. The live game, shown on another channel, had ended with a 3-4 loss to Canada.
The name alludes to the Degtyarev machine gun (like the DP-27), a famous Soviet-era firearm designed by Vasily Degtyarev, who shares the same last name. Recognizable for its top-mounted pan magazine, the DP-27 was the Soviet Union’s standard infantry light machine gun (LMG) during World War II.
In 2020, Degtyarev mistakenly congratulated Russia’s junior hockey team on winning the World Championship — unaware that he had been watching a recorded broadcast of the 2011 final.
How Degtyarev got himself off the sanctions lists
Mikhail Degtyarev has consistently supported Russia’s war against Ukraine. When the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion, he wrote:
“The decision of our country’s leadership to conduct a special military operation was driven by the need to protect Russian citizens from military threats at our borders. It is a step we were forced to take, fully considered by the President of Russia, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.”
Degtyarev was first sanctioned by the European Union in the summer of 2014, shortly after the annexation of Crimea — on the same day as Nikolai Patrushev and Boris Gryzlov. At the time, he called the move “a high evaluation of [my] work as a legislator and a politician.” Later, he explained the sanctions as a reaction to his “humanitarian aid to the children of Donbas” and his help in opening a representative office of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” in Moscow.
The EU deemed that Degtyarev was “threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.” Throughout the years, his stance on international politics and loyalty to Putin remained unchanged. The only visible adjustment was cosmetic: he removed the letter Z — a militarist symbol widely used as a show of support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — from the name of his Telegram channel. Once titled “Degtyarev’s Machine Gun Z,” it now reads “Degtyarev’s Machine Gun 🇷🇺.”
The name alludes to the Degtyarev machine gun (like the DP-27), a famous Soviet-era firearm designed by Vasily Degtyarev, who shares the same last name. Recognizable for its top-mounted pan magazine, the DP-27 was the Soviet Union’s standard infantry light machine gun (LMG) during World War II.
Degtyarev removed the letter Z — a militarist symbol widely used as a show of support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — from the name of his Telegram channel.
Nonetheless, on March 14, 2025, the EU unexpectedly lifted its sanctions on Degtyarev — a surprise even to the minister himself. Following the decision, he thanked “the Hungarian side for their consistent political stance in defending Olympic values.”
Alongside Degtyarev, the EU also delisted oligarchs Vyacheslav Kantor and Vladimir Rashevsky, as well as Gulbakhor Ismailova, the sister of Russian billionaire metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov. Degtyarev did not use any formal legal mechanisms to get off the list, notes lawyer Andrei Morozov from the firm Feoktistov & Partners in a comment to The Insider — instead, the high-level bureaucrat never appealed to the EU Court of Justice, suggesting that his removal likely stemmed from political motives or lobbying — or, less likely, from a bureaucratic oversight.
The most plausible explanation is indeed Hungarian lobbying. As reported by Reuters, citing unnamed EU diplomats, Hungary threatened to block the renewal of sanctions on the entire EU list (over 2,400 individuals) unless certain Russian figures — including Alfa Group co-founder Mikhail Fridman — were removed. In the final negotiation before the renewal deadline, Hungary secured the removal of three Russians, including Degtyarev, though Rashevsky was not among those they actively supported (he had previously won his own sanctions case in court).
A week later, Switzerland followed the EU’s lead, also removing Degtyarev from its sanctions list. Fabian Maienfisch, spokesperson for the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), confirmed the delisting in a comment to The Insider.
This Swiss decision may be especially significant for the Minister of Sport, since the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are located in Lausanne.
Russian media have called Degtyarev the highest-ranking Russian official to be removed from international sanctions lists — and the first openly pro-war figure to do so. Some reports, however, noted that Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, could rival him for that title.
Since the sanctions were lifted, Degtyarev has yet to take any major public steps to reintegrate Russian sports into the global arena. However, he has made one bold prediction: he is “99% sure” that Russia will compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics under its flag and anthem.
For that to happen though, Degtyarev himself must first be removed from the U.S. sanctions list — and Hungary is unlikely to be able to help him in that regard.
The name alludes to the Degtyarev machine gun (like the DP-27), a famous Soviet-era firearm designed by Vasily Degtyarev, who shares the same last name. Recognizable for its top-mounted pan magazine, the DP-27 was the Soviet Union’s standard infantry light machine gun (LMG) during World War II.
