This is a time when sport and politics are inextricably interwoven. It's a sad day when I have to say that I can't support Russia's participation in the Olympic Games, but Russian gymnasts are paid by the State, and sport is used as a mouthpiece for the Russian state.
It's not a personal matter, and I don't want to get into personal condemnations or accusations. The gymnasts are Russian. They aren't bad or horrible people, but they do live in a different and rather difficult environment that shapes their opinions. The BBC's Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, spoke recently in The Observer about Russia's support for the war, and concluded that while a minority of the population were fiercely in favour of the war, and a similar minority strongly against it, the majority were probably just very confused about what was happening and didn't know what to think. The gymnasts likely DO support the war, at least partly because they have to for their own safety. They are high profile and don't have the luxury of expressing confusion or simply fudging their personal views. Most probably they can't get out of the country without being stopped and questioned, so joining the Russian diaspora isn't an option for them. At the same time as allegations of their behaviour are highly upsetting, there are questions about them that we cannot answer. Yet another reason that the IOC should simply ban Russia from the next Olympics, or at least until such time as there is peace and allegations can be fully and fairly investigated.
Not surprisingly, friendships have been destroyed. The idea of Russia competing side by side with Ukraine is unconscionable for many. The IOC has to make a decision; that decision should be made on a country level and not on the basis of individual behaviour, because you can't fairly judge individuals in a time of such unrest, in a country in which everything is being turned on its head. It's not an easy decision to make with so many different ethical concerns. I appreciate the IOC considering neutral status for some athletes. But Russia has well and truly crossed the red line and I think the simplest decision -to ban Russia - is the right one.
I keep writing about Russian gymnastics because I am concerned for the athletes and their coaches and I also want there to be peace. But it is difficult to write appropriately about what is going on over there without talking about the politics. As I can't do this with any degree of real knowledge (even the national and international press struggles and there are issues of bias - both ways), I wanted to draw attention to a growing body of work on the internet - the vlogs that Russians are producing that give an insight into their country's situation at present. These are not about gymnastics or sport, but they help to shed light on what is happening in Russia. You have to read and listen critically - I am not vouching for the reliability of these as sources, they are simply ones that I enjoy and that, after months of listening, I have found to be interesting and reasonably balanced. Please note, I pray for both Ukraine and for Russia. What is happening at present is a violation of Ukraine - and of Russia.
The first source I would recommend to you is a vlog called Inside Russia. It is run by a journalist, Konstantin, who began his vlog while still in Russia and now broadcasts out of Tashkent, having fled Russia at around the time of the first draft. Konstantin has a record of accurately predicting what is happening in Russia and he understands the language of the Kremlin. He broadcasts regularly, sometimes daily, and runs livestreams and Q and As. If you are interested in the situation in Russia and only have time to listen to one source, I would recommend this one to you.
Nikita Proshin vlogs about travel and knows a lot about how to travel cheaply, and how to keep visas up to date! He was in St Petersburg at the time of the invasion and very bravely broadcast live from the protests against the war that erupted at around that time but which now seem to have been quelled. He can be interesting, especially in analysing important geo-political and economic issues. At times it's more of a travel vlog. You can pick and choose his videos according to your interests.
Viktoria Terekhina is a Russian who travelled with her husband and growing family from her home in Krasnodar via Uzbekistan to Georgia, around the middle of last year. Her vlog is mostly about how the family is living and settling in to a new country, but in common with most of these vloggers she also runs a Patreon account. And it's the stories on Patreon that are really important, recording as they do the actions of this remarkable family as they settle in a foreign country.
A Different Russia is a vlog about the everyday life of a Russian couple who live with their black labrador Sheffield (Sheffy) in Fryazino (a small town just outside Moscow where gymnast Maria Bondarenko comes from). There is an insight into the quiet lives of ordinary Russians here that is difficult to find elsewhere. War is heavy in the background with talk of supermarket shelves, bureaucracy and so on, but the War is never directly spoken about,
Finally, if you, like me, want to travel to Russia but can't because of the war, I'd recommend the vlog Matt & Julia. Matt (British) and Julia (Russian) are a married couple who travel not just around Russia but also across Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Asia. Julia (a former contestant in the Great British Bake Off) is a cook, so there's quite a lot of talk of food and some really nice home cooking with her grandma in Keremovo, family parties at New Year and so on. I've enjoyed videos of M and J travelling by train to the world's coldest city (Yakutsk), and of them narrowly avoiding arrest by the KGB while visiting the ruins of an old Soviet missile testing station in Dagestan. And through their adventures I've developed an interest in Kazakhstan and in particular Almaty, which looks amazing. If I can't get to St Petersburg before my faculties begin to fray, I'll have to go Almaty to satisfy my travel urges.
There are others, but I won't overload this page with too many recommendations. If you have any favourites of your own, please do mention them in the comments. I'll be coming back to check them.