The re-election of Arkady Dvorkovich as boss of the World Chess Federation shows how great Russia’s power in global sport is, even in times of war. Even more: It also reveals the mistakes of the opponents.
It didn’t take long for the Kremlin to send a happy message. The outcome of the congress in Chennai/India was “very good news”, said a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin a few minutes after the Russian official Arkady Dvorkovich was confirmed at the head of the World Chess Federation (Fide). And the head of the national chess federation was encouraged by the astonishingly clear 157:16 victory against the Ukrainian challenger Andrij Baryschpolets to make a particularly expansive remark. The victory shows that “Russia is not isolated in the world”.
Organized sport once again impressively reveals how it is positioned in dealing with Russia’s war crimes regime. A few weeks ago, 35 sports ministries from the western world signed a resolution calling for the expulsion of Russian officials. The sport just doesn’t care. May most Russian athletes be banned from competitions, even Putin’s loyalists remain warmly welcomed into the global family of sports officials.
Around the world, the view of the Ukraine war is often very different from what Western countries would like
There are still four Russian members on the International Olympic Committee led by Thomas Bach. Officials such as the steel baron Vladimir Lisin (president of shooting sports) hold their influential positions in the world associations. The boxers recently confirmed Umar Kremlev by acclamation. The longtime member of the government, Dvorkovich, used to be part of the so-called liberal wing in the Kremlin regime and in spring even used the word “war”, which is banned in Russia, in reference to Ukraine. But he remains deeply entwined in Moscow’s elite and was clearly the man Russia’s leaders wanted at the head of Fide.
All of this shows how the functionaries of world sports are further penetrated by the Kremlin, its affiliated control centers and Russian money. And it shows how the sport in this case reflects the political realities around the globe, where the view of the Ukraine war is often very different from what Western countries would like.
The Chennai result is not only a victory for Russia – it also reveals the serious mistakes of their opponents. During the election campaign, the critics of Dvorkovich did not succeed in establishing a convincing opponent. If on the day of the congress a 31-year-old, largely unknown and inexperienced grandmaster from the Ukraine remains as a challenger, that is the unmasking moral overload of an election that could not be won. And the politicians of those 35 countries that recently so clearly called for the ban on officials? Have to ask themselves what they intend to do besides jingling words to lessen Putin’s undiminished influence in world sports.