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Poll shows how many believe that Russia needs its own international competitions

Almost half of the respondents feel that it is essential to reinstate the rights of Russian athletes and hold international competitions in the country

Russian cross-country skier Yulia Stupak Sergei Bobylev/TASS

Russian cross-country skier Yulia Stupak

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/. About 24% of Russians believe it is necessary to hold their own international competitions in the country as an alternative to tournaments where the nation's athletes are barred from participating. This is corroborated by the results of a poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, provided by TASS.

"This is the prevailing view in the North Caucasus Federal District (30%). Fifteen percent of the respondents insisted that Russia should fight to restore our athletes’ rights. This position is twice as common among young people 18-24 years (31%), and among the inhabitants of the Siberian Federal District nearly a quarter (23%) believe so," the opinion poll says.

The overwhelming majority of Russians (91%) are more or less informed about the suspension of Russian athletes from international competitions amid Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. More than half of the respondents agree that Russian athletes would have been suspended from international competitions in any case (62%), while a third believe that the reason for the suspension was solely the military special operation on the territory of Ukraine (32%).

Fifteen percent said they believe that Russia should fight for restoring athletes’ rights. Meanwhile, almost half feel that it is essential to tackle both fronts, that is, reinstating the rights of athletes and holding international competitions in Russia (48%).

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to an appeal for help from the leaders of the Donbass Republics. After that, a number of international sports organizations suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes from participation in competitions. Also, Russia and Belarus were banned from hosting global and continental competitions.

The VCIOM Sputnik All-Russian telephone survey was conducted on March 21, 2022. The sample size was 1,600 respondents aged 18 years and older; the maximum margin of error with a 95% probability of error did not exceed 2.5%.

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