“Why now? I have no answer on this question. I can’t see any reason for it,” said Bidnyi, a former bodybuilder. “Undermining the collective pressure that the international community has been building against the aggressor … it’s not a very honorable role for this organization.”
The IOC said that the reversal did not represent any change in its view of Russia’s war in Ukraine, which it still condemns. However, it said the ban was relaxed because the Russian committee removed regional sports organizations from Russia-occupied Ukrainian territories from its membership, which was the reason it was sanctioned.
Bidnyi said the IOC had fallen for a “primitive legal trick” and that Russia had simply restructured its Olympic committee to circumvent the IOC’s ban.
“We do not believe the IOC fails to understand this,” he said. “This is a deliberate decision to ignore reality, which completely ruins their own credibility.”
Moscow has repeatedly used international sport to maintain a foothold in Western institutions despite its broader diplomatic isolation since the war in Ukraine began. That has included influencing the world of chess, international fencing and lobbying for the gradual return of Russian athletes to global competitions.
European sport ministers have also reacted with anger to the IOC’s decision, with ministers from nine countries — Sweden, Estonia, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Finland and Denmark — calling for the EU to cut funding for the Olympics.