Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019.
Before the meeting, the President was shown the layout of the facilities under construction for the 2017 Universiade, including mock-ups of a new airport complex, a sport training center, a sport arena and a downhill skiing center.
President Putin also visited Biathlon Academy sport complex and met with the winners of the 28th Winter Universiade 2017 that took place in Almaty.
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| Vladimir Putin at the meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019. |
President of Russia Vladimir Putin:
Good afternoon, colleagues,
Today we will be discussing preparations for the 2019 Universiade that will take place here in Krasnoyarsk. This will be the second time that Russia has hosted a Universiade and the first Winter Universiade for the country. Of course, this will not only be a major sports event for the Siberian region, but for the whole country.
We already know that holding sports competitions of this scale and magnitude provides a powerful incentive for infrastructure development and investment in the host region. The Olympics in Sochi and the Universiade in Kazan changed these cities, creating opportunities to upgrade not only the sports infrastructure, but also the transport, tourist, cultural and social infrastructure.
It is important to note that all funds invested by the government and all our efforts have paid off. There were many doubts about the post-games use of the sports facilities in Sochi and even in Kazan, but they are probably more effective than similar facilities in the other global cities that hosted such events.
All these facilities are working to full capacity. And the transport infrastructure, communications, water supply and discharge systems, purification facilities and electricity networks are working to the benefit of the people. I hope they will continue working in the future.
Krasnoyarsk, the easternmost million-plus city in Russia and Siberia’s largest economic center, deserves to be given a new image and new development resources. It has proved its right to become a major sports center by successfully holding large international competitions.
Today we had another look at the construction plans, and I really liked the layout. All the facilities will be located in a compact group within walking distance from each other near the city, in fact, just a few kilometers from the city center. It will be very easy for the people to use these sports facilities. And they will give a powerful boost to the development of Siberian Federal University.
One large event – the World Ski Orienteering Championships – will begin in Krasnoyarsk in a few days, on March 5. Winter sports are extremely popular in Siberia, including Krasnoyarsk, and we also know about the sports victories of people from Siberia and Krasnoyarsk, victories that added to Russia’s sports glory.
I have no doubt that this demand will help create a strong volunteer corps in time for the Universiade, the more so that the event organizers have at their disposal the faculty and students of Siberian Federal University, which will be the central base of the upcoming competition and will take over many sports and social facilities after the Universiade.
I would like to say that our plans for Universiade have an additional and very important element. The people of Krasnoyarsk expect us to build not only modern sports facilities but also new roads, hospitals and residential blocks, which will be used by athletes during the games and by city residents later, as well as a new airport.
They – I mean city residents – have reasons to hope that their urban environment will become safer and more comfortable. I want to say yet again that we must live up to these expectations. We cannot disappoint the people, as we agreed more than once.
Fulfilling our obligations to the international sports community is no less important. We are working to prepare the Universiade in close cooperation with the International University Sports Federation (FISU). FISU President Oleg Matytsin, who is our compatriot, will tell us his opinion of the preparations for the games.
I would like to stress that the authorities are closely monitoring preparations for the World Student Games and have earmarked considerable funds for them. Federal budget allocations for the planning, construction, renovation and major repairs of sports facilities amount to over 14 billion rubles. In addition, we have designated 3.6 billion rubles for transport infrastructure, 7 billion rubles for healthcare facilities, and 6 billion rubles for the games village.
Allocations equaled 8.9 billion rubles in 2014–2016 and 22.2 billion rubles in 2017–2019. In all, the aggregate budget of the Universiade is 40.5 billion rubles and includes not only the construction and renovation of sports facilities but also a cultural program and the training of volunteers, as I said. This is a great deal, and so we expect a proportionate result from these investments.
We have two years left before the Universiade, which is not that much given the scope and diversity of the objectives we have set. We need to understand how, to what extent and how well all the initiatives under this project are being implemented, and whether all the deadlines are being respected at every stage, which is also important.
On a sadder note, so far there are questions regarding the progress of these efforts. Of 34 facilities, 12 are two to four months behind schedule, including some sport and medical facilities. Specifically, there are delays in the construction of facilities at the regional clinical hospital, two transport infrastructure locations and a number of sports facilities.
Let’s discuss all this in detail today. Of course, I have all this information in my files, but I would still like to hear your perspective. We need to go through all these issues and look at the situation with tenders and how these projects have been organized. We need to catch up and most importantly prevent projects from falling behind in the future.
Let me draw your attention to the fact that, according to preliminary estimates, delegations from 50 countries, as many as 3,000 delegates, are expected to take part in Winter Universiade 2019. We must do everything it takes for this celebration of student sports to be held at the highest level, once again showing Russia’s openness and hospitality, our readiness to establish constructive partnership ties with all our friends.
Another issue I wanted to raise has to do with clean sport. I am referring to the anti-doping programs. Mr. Vitaly Smirnov [Honorary Member of the International Olympic Committee, Head of the Independent Public Anti-Doping Commission] and I just had a conversation on this issue. I would like to thank him for the efforts undertaken by his commission in this area.
We know the latest assessments from the officials at WADA and our colleagues from the IOC, who note that the McLaren Commission had inaccurate translations or inadequate evidence. Let me say again, and we said it repeatedly, that Russia has never had, and I hope never will have, a state system supporting doping. On the contrary, Russia will only combat doping.
Of course, and naturally enough, there is this issue of claims regarding scratches of some kind on some of the test samples. We do not understand what kind of evidence can we talk about because when we provided the test samples there were no complaints. If there was a problem with scratches of whatever kind, this should have been noted in the relevant reports, but there was nothing of this sort.
In other words, these samples were stored somewhere, and we cannot be held responsible for the storage conditions. But let me come now to my main point. The main point is that we must pay heed to what this independent commission says, despite the shortcomings in its work. We must pay heed to its work and its results, and to WADA’s demands, because we need to acknowledge that there are established and identified cases of doping here, and this is a totally unacceptable situation.
What this means is that our existing anti-doping monitoring system has not worked effectively, and this is our fault, and is something we need to admit and address directly. I hope very much that the Investigative Committee will see the needed investigation through to its completion and will identify all those responsible for this situation.
As you know, we are putting into place a new anti-doping system. It will be transferred from the Sports Ministry and Government oversight to an independent organization, as many countries have done, and not in any figurative sense, but quite literally. The laboratory will be located on premises belonging to Moscow State University, and we will help them to obtain the modern equipment, technology and specialists they need. I hope that we will no longer have any swindlers, who organize doping programs themselves and then flee abroad. I hope that our independent specialists and foreign specialists will help us to develop a strict and effective anti-doping system.
I hope too that Vitaly Smirnov’s commission as a public organization will continue its work to supervise the anti-doping organizations' work here in Russia. Of course, we must also work to ensure that doping does not arise in youth and student sport. These young people are just at the start of their sports careers. Let me say once more that we will do everything needed to organize positive, active and effective work with all our partners, including WADA and the International Olympic Committee.
Let’s start our work.
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PHOTO:
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| Presidential Aide Igor Levitin (left) and Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko before the start of a meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019. |
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| Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov (left) and Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko before the start of a meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universaide Krasnoyarsk 2019. |
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| Before the start of a meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universaide Krasnoyarsk 2019. From left to right: Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, and Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov. |
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| Ahead of the meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019 Vladimir Putin was shown a layout of the facilities under construction. |
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| Russian President Vladimir Putin was shown a layout of the facilities under construction for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019. |
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| Vladimir Putin in Krasnoyarsk. Preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019. |
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| President Putin watching a layout of the facilities under construction for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019. |
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| Honorary President of the Russian Olympic Committee and Chairman of the Independent Public Anti-Doping Commission Vitaly Smirnov before the start of a meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019. |
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| Ahead of the meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019 President Putin was shown a layout of the facilities under construction. |
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| Meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019. |
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| Rector of the Siberian Federal University (Krasnoyarsk) Yevgeny Vaganov (left) and Chairman of Base Element Group's Supervisory Board Oleg Deripaska before the start of a meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade 2019. |
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| Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko before the start of a meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019. |
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| Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov before the start of a meeting on preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019. |
