Following their invasion on Ukraine, Russia was met with immense pressure from a slew of other countries who resented this action. Countries such as the United States have banned the Russian imports of seafood, alcohol, oil and diamonds all in hopes of pressuring the Russian Economy and its political leaders. Amongst the heavy political pressure a less publicized issue is also plaguing Russian citizens and the nation as a whole: international bans on athletic competitions. 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently published a report that included the recommendation of an expert that Russian athletes be suspended from competition in response to the actions of their country’s leaders. Despite this being a seemingly simple restriction for the Russian People, we can only assume that this means a lot to the Russian people. Russian people are very proud or have pride in their country’s history. They are constantly high performers at the Olympic level. Taking Olympic sports from Russian athletes is much more serious than people think.

Timberlane senior Taylor Dionne was asked how she thinks Russian professional athletes will respond to the Invasion of Ukraine, “I think they would retaliate in some way, they would put their foot down and take a stand against the government”. Taylor certainly brings up an interesting point I guess we will have to see. Griffin Roeger, another timberlane Senior was quite opinionated in his response, “I think the Russians who don’t support the Invasion will be mad but the ones who do are just going to have to live with their actions, the whole situation is really just a shame”. 

It is interesting to see what will happen in the following months if the invasion continues. We can only assume that it is not going to be good for the people and athletes of Russia.