Russia has decided to give monetary compensation to its athletes who were not allowed to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics

Mikhail Degtyarev, Russia's sports minister and president of the Russian Olympic Committee, said on Tuesday the executive committee had decided to award cash bonuses to all Olympic athletes who were unable to travel to the Games “due to treacherous political decisions”. He emphasized that the Russian authorities are doing everything possible to ensure the full return of Russian athletes to international competitions under the national flag and with the national anthem.”

Degtyarev, quoted by the BBC, added: “Where necessary, we negotiate; where this fails, we defend the athletes' rights in court so that our team can compete for medals with a full squad.”

Athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports have been banned from numerous international sporting competitions since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

However, 13 Russian and 6 Belarusian athletes were approved to compete as neutral athletes at the Milan-Cortina Olympics in Italy in February.

Nikita Filippov was the only Russian athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, taking silver in ski mountaineering.

Third in the medal standings at the Paralympic Games

Since the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, the International Olympic Committee has created a path for them to compete as neutrals, provided they meet strict criteria. These include showing that they did not actively support the war.

However, six Russian and four Belarusian athletes were allowed to compete under the national flag at the Paralympic Winter Games in March for the first time since 2014, after the International Paralympic Committee lifted the suspension of the two countries in September. Russia took third place in the medal standings at the Paralympic Games, collecting 12 awards: eight gold, one silver and three bronze.