RBC Daily: Putin recalls “poor relatives”
Sledding in the village of Paramonovo outside Moscow (31 miles from the Moscow Ring Road), Prime Minister Vladimir Putin inspected and even tested Russia’s only international competition level tobogganing-bobsleigh complex. Lackluster acceleration – the athletes were worried about their priceless passenger – did not allow the prime minister to make it to the finish line on the first attempt. He insisted on a second run.
Putin held a video conference on improving the training centres for Russia’s national teams in Paramonovo. After inspecting the tracks at the tobogganing-bobsleigh complex near the village, he was pleased. “It looks great,” he said.
Putin was even given a bobsled ride but not immediately. He wanted to try the track in the open air but was persuaded to go inside. He didn’t reach the finish line on the first attempt due to a cautious start. Putin’s bobsledders were clearly nervous about their special passenger. Before Putin’s arrival, they recalled how one untrained guest had broken his ribs here.
Judging by the expression on his face, Putin had mixed feelings as he sat in the bobsled. Yet, he insisted on a second run and this time they pushed the bobsled away with much greater enthusiasm. His athletes presented him with a real sled and a souvenir helmet. “We know you’re a thrill-seeker,” they joked. “If we gave you the real one you’d be off to the track at once.”
Putin spoke in German with Martin Halebrant, senior coach of the Russian national luge team. Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko, who made his debut in Zurich with his famous from-my-heart speech, was thoughtfully looking up at the ceiling. Putin interpreted: “I told him that the German athletes are the leaders in this sport and he replied that this is just for now but that we will overtake them. He said he works here and wants to see some good results.”
In a few days Paramonovo will host the Luge European Championships and the final stage of the Luge World Cup. The prime minister said proudly: “For the first time Russia will welcome Europe’s best lugers.”
He recalled how it was a decade ago. The sports facilities built in the 1960s-1970s were run-down. Many training grounds were still outside Russia. “We were short of practice runs,” Putin went on. “Our guys had to run around the world as poor relatives.”
From 2006 to 2011, federal budget expenditures on infrastructure for high performance sports under a federal targeted programme totaled 27.5 billion roubles. In 2012, four billion roubles more will be spent. Thirty four facilities were built and another 25 are under construction. “This is not counting the new sport infrastructure in Kazan that will host the 2013 Universiade and Sochi where a new city is being built,” Putin said.
All in all, the government plans to build training grounds for all 52 Olympic sports by 2015. “There are 58 now,” Mutko corrected the prime minister. Several other might be added to the list of Olympic sports. Before Vancouver, the federal targeted programme provided a mere 5 billion roubles, Mutko recalled. After the national disgrace, the budget was raised to 51 billion roubles.
After a pause, Putin gave the word to the regions that are building these training grounds. “Come and visit us for a biathlon,” people from the Leningrad Region said. “I’ve already tried a bobsled here. Do you want me to do a ski jump now?” Putin queried. “No, but you can shoot,” he was offered, “I can do that,” Putin agreed and went on: “I see many people walking around here and vehicles moving about. I hope this is a real construction site and not a theatre stage. I’ll come and jog here by the lake and see how it looks…”
Inga Vorobyova, Paramonovo
