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Russian here. I applaud this decision. We have a case when our government officially sanctioned a doping tampering program and has tasked carrying it out the ve
by Andrew_nenakhov 7y ago
Russian here. I applaud this decision. We have a case when our government officially sanctioned a doping tampering program and has tasked carrying it out the very same organization that exists to prevent the use of doping.
Putin is a criminal and has a distorted worldview, that he is above all rules, that all the world is as corrupt as he and his cronies are, that everything can be bought, and if something goes wrong it's only because of it's a 'plot' of his enemies. The cronies he appointed to all government posts too think they are above all laws and rules, so, naturally, our sport officials are doing what they always do: lie, cheat, bribe.
It's nice that for once this behavior has blown into their faces.
ALso, one more thing about olympics: russian olympic athletes are decidedly NOT amateur athletes. They are all employed by the state, provided with very luxurious scholarships and generally earn 8-10x the median russian salary. Once they end their sports careers they usually join the corrupt russian government, by either becoming members of the parliament via rigged elections or by occupying various non-elected state posts.
- golergka 7y ago> 8-10x the median russian salary That's not awfully high and probably less than most of HN readers can earn in a first world country. Completely agree with everything else though. Just pointing out the obvious.
- Andrew_nenakhov 7y agoWell, it's more than mid-level developers in top Russian tech companies like Yandex are paid, and it's also way more than the income of any non-famous US athlete from non-mainstream sports (runners, rowers, etc).
- user5994461 7y agoSo what? Top athletes make money, it's not new. Olympics athletes are a few select tens of people. If you want a comparison, French athletes get 50k cash per medal if I remember the numbers right. Russia really want to win and show off internationally so no wonder they pay their top athletes.
- bobthepanda 7y agoI mean, 50k cash for a medal you can only really get every four years is not a whole lot of money.
- user5994461 7y agoIt's only the bonus for the podium, they get other allowances of course. Bear in mind that (winning) athletes usually get more than one medal. Think swimming for example freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, in different distances and in team relay. Lots of opportunities.
- Andrew_nenakhov 7y agoThat's not 'medalists', it's everyone who gets on the national team. In any sport, even relatively obscure. Top athletes that receive medals on international competitions get way more, in prizes, premiums, gifts like expensive cars/apartments/etc from federal and regional authorities. So unless Western amateur athlete has some luxurious ad contract, he/she won't be even close to Russian 'amateurs'.
- golergka 7y agoYandex famously underpays compared to the market. I'd that 10x median (300-350) is certainly doable for a senior developer in Moscow – not easy, but certainly not undheard of.
- Andrew_nenakhov 7y agoSenior developers are not 'mid-level' I was referencing to. Of course, it's not unheard, but I estimate that maybe 1-2% of Russian developers break 300k rub/month. In Moscow most devs are paid less than 200k