4 ms·

Funny that they mention Arkady Dvorkovich, I would expect him to quietly retreat from managing current affairs in FIDE because of his high position in Russian c

Funny that they mention Arkady Dvorkovich, I would expect him to quietly retreat from managing current affairs in FIDE because of his high position in Russian civil service. How can one of the closest allies of Putin head an international organisation nowadays?

dmurray 4y ago
In March he condemned the invasion of Ukraine and stepped down from his other positions (which have not included working for the Russian state since 2018). You can always say he should go further, that he's tainted by his past links to Putin, or point out that if he had really turned on Putin he would have found polonium in his tea by now, but it's misleading to describe him today as "one of the closest allies of Putin".
- sam_lowry_ 4y ago
  Isn't he still the Chairman of the Board of Russian Railways, a state-owned company?
  - dmurray 4y ago
    According to their website, he left that board in 2020. https://ar2020.rzd.ru/en/corporate-governance/board-directors https://ar2020.rzd.ru/en/corporate-governance/board-director...
    - sam_lowry_ 4y ago
      So, he worked for the Russian state until 2020, then? Or until March 2022, when he resigned as head of Skolkovo? As you can see, he was sticking around until the war actually started. Did he precipitate the war by lending his name and skills to Putin? IMO, definitely yes. Should he resign from FIDE? Russians do not resign, they cling to positions of power indefinitely. Should FIDE fire him? Definitely yes, its rules are made for respectable gentlemen.
divan 4y ago
International sport federations are non-profits and follow own statutes. While many sports federations banned russian and belorussian athletes and officials, they had to do it within the legal boundaries and their statutes. For example, the reasoning ISU (International Skating Union, second oldest sport federation) gave on banning russians is "...we obliged to protect athletes during event, so because of war, russian and Ukrainian athletes can have a fight or situation that endangers them, thus we ban russians from participation or officiating...". During ISU Congress in June 2022 they voted if russians should be allowed to officiate on Congress, take official positions (including potentially heading positions) in ISU and in Congress, and they haven't reached two thirds needed. So it's simply not easy "just to replace a president". You need to follow organization regulations and rules. Large international organizations normally have a lot of institutional inertia and rarely even have unified vision and position on many aspects, unfortunately.
- gdy 4y ago
  >the reasoning ISU (International Skating Union, second oldest sport federation) gave on banning russians is "...we obliged to protect athletes during event, so because of war, russian and Ukrainian athletes can have a fight or situation that endangers them, thus we ban russians from participation or officiating...". That's the most disingenuous justification that I've heard.

dmurray 4y ago

In March he condemned the invasion of Ukraine and stepped down from his other positions (which have not included working for the Russian state since 2018). You can always say he should go further, that he's tainted by his past links to Putin, or point out that if he had really turned on Putin he would have found polonium in his tea by now, but it's misleading to describe him today as "one of the closest allies of Putin".

sam_lowry_ 4y ago
Isn't he still the Chairman of the Board of Russian Railways, a state-owned company?
- dmurray 4y ago
  According to their website, he left that board in 2020. https://ar2020.rzd.ru/en/corporate-governance/board-directors https://ar2020.rzd.ru/en/corporate-governance/board-director...
  - sam_lowry_ 4y ago
    So, he worked for the Russian state until 2020, then? Or until March 2022, when he resigned as head of Skolkovo? As you can see, he was sticking around until the war actually started. Did he precipitate the war by lending his name and skills to Putin? IMO, definitely yes. Should he resign from FIDE? Russians do not resign, they cling to positions of power indefinitely. Should FIDE fire him? Definitely yes, its rules are made for respectable gentlemen.

divan 4y ago

International sport federations are non-profits and follow own statutes. While many sports federations banned russian and belorussian athletes and officials, they had to do it within the legal boundaries and their statutes. For example, the reasoning ISU (International Skating Union, second oldest sport federation) gave on banning russians is "...we obliged to protect athletes during event, so because of war, russian and Ukrainian athletes can have a fight or situation that endangers them, thus we ban russians from participation or officiating...". During ISU Congress in June 2022 they voted if russians should be allowed to officiate on Congress, take official positions (including potentially heading positions) in ISU and in Congress, and they haven't reached two thirds needed. So it's simply not easy "just to replace a president". You need to follow organization regulations and rules. Large international organizations normally have a lot of institutional inertia and rarely even have unified vision and position on many aspects, unfortunately.

gdy 4y ago
>the reasoning ISU (International Skating Union, second oldest sport federation) gave on banning russians is "...we obliged to protect athletes during event, so because of war, russian and Ukrainian athletes can have a fight or situation that endangers them, thus we ban russians from participation or officiating...". That's the most disingenuous justification that I've heard.