According to a recent report, Russia sponsored doping for the Paralympic Games. As a result, their team was banned from competition. Many might see this as an act of stupidity but Putin has his reasons behind this Olympic scandal. Three of them in fact.
1. PUTIN USED OLYMPIC DOPING COMMITTEE TO BOOST MORAL
Everyone loves an underdog. When the underdog doesn’t win, that brings more support to the underdog. In a way, that was President Putin’s strategy here. The people of Russia grew stronger after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) banned them from the Olympic competition. According to a spokeswoman for Russians Foreign Ministry, the athletes who were banned are now seen as heroes to the Russian people. They were treated unfairly and the country now bands together in solidarity.
2. PUTIN USED OLYMPIC SCANDAL FOR PR STRATEGY
If the whole president thing doesn’t work out for Vladimir Putin, perhaps he could have a good career in public relations. This little Olympic stunt gave Russia tons of publicity. Pictures of the Paralympic athlete holding the Russian flag in protest generated a great deal of internet hype. So much so that the IPC had to scramble to remove the picture immediately. Suddenly, they had a political protest on their hands and for Russia, that’s good for business.
3. OLYMPIC SCANDAL SHOWS THAT PUTIN IS IN CONTROL; RUSSIA IS STILL STRONG
In a time where America, the “world leader” is becoming increasingly weak, the other powers need to show their strength. Everyone assumes that China will take over soon and lead the world into the next century. If that’s so, they have to consult Russia first. They do not appear to back down easily. Furthermore, this stunt shows the world that Russia doesn’t back down for fights and they’re ready to take China on for the top seat.
