RUSAF REINSTATEMENT COMMISSIONTOWARDS A CLEAN FUTURE FOR RUSSIAN
ATHLETICS
version of February 2021
submitted for the approval of World Athletics

Moscow, 2021

1

CONTENTS
1.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

32.

PILLARS OF REFORM, KPIS AND TIMESCALES

63.

RUSAF STRATEGIC STEPS, PRIORITIES AND TIMELINE

7

4.

INTRODUCTION

85.

BACKGROUND

9

6.

VISION OF A CLEAN FUTURE OF RUSSIAN ATHLETICS

11

7.

BRIEF REVIEW OF THE ORIGINS OF THE CRISIS

13

8.

THE CURRENT STATE OF RUSSIAN ATHLETICS

18

9.

THE IMMEDIATE ACTIONS TO BE UNDERTAKEN - GOVERNANCE

24

10. THE ACTIONS TO BE UNDERTAKEN – ANTI-DOPING

27

11. CONCLUSIONS

29

2

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1.

Framework Requirement
Following the failure of the two previous ARAF/RusAF leadership andmanagement regimes, within which systemic, widespread and egregious
anti-doping rule violations were committed by those leaders, officials,
coaches and athletes, the World Athletics Council suspended ARAF in
November 2015 and it remains suspended today. A third attempt is now
underway to strive for RusAF reinstatement, supported by WA and its
Taskforce, with the knowledge that another failure will likely result in the
expulsion of RusAF from World Athletics.
The RusAF Reinstatement Commission, overseen by the Task Force, hasdeveloped a plan to ingrain throughout RusAF and Russian athletics(including those employed by the Centre for Sports Preparation and/or
through regional Ministries of Sport) a culture of zero tolerance fordoping, an irreversible commitment to the eradication of doping at alllevels, and to rehabilitate RusAF as a member federation of World
Athletics. This plan is to be implemented by RusAF with support fromthe World Athletics Taskforce and its international experts in accordancewith the framework agreement.
The RusAF Reinstatement Commission submitted a draft plan to theTaskforce by August 31, 2020, and then an updated version on
December 21, 2020 with the help of the international experts. This final
plan was submitted for the deadline of 1 March 2021.

1.2.

Origins of the crisis
A history of extensive and sometimes blatant anti-doping rule violations
involving athletes, coaches and officials is acknowledged. The root
causes of an extensive doping and covering-up culture involving athletes,
coaches and officials arose from inheriting a post-Soviet doping culture
aimed at winning by all means including doping. This cultural approach
to doping was embedded and compounded by indifferent governancestructures and improper incentivisation practices. This perpetuateddoping imperatives that remained widespread and systematic, andgenerations of athletes, coaches and officials grew up within this culture,with no capacity, knowledge or incentive to change it.
There was also no leadership direction at central and regional levels forathletes, coaches and officials to change the culture, comply withinternational codes and standards, and act with integrity to prevent
misconduct. Russia had adopted all relevant international sporting
protocols and Codes, and Russian Athletics adopted all necessary rules
and regulations in compliance with all required standards. Therefore, anappropriate regulatory framework was ignored and not implemented
robustly in practice. Athletes had to comply with the ingrained doping3

culture if they wished to be competitive at regional, national orinternational levels, and coaches remained incentivized by financial
rewards and status within the State by turning out such athletes.
Compounding factors were an absence of a speak up culture, and noenforcement of sanctions against Russian coaches even when disciplined
internationally. The Russian people were led to believe their sporting
heroes achieved outstanding performances through their supreme
training and talents alone. Doping was accompanied by a culture ofdeceit and denial in Russia, it remaining secretive and perceived to be anecessary requirement.
1.3.

Recent History
The All Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF, now RusAF) wassuspended by the Council of the IAAF (now World Athletics) inNovember 2015 as the result of the findings made by the Pound
Commission (the independent commission established by the WADA).
It exposed numerous anti-doping rule violations, continuously
committed by athletes, coaches, support personnel, all with thecomplicity of the then-RusAF leadership and management. The former
RusAF President, Valentin Balakhnichev, Dr Sergey Portugalov andcoaches Melnikov, Chegin and others were given lifetime bans. Dozensof Russian athletes had also committed anti-doping rule violations.
In January 2016, new RusAF leadership headed by the RusAF President
Mr Dmitry Shlyakhtin made attempts to resolve the crisis under theguidance of the World Athletics (WA) Taskforce. By July 2018,
Shlyakhtin and associated senior personnel derailed the reinstatement
process by each knowingly and purposefully committing multiple andegregious anti-doping violations in the “Lysenko case”. This casedemonstrated that no cultural shift away from doping and covering up
violations had actually occurred, which was reinforced by disqualified
Russian coaches continuing to work with athletes supported byleadership in the regions, receiving salaries to conduct training activity at
public expense, even during the period of disqualification. Once the‘Lysenko’ violations were exposed by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU)
and charges were laid in November 2019, emergency intervention wasmade by the Ministry of Sports and The Russian Olympic Committee(ROC), and the accreditation of RusAF was provisionally suspended by
the Ministry of Sport in order to initiate new RusAF elections. The
Russian Olympic Committee recommended that Mr Dmitry Shlyakhtin
and the RusAF Presidium immediately resign, which they did in
November 2019.

1.4.

Current situation
Under the supervision of the Special Working Group established by the
Russian Olympic Committee on 28 February 2020, a new RusAF
President and Presidium were elected, together with a RusAF
4

Reinstatement Commission established and tasked with rebuilding
RusAF and Russian athletics. Disappointingly, this initiative failed to live
up to Russian and international expectations, and little positive activity
occurred. Nevertheless, a Framework Agreement with World Athletics
was drawn up for the Commission to begin work with the Taskforce andits International Experts, and to instigate a Strategic Plan that would fulfil
the commitment made to fundamental change in Russian athletics
through the application of benchmarked international best practices inall areas of management, governance, anti-doping, coaching andperformance.
By September 2020, an entirely new RusAF senior leadership andmanagement team had been installed and recruitment had begun for new
personnel to fill all key posts. Work began, with the international experts,
on the Strategic Plan. On 30 November 2020, a new RusAF President
was elected, who immediately supported the new Plan, and engaged with
the Taskforce about its implementation.
1.5.

The Strategic Plan
The Strategic Plan, together with the Operational Roadmap that
supports the Plan, are designed to deal with the root causes of previous
systemic and systematic doping issues and achieve positive changes inboth culture and practice regionally and nationally. To do this, the entire
system of RusAF’s operations and Russian athletics must be changed,with core integrity-based behaviours and anti-doping values at its heart
and at all levels within the sport. It will be insufficient to attempt tochange only aspects of the culture-problem, a change of culture so deeply
embedded and at all levels of Athletics across the entire country requiresthat culture to be changed at all levels and in all areas, and the Strategic
Plan and supporting documents provide for this by identifying whatneeds to be done and prioritizing the tasks accordingly.
The Russian Ministry of Sport, the Russian Olympic Committee, theCentre for Sports Preparation at the federal and regional levels, regional
athletics federations in membership of RusAF, and other Russian
stakeholders are fully supportive of a clean future for Russian athletics.
Pathways for clean athletes to come to the fore must exclude oldcoaching approaches based on doping practices. Measures to reward
regions changing to clean athletics are required, and to punish thoseregions resisting changes. Increased athlete representation to support
clean athletics must occur.
Increased anti-doping work to complement RUSADA’s efforts mustoccur, and education programs for athletes, coaches, administrators, andother officials must support change in the culture. The implementationof clean sport principles through best practices must form the basis ofathletics in Russia.

5

RusAF believes the Plan can be implemented and achieved within thetimescales indicated, noting that irreversibly changing a culture will infact take a generation. It believes that a speedy and successful
implementation of the Plan will create the momentum for change, andtogether with a post-reinstatement continuity and evaluation program to
be instigated by World Athletics, RusAF will be best placed to continue
working with its new cultural approach for years to come, and continue
to effect the desired changes across all Russian athletics.
2. PILLARS OF REFORM, KPIs AND TIMESCALES
Strategic Pillar of
ReformKPIs 1 Apr 21
st

KPIs 1 Sep 21
st

KPI 1 Mar 22
Audit

Plan agreed by WA
Budget secured
Structure agreed
Russian law analysis
Rules review
Recruitment ongoing
Ethics/integrity review
Change culture dialogue
Stakeholder engagement
Post-compliance assess

Plan functioning
Budget sufficient
RusAF fully recruited
RusAF bodies functioning
RusAF law appropriate
Ethics Code working
Ethics officer working
Change culture programs
Stakeholder support
Post-compliance review

Budget successful
RusAF restructured
RusAF law utilised
RusAF audited
Ethics embedded
Change evident
New culture working
Stakeholders remain
Post-compliance M&E

Stakeholder identification
National change plan
Regional change plan
ID target groups
Draft comms strategy
Review regional policy
Coaches plan review
Education plans
Clean athlete plans

Stakeholder engagement
National change ongoing
Regional change ongoing
Target groups plans
Comms strategy ongoing
Regional policies ongoing
Coaches certification
Coaches education
Clean athlete pathways

Stakeholders remain
Natl change continues
Regl change continues
Group change ongoing
Comms trusted
Policies working
Coaching quality
Coaches changed
Clean athletes

Stakeholder identification
Strategies identified
Objectives identified
Draft comms strategy
Key communicators ID

Stakeholder engagement
Strategies implemented
Objectives on target
Comms strategy ongoing
Key Comms operating

Stakeholders remain
Strategies successful
Objectives achieved
Comms effective
Key comms ongoing

Anti-Doping Dept design
ADD rules draft
ADD budget draft
ADD recruit
ADD prelim working
AAD edu planning
Draft Speak Up plan
Comms strategy draft

Anti-Doping Dept in org
ADD rules operational
ADD budget secured
ADD fully recruited
ADD working fully
AAD edu plans ongoing
Speak Up implemented
Comms strategy onging

Anti-Doping Dept fixed
ADD rules embedded
ADD budget succesful
ADD staff stability
ADD proficient
AAD edu impacting
Speak Up effective
Comms strategy impact

Target audiences ID’d
Program planning
E-learn planning
ADAMS & WA programs
Key communicators ID
MoS edu support

Targeted programs
Programs implemented
E-learn implemented
ADAMS & WA training
Key communicators work
MoS edu joint work

Target audiences change
Programs successful
E-learn ongoing
ADAMS & WA improved
More key communicators
MoS edu expandsst6Comms policy developed
Message objectives ID’dRus audiences ID’dIntl audiences ID’dComms implemented
Message objs ongoing
Rus comms ongoing
Intl comms ongoing

Comms trusted
Message objs achieved
Rus comms expands
Intl comms trusted

Links to NFs ID’d
NF AD collaboration
WATF connectivity
Intl staff exchange ID’d
Best practices ID’d

Links to NFs developed
NF AD ongoing
WATF ongoing
Intl staff exchange prog
Best practices acquisition

Links to NFs sustained
NF AD sustained
WATF maintained
Staff exch prog successBest pract implemented

Governance policies draft
Org-wide processes draft
Management plans draft
Workflow mapping

Gov policies implemented
Processes introduced
Mgmt plans working
Workflow ongoing

Administration effective
Support effective
Transparent management
Processes inviolable

Drafting AM&E

AM&E discuss WA

AM&E implemented

3. RUSAF STRATEGIC STEPS, PRIORITIES AND TIMELINEPROJECT START

KPIs

KPIs

1st Mar 21

1st Sep 21

1st Mar22

Audit

M&E
3+yrs

PRIORITIES
Governance

ACTIONSACTIONSACTIONS

Organisational Structure

All priorities scoped

Org 6 months effective

WA M&E program

Change Russian Athletics

Priorities implemented

Athletics changing

3+ years duration

Stakeholder Engagement

All areas operational

Reporting continues

Periodic Audits

Anti-Doping & Integrity

Org set for 6 months practice

WA independent audit

Red/Amber/Green

Education & Prevention

Weekly reporting to TF head

TF Report to Council

Caveats imposed

Communications

Monthly reporting to TF

Caveats/terms imposed

ANA consideration

International Engagement

Expert M&E reporting

M&E prog introduced

CAS sanction ends

Internal Admin
Audit, Monitor, Evaluate
ChangeSCOPE RUSAF – INTRODUCE CHANGE – PRACTICE NEW CULTURE – CULTURE EMBEDDEDCULTURESCOPE ATHLETICS STAKEHOLDERS – INTRODUCE CHANGE – PRACTICE NEW CULTURE - ONGOING

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4. INTRODUCTION
4.1.

World Athletics required the RusAF Reinstatement Commission todevelop a plan to ingrain throughout Russian athletics (including coaches
and other support personnel employed by the Centre for Sports
Preparation and/or through regional Ministries of Sport) a culture of zerotolerance for doping and an irreversible commitment to the eradication of
doping at all levels, and to rehabilitate RusAF as a trusted and valued
member federation of World Athletics.

4.2.

This plan has been agreed by all parties and adopted by the Reinstatement
Commission. Upon its approval by the World Athletics Council, it is to be
implemented by RusAF with the support of the World Athletics Taskforce
and with the day-to-day operational oversight and guidance of theinternational experts appointed by World Athletics (the "International
Experts"), all in accordance with the framework agreement that is being
put in place between the Reinstatement Commission and World Athletics.

4.3.

At the outset, a history of extensive and sometimes blatant anti-doping
rule violations involving athletes, coaches and officials is acknowledged.

4.4.

Previous attempts at changing Russian athletics and RusAF included many
useful elements, developed in conjunction with the World Athletics
Taskforce.

4.5.

These efforts and their useful elements were undermined by the actionsof the RusAF leadership and others in “the Lysenko case”.

4.6.

This plan represents a bold vision for a future where clean athletics in
Russia fulfils its potential to improve the lives of its participants, to inspirewider society, and to perform competitively on the world stage.

4.7.

Ensuring sustained and comprehensive culture change is the ultimate
objective.

4.8.

A clean future for Russian athletics cannot happen unless there iscomplete and tangible support for change from the Ministry of Sport, theRussian Olympic Committee, the Centre for Sports Preparation at the8federal and regional levels, regional athletics federations in membership of
RusAF, and other Russian stakeholders.
4.9.

Pathways for clean athletes to come to the fore, develop, train andcompete cannot occur if formerly-banned coaches are supported in someregions and if old coaching approaches based on doping practices are notdiscarded.

4.10. Governance improvements must include measures to reward regions witha track record of clean athletics, and to punish those regions resisting thedesired changes.
4.11. Other improvements to enhance governance will include increased athlete
representation within decision-making bodies, and increased athlete
opportunities and obligations to support clean athletics.
4.12. Anti-doping work will be stepped up to complement RUSADA’s efforts
with the creation of a larger national testing pool and additional testingand other services from anti-doping service providers, accredited by
WADA and supported by WA.
4.13. Continuous education programs for athletes, coaches, administrators,
other entourage members and officials will be a key driver of culturechange in the medium to long term.
4.14. The principles of clean sport are as important as the practices of clean
sport. Both of these must form the basis of the future of athletics in
Russia.
5. BACKGROUND
5.1.

This plan, ‘Towards A Clean Future For Russian Athletics’ (“the Plan”)
has been developed by the RusAF Reinstatement Commission with thesupport of the World Athletics Taskforce pursuant to the decisions of theWorld Athletics Council of 12 March 2020 and 30 July 2020 and as partof a concerted effort to secure a bright future for Russian athletics.

5.2.

According to the decision of the World Athletics Council of 12 March
2020, the RusAF Reinstatement Commission was “to draw up as soon as
possible for consideration by Council a detailed plan, agreed by all of the members of theCommission, (a) to ingrain throughout Russian athletics (including coaches and othersupport personnel employed by the Centre for Sports Preparation and/or throughregional Ministries of Sport) a culture of zero tolerance for doping; and (b) to rehabilitate
RusAF so that it becomes a trusted ally of World Athletics in the fight for clean sport.”.

5.3.

However, by 30 July 2020 the RusAF Reinstatement Commission failed
to draw up a plan and to pay a fine and expenses as prescribed by theWorld Athletics Council decision of 12 March 2020.

5.4.

Nevertheless, on the basis of the financial guarantee issued by the Ministerof Sports of the Russian Federation, Mr. Oleg Matytsin, on 30 July 2020
the World Athletics Council rendered a new decision, as follows:
Expulsion Decision9

1. To recommend to Congress that it resolves to expel RusAf from membership of World
Athletics, in accordance with Article 14.1 of the Constitution, on the basis that the mattersthat led Congress to suspend RusAF from membership pursuant to Article 13.7 have not beensatisfactorily addressed.
2. To recommend that a Special Congress meeting be convened as soon as possible to allow
Congress to consider and vote on the proposal to expel RusAF. In the circumstances of theongoing and worsening pandemic, that Special Congress meeting should if possible be held
virtually, to avoid delay.
3. That pending Congress’s decision, the “Neutral Athlete” mechanism will not bemade available to Russian athletes.
4. This decision is suspended, but will come into effect immediately and automatically if any of thefollowing conditions are not met:
(1) Payment in full of the two outstanding RusAF invoices to be received on ory before close of business in Monaco on 15 August 2020.
(2) The RusAF Reinstatement Commission to provide the draft plan referenced
in the third paragraph of Council’s decision of 12 March 2020 – of suitable
scope and depth, with an implementation plan and progress indicators – tothe Taskforce on or before 31 August 2020.
(3) Any changes required by the Taskforce to the draft plan to be incorporated
to the TaskForce's satisfaction on or before 30 September 2020.
(4) The Plan to be brought into effect and satisfactory progress achieved against
the plan (as determined by the Taskforce, based on the input of theinternational experts appointed by World Athletics), as reported by theTaskforce to Council at each of its subsequent meetings.

5.5.

The payment was made by RusAF within the deadline of 15 August 2020,
and therefore the remaining requirement was to draw up the draft plan
which shall be: (a) agreed by all members of the RusAF Reinstatement
Commission and submitted to the Taskforce on or before 31 August 2020,(b) approved by the Taskforce on or before 30 September 2020, provided
that any changes to the plan are incorporated to the satisfaction of theTaskforce.

5.6.

On 31 August 2020 the RusAF Reinstatement Commission discussed thedraft plan, decided to endorse the draft and to submit it for theconsideration, modification and final approval by the Taskforce. A draft
plan was provided to the Taskforce at the end of August 31, 2020, andthen returned to be re-worked and strengthened with the help of World
Athletics international experts. The updated version was sent back to theTaskforce on December 21, 2020 (taking into consideration a new
deadline of 1 March 2021).

5.7.

This Plan produced by the RusAF Reinstatement Commission includes
analysis of the origins of the crisis in Russian athletics, the attempts toovercome it, and the current state of Russian athletics. It also represents abold vision for the clean future of Russian athletics and the pathways toreach it (including specific actions to overcome the crisis).

5.8.

The Plan is an immediate measure, as required by World Athletics, anddesigned to start setting solid and sustainable foundations for future work.
10Undoubtedly, successful implementation of the Plan by RusAF with thesupport of the members of the RusAF Reinstatement Commission, theWorld Athletics Taskforce, and the International Experts, will lead to thedevelopment of a longer-term sustainable pathway for clean Russian
athletics aimed at validating the position of RusAF as a member andtrusted ally of World Athletics in the global fight for clean sport.
6. VISION OF A CLEAN FUTURE OF RUSSIAN ATHLETICS
6.1.

What is this Plan about? It would be extremely erroneous to suggest that
RusAF reinstatement per se is the ultimate goal of the Plan. Indeed, RusAF
reinstatement is an important landmark, but it is merely a step towards a
better future for Russian athletics. The main goal of this plan is to ingrain
the sustainable change in culture throughout RusAF’s processes anddecision-making and rehabilitate RusAF’s management and oversight ofathletics in Russia so that doping no longer occurs in a systemic andsystematic way in Russian athletics, and through its emphatic actions todeal with doping violations RUSAF becomes a trusted ally of World
Athletics in the fight for clean sport.

6.2.

RusAF also wants to address the broader goal of restoring athletics tohealth in Russia, including attracting a new generation of athletes. The
RusAF Reinstatement Commission expects the proposed actions will
result in a transformation of Russian athletics based on the principles oftransparency, integration, and cooperation by RusAF with Russian
external stakeholders, World Athletics, the International Experts, and thebroader international community. Only by securing the support of andstrengthening RusAF's interaction with all stakeholders – including the
Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation, the regional ministries, theRussian Olympic Committee, RUSADA, regional athletics federations,and educational institutions) can the common goal be achieved ofrestoring the integrity of Russian athletics.

6.3.

The desired vision of a clean future for Russian athletics includes that
Russian athletics shall become a popular sport cleared of past scandals,
managed for the interests of athletes of all levels, based on the principlesof transparency and public control, financially sustainable, with a large
audience of fans, the widespread participation of amateur athletes, andwith Russian elite clean athletes being competitive on the world stage.
There is a consensus in the athletics community about past mistakes andan understanding that a complete rejection of doping is essential to thesuccess of athletics. In order to achieve this, RusAF, in cooperation withother stakeholders, including the World Athletics Taskforce and theInternational Experts, and the wider international community, will
promote and sustain management excellence and clean sport principles inall areas of athletics management and administration, and across all
Russian athletics.

6.4.

Priorities for Cultural Change in RusAF and Zero Tolerance for Dopingin Russian Athletics for 2021
11

Priorities

Goals

Cultural Change
within RusAF● Change governance approach andorganisational structure● Embed Integrity and Ethics behaviours –enable the Ethics Code and Ethics Officer● Reduce autocracy and develop ‘management
team’ decision-making● Promote core anti-doping values, behaviours
and activities● Embed rules, regulations, policies, processes
and procedures that are followed● Recruit the right people

Zero Tolerance
to Doping● Develop and sustain regions’ anti-doping
culture● Develop clear rules and sanctions for regions
non-compliance with AD rules● Embed ‘do the right thing’ and Speak-up
culture all levels● Empower athlete committees and provide
alternative pathways for training● Develop a non-doping and accountablecoaching culture● Reward regional change and remove
resistance to change

Develop RusAFAD Department● Develop and enhance the powers of AD
Department● Recruit the right people● Create an independence of operations, incl.
investigations and sanctioning● Manage all aspects of anti-doping in Russian
athletics● ADU to deliver mandatory AD training● Liaise with AIU and RUSADA to support
effective RusAF AD programs

Education,
Communications and Training● Launch new AD and ethics
training/education programs for identified
target audiences● Develop and implement an anti-doping
communication campaign● Engage with athletes to participate inprograms

12

Linking everyday efforts to RusAF strategic goals
and operational objectives
Audit, Monitor
and Evaluate

Embed AM&E reporting into regular RusAF
working and management processes
Introduce senior management regular AM&E
oversight programs
Undertake regular AM&E external independent
assessments
RusAF to be judged by actions not words internally,
externally and internationally

Stakeholder
engagement

Secure Russian stakeholder buy-in for change (ROC,
MoS, CSP, Regional MoS)
Engage AIU to support AD work and vice versa
Secure funding and sponsorship to support StrategicPlan

7. BRIEF REVIEW OF THE ORIGINS OF THE CRISIS
7.1.

The main root causes of extensive anti-doping rule violations involving
athletes, coaches and officials firstly were due to inheriting a post-Soviet
doping culture aimed at winning by any means on the international stage.
In athletics, there was insufficient change to prevent the same approaches
being carried onwards by Russian athletes and coaches. The culture of
doping athletes therefore continued to be considered a necessary
requirement and was thus overall embedded for a few decades, where thehistorical heritage of inefficient governance structures, no independent
oversight, doping imperatives and no alternatives for athletes to consider
enabled the doping culture to remain widespread and systematic. Coaches
and officials grew up with this culture, and had no capacity, knowledge or
incentives to change it.

7.2.

Secondly, there was an absence of strong tone from the leadership at
central and regional levels setting clear expectations, incentives andsanctions for athletes, coaches and officials to change the approach,comply with international codes and standards, and act with integrity toprevent misconduct. Russia had signed up to and adopted all relevantinternational sporting protocols and Codes, and Russian athletics adopted
all necessary rules and regulations in compliance with all required
standards. The problem therefore was not in the creation of an effective
regulatory framework, it was more in its failure to be implemented robustly
in practice. (See Annex F for more detailed assessment of this problem)
Athletes therefore had no options but to comply with the ingrained culturethat ignored the rules and regulations when it came to doping, if they13

wished to be competitive and eventually successful at regional, national orinternational levels, and coaches remained incentivized by financial
rewards and status within the State by turning out athletes that werecompetitive. This caused the doping culture to be embedded early on insome athletes’ careers as they became identified when juniors to become
potentially successful throughout the levels of Russian athletics.
7.3.

Third, there was a complete absence of a speak up culture, including
confidential channels to enable concerned individuals to raise issues
without fear of reproach and with confidence that concerns will beeffectively dealt with. There was little enforcement of sanctions against
Russian coaches for turning out doping athletes, and a disregard forpenalties when they themselves had been sanctioned internationally. The
Russian people were led to believe their sporting heroes achieved
outstanding performances through their supreme training and talents
alone. As with many participants in the international athletics arena, thescourge of doping has been accompanied by a culture of deceit and denialof doping across the world, and it was no different in Russia, it remaining
secretive and perceived to be a necessary requirement to be competitivein a world where mistrust of others and a desire to win at any cost gives
the justification.

7.4.

The outputs in the RusAF Operational plan are designed to deal with theseroot causes of previous systemic and systematic doping issues and achieve
positive changes in both culture and practice regionally and nationally,
believing that Russian athletes deserve the chance to compete on theinternational stage without recourse to doping, and to be able to challenge
the world’s best athletes. To do this, the entire system of Russian athletics
must be changed, with core integrity-based and anti-doping values at its
heart and at all levels within the sport.

7.5.

In general, the recent crisis in Russian athletics can be divided into six
periods:
1) The behaviour of coaches, athletes and officials prior to the ARD
documentary;2) ARD Documentary – Resignation of the RusAF President Mr
Valentin Balakhnichev (December 2014 – November 2015);
3) Suspension – First Steps To Restore Trust (December 2015 December 2016);
4) Suspension – Verification Criteria and Roadmap framework(December 2016 – November 2019);
5) Threat To Be Expelled – “Lysenko Investigation” (November 2019
– March 2020);
6) Threat To Be Expelled – Aftermath of “the Lysenko Investigation”(March 2020 – current).

14

7.6.

In November 2015 as the result of the report made by the Pound
Commission (the independent commission established by the WADA inorder to investigate the allegations made in the ARD Documentary aired
on 3 December 2014), the membership of ARAF (now “RusAF”) wassuspended by the Council of the IAAF (now “World Athletics”).

7.7.

The Pound Commission Report and other investigations exposed
numerous anti-doping rule violations, which had been continuously
committed by particular athletes, coaches, support personnel, all with thecomplicity of the then-RusAF management.

7.8.

Former RusAF President, Valentin Balakhnichev, Dr Sergey Portugalov
and coach Alexey Melnikov were given lifetime bans by the IAAF Ethics
Committee and CAS. The notorious race-walking coach Mr Victor Chegin
as well as some other coaches were also declared ineligible for life. Dozensof Russian athletes have been found to have committed anti-doping ruleviolations.

7.9.

The whole situation in Russian athletics for years resulted in a persistentculture of neglect of anti-doping norms and rules, which in some cases
was particularly blatant.

7.10. After 2016, the new RusAF leadership headed by the RusAF President Mr
Dmitri Shlyakhtin made attempts to resolve the crisis. A month after thedecision to suspend RusAF, in December 2015 the Interim Coordinating
Committee of the Russian Olympic Committee developed an action planthat offered a number of important measures, including:1)

Suspension of persons involved in anti-doping rule violations;

2)

Investigation of committed violations, establishment of adisciplinary committee;

3)

Changes to the RusAF Statutes in order to bring it in line with the
IAAF requirements;

4)

Development of educational activities in the field of anti-doping,
implementation of and strict compliance with the "Code of Ethics";

5)

Organization of a "hot line";

6)

Election of a new leadership;

7)

Liaising with IAAF.

7.11. In subsequent years, the new RusAF leaders, in cooperation with theTaskforce, worked to meet a detailed reinstatement roadmap with morethan 200 items. As part of the roadmap implementation, some significant
work was done, which was also described in the reports to the IAAF
Council by the chairman of the Taskforce, Mr. Rune Andersen.
7.12. By March 2019 only two reinstatement requirements were remaining
outstanding:

15

1)

RusAF must reimburse the IAAF for all of the costs incurred by the IAAF
prior to and after the reinstatement of RusAF as a result of the need to impose,enforce and assess compliance with the Reinstatement Conditions and the
Verification Criteria (including the Taskforce costs, the costs of the Russiarelated cases that have been taken to CAS, and the costs incurred by the Doping
Review Board from 1 January 2018 in dealing with applications from Russian
athletes for neutral athlete status) and to pay any further relevant costs incurredby the IAAF following RusAF’s reinstatement (e.g., the costs of monitoring
compliance with post-reinstatement conditions, and the costs of any further casesthat the AIU has to bring against Russian athletes);

2)

Finally, referring to the LIMS database extract that WADA provided to the
AIU in late 2017, listing findings in respect of 1,800 samples collected from
RusAF athletes in the period 2012 to August 2015, Council resolved that
RusAF may not be reinstated unless and until the AIU confirms that it issatisfied that: (a) it has been given the information it requires to identify all of
the RusAF athletes who provided the samples listed in the extract of the LIMS
database provided by WADA to the AIU; (b) it has received all of theanalytical data produced by the Moscow lab when it analysed those samples (i.e.,the chromatograms, the electropherograms, chain of custody records, etc.); (c) any
samples that the AIU considers need to be re-analysed (and that are still in thepossession of the Moscow lab) have been sent to a WADA-accredited laboratory
for re-analysis; (d) these data and samples are authentic and have not been
tampered with; and (e) the AIU therefore has everything in the possession of the
Moscow antidoping laboratory that it needs to determine whether any of theRusAF athletes whose samples were included in the LIMS database has a caseto answer for breach of the IAAF Anti-Doping Rules and/or the RusAF
AntiDoping Rules.

7.13. Importantly, the Taskforce in its Report to the World Athletics Council
dated 11 March 2019 indicated that:
The Taskforce stands ready to provide any guidance or support that RusAF mayneed in ensuring that the remaining requirements set out above are met as quickly
as possible. If and when they are met, then -- barring any backward steps (suchas evidence emerging that requirements that the Taskforce thought had previously
been met in fact have not been met, or are no longer being met) -- the Taskforce
considers that it will be ready to recommend the reinstatement of RusAF’s
membership benefits (potentially in phases). Any such recommendation will also
include proposals as to the post-reinstatement conditions that the Taskforce
considers Council should impose on RusAF to guard against future backsliding.
7.14. Subsequently in 2019, the expenses incurred by the IAAF to date were
reimbursed by RusAF. The only outstanding reinstatement requirement
was a package of conditions related to the LIMS database information,
which was outside of RusAF's control.
7.15. Regrettably, at the same time as progress was being made, “the Lysenkocase” was unfolding, completely undermining that progress, discouraging
Russian officials, coaches and athletes, and setting back to zero the trust16

of the international athletics community in RusAF's reform efforts. Mr
Dmitry Shlyakhtin and his team derailed the reinstatement process and let
down all the Russian track and field athletes by committing inexplicableanti-doping rule violations. It is important to acknowledge that these
multiple and egregious violations were as a result of catastrophic anddeliberate integrity-based management failures within anti-doping
processes concerning a single whereabouts violation. Simple management
behaviours and actions and processes should have been followed inmanaging the original violation, but were discarded and ignored by theentire management and leadership structure.
7.16. The Taskforce had remarked on numerous occasions that some significant
progress had been made by the RusAF to set the wheels in motion towards
a clean future for the sport in Russia.
7.17. Undoubtedly, however, the “Lysenko case” ensured there was andremains a lack of trust from the international community and from clean
Russian athletes, and demonstrated that no cultural shift away fromdoping had actually occurred. Any accomplishments and trust built by
RusAF in 2016-2019 in the reinstatement process, with the attentive
guidance of the Taskforce, were swept away.
7.18. Sadly, despite some progress, there has been a flip side of the coin.
7.19. Due to the unilateral activities performed by RusAF in 2016-2019 andaimed solely at the reinstatement in the IAAF, Russian athletics lost several
years and many athletes, and as a matter of fact failed to:1) develop regional athletics and regional federations;
2) improve the calendar of all-Russian and regional competitions forathletes of different age groups;3) create modern training programs and promote professional
development of various categories of coaches;4) develop a new generation of young coaches and experts whocompletely reject doping;5) deal with other routine issues the national federation shall be
responsible for in accordance with the Statutes adopted by the
RusAF Conference - the highest governing body of the organization
and approved by the Ministry of Justice.
7.20. Failure to establish a useful development program put the clock back for
Russian athletics. The significant drop among the strongest Russian
athletes, both adults and juniors, of winners, prize winners and finalists of
the Russian Championship boldly declares this fact (2015 vs 2019
comparison analysis).
7.21. The status of athletics was downgraded in the regions. This is especially
noticeable and alarming when performances are compared against thecontinuing improvement in the results of the world's strongest athletes,
both adults and juniors, with the 2019 World Championships in Doha
17

having received the highest ranking in terms of results among all athletics
competitions over the years.
7.22. Finally, all above mentioned failures in athletics itself have been doubled
by the damning circumstances of the “Lysenko case” with the involvementof RusAF top officials.
8. THE CURRENT STATE OF RUSSIAN ATHLETICS
8.1.

The consequences of “the Lysenko case” were almost fatal for RusAF.
But due to emergency intervention made by the Ministry of Sports and
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), the accreditation of RusAF wasprovisionally suspended by the Ministry of Sport in order to initiate new
RusAF elections. The Russian Olympic Committee recommended that Mr
Dmitry Shlyakhtin and the RusAF Presidium immediately resign. Under
the supervision of the Special Working Group established by the Russian
Olympic Committee on 28 February 2020, the new RusAF President andthe new RusAF Presidium were elected. (See more in Annex H on Rusaf
staff and bodies)

8.2.

Disappointingly, the previous RusAF management (Mr Yurchenko) failed
to live up to the expectations expressed by the Russian athletics
community. The new RusAF executives failed to make meaningful analysisof the origins of the RusAF crisis and to gain trust and a solid reputation.
Unsuccessful attempts to raise funding for the consistent development of
RusAF and payment of the World Athletics fine and expenses put RusAF
on the verge of catastrophe.

8.3.

Lack of professional and experienced managers within RusAF has been
critical and requires immediate solution. Access to many documents for
the Taskforce has not been granted at all or has been granted just recently.

8.4.

Thus far, even amidst the most gruesome times in its history, Russian
athletics hopes to be invigorated by a new generation of young clean
athletes who wish to compete fairly and in the setting of a level playing
field.

8.5.

However, as noted by the Taskforce, based on the media publications(2018-2019), some of the disqualified Russian coaches continued to workwith athletes and enjoyed the support of leadership in the regions.

8.6.

In addition to the gross violation of anti-doping rules, this situation caused
colossal damage to the sport's ethics. It prevented the widespreaddevelopment of a culture of clean athletics. A group of athletes andcoaches who strictly adhere to anti-doping rules saw that there werecertain “untouchable” coaches and their athletes who were not afraid of
any sanctions. They safely continued to work in their regions, receiving
their salaries for their activities and could conduct training activity at public
expense, even during the period of disqualification.

8.7.

This is unacceptable and may not be tolerated whatsoever.

18

8.8.

Unfortunately, to date, no relevant in-depth analysis of the list of
candidates for the Russian national athletics team was carried out in orderto detect “poisonous” coaches with records of multiple doping related totheir former and current athletes.

8.9.

The former leadership of RusAF and the Russian national team did notalways take principled stands when selecting participants in training
events, neither for athletes nor for coaches.

8.10. There was no coaching strategy aimed at prioritizing training of young
athletes without doping records. There were few if any ‘clean pathway’
alternatives for young athletes who wish not to be doped, and instead wish
to be coached using modern techniques and methods.
8.11. Educational programs are an essential tool for culture-shaping. At thesame time, they can be considered most effective for new generations ofathletes and experts. RusAF together with RUSADA has begun sucheducational work, which will yield results in the medium to long term.
8.12. It would be premature to talk about a significant improvement of thesituation among athletes of the “second-tier”, who are unlikely ever tobecome members of the Russian national team, but try to achieve shortterm results by taking prohibited substances. Such athletes strive often
through doping to be on the lists of potential candidates for the nationalteam in a region of the Russian Federation.
8.13. It is crucial to note that from the very onset of the crisis in the Russian
athletics, “purges” have always been proposed as one of the priority
measures to solve a problem, which implied the complete removal of asignificant part of the professional community, particularly old-regime
coaches (however, as mentioned above, even this measure was not
implemented, but largely remained just a declaration).
8.14. As a consequence, there is an atmosphere of fear of and antagonism
against reform prevailing among most coaches and experts due to thepossibility of a forced departure from their favored profession. This canreally impede the desired cultural shift.
8.15. Unfortunately, the efforts to introduce modern training methods,
nutritional advice and modern recommendations for recovery werereduced to practically zero by the RusAF leadership. The last full-fledged
all-Russian scientific and methodological conference for the coaches of
the Russian national team with the involvement of leading international
specialists and their Russian counterparts was held back in 2015.
8.16. RusAF has not established a system of professional development forcoaches. There is almost no translated or local methodological literature,or modern video materials.
8.17. RusAF together with the Sport Ministry and Federal CSP has started
working to improve control over the regional Centers for Sports
Preparation (regional CSPs) which are subordinated to the regional
ministries and departments of sports.
19

8.18. Due to specific features of the federal structure of the country, theMinistry of Sport of the Russian Federation has restricted capabilities toinfluence the regional ministries and, hence, the regional CSPs. All regional
ministries CSPs hire the members of the regional teams into their staff bythemselves. Today, 1,020 persons as well as 89 coaches and experts are
members of the Russian national team. At the same time all regional CSPs
are subordinate institutions of the regional Sports Ministries and those inturn belong to the regional Governments. The regional Governments
report to the Federal Government, where there is supervising Deputy
Prime Minister for Sports. (See Annex I on current organizational
structure).
8.19. At the same time, athletes’ basic training takes place in sports schools ofdifferent levels (actually, these schools are the equivalents of sporting clubs
in other countries). There are more than 1,300 sports schools with athletics
departments in the Russian Federation, of which 148 are specialized
athletics schools. Approximately 90% of these schools are subordinate to
the regional ministries of sports, which finance and regulate their activity.
More than 200,000 people attend them starting from the age of nine orten years old, practically till the end of their sporting career. The numberof coaches in this sector exceeds 6,700 experts, and the majority of them
have higher specialized education. Practically all athletics coaches work inthese schools.
8.20. The lack of training and education of personnel including the coaches inanti-doping matters, and in new scientific coaching methods is also ofconcern for the Commission. The “old school” coaches are still one of themost troublesome and tricky challenges in the Russian athletics and how
this issue is going to be addressed is critical to RusAF's reinstatement ingeneral.
8.21. There are 14 specialized higher education institutions and 11 specialized
colleges providing the human resources of Russian sports, which are under
the jurisdiction of the federal Ministry of Sports. There are instructional
programs of anti-doping educational subjects in all foregoing educational
institutions.
8.22. In the Russian Federation, there is the Federal Standard of Sports Training(FSST), which legislatively determines main provisions and principles offunctioning of sports schools in various groups of types of athletics(according to FSST, there are six types: sprints and hurdles, medium- andlong-distance running, race walks, jumps, throws, all-around).
8.23. Presently a group of specialists has finished the development of a typicalprogram for sports schools at all four stages according to FSST – primarytraining (approximate age of trainees is 9-11 years), training (12-17 years),
sporting perfection (18-23 years) and perfect mastery (there are no age
parameters, criterion is the competitive result).
8.24. The programs have been developed using materials of World Athletics(programs “Kids Athletics”, “Youth Athletics”), materials of courses
20

according to “Coaches Education and Certification System” (CECS), andthe research findings according to the 2016-2019 plan of the Ministry ofSport devoted to modern ideas of training athletes of various levels in allgroups of types of athletics. A mandatory part of these programs
beginning from the stage of primary training is the chapter devoted to antidoping. This chapter includes materials on the World Anti-Doping Code,recommendations and a testing system developed by RUSADA forathletes of different ages and levels of training.
8.25. Earlier in 2020, the programs had been reviewed and approved at themeeting of the Expert Board of the Ministry of Sports, after which they
were recommended for incorporation into working practice of sports
schools of all levels, which would help instilling anti-doping culture toyoung athletes from the very first steps of going into athletics.
8.26. Earlier this year the Reinstatement Commission has specified its
competence and powers and integrated into the Framework Agreementwith World Athletics the terms of its cooperation with the Taskforce andthe International Experts; established effective and continuous
communication and cooperation with the RusAF management and theTaskforce; integrated the International Experts and their associatedpowers in all aspects of RusAF's rehabilitation and cultural transformationin all aspects of its activities; and committed to fundamental change in
Russian athletics through the application of benchmarked international
best practices in all areas of management, governance, anti-doping,coaching and performance.
8.27. RusAF conducted the Election Congress on 30 November 2020 andelected the new RusAF President and the new RusAF Presidium. The new
RusAF president met with the Taskforce right after the elections.
8.28. Recent cultural changes in Russian sport
Since the second half of 2016, the cultural paradigm established in Russian
sports has begun to undergo changes. These changes affected a numberof areas, including those not directly related to sports. The following are
events that together have had a positive impact on the Russian culturalparadigm in the field of sports.
November 2016

Two new offences introduced into the Criminal
Code of the Russian Federation: Inducing an athlete
to use substances and (or) methods prohibited foruse in sports (Article 230.1) and Use of substancesand (or) methods prohibited for use in sports
against an athlete (Article 230.2)

November-December
2016

The Independent Public Anti-Doping Commission
and RUSADA held the first strategic sessions for

January 201721

the heads of national sports federations, which will
be held annually thereafter
March 2017

RUSADA started to conduct anti-doping training
for heads of sports institutions in regions (23 cities)

March 2017

RUSADA introduces an online educational course
on anti-doping for athletes and athletes' personnel.
In a short time, an up-to-date certificate that
confirms completion of the online course becomesa mandatory requirement for athletes applying forcompetitions

April 2017

The Ministry of Sports and RUSADA, together withinternational experts, held a strategic session forregional Ministries of sports (MSs), which will to beheld annually thereafter

December 2017 and RUSADA held the first educational anti-doping
annually thereafter
seminar for media representatives (Russian andinternational)
December 2017

The following amendments are made to the Labor
Code of the Russian Federation: part 4 of Article
238.2 is clarified, according to which theemployment contract with coaches shall include a
condition on the obligation of the coach to comply
with the all-Russian anti-doping rules and antidoping rules approved by international anti-doping
organizations, to take measures to prevent
violations of these anti-doping rules by an athlete(athletes), and article 248.11-1 introduces anadditional reason for termination of theemployment contract with a coach, due to violationby the coach, including once, all-Russian antidoping rules and (or) anti-doping rules approved byinternational anti-doping organizations, recognized
as a violation by the decision of the relevant antidoping organization. (See Annex D and Annex E
for templates of current CST employment contracts
with Coaches and Athletes, including robust antidoping clauses)

22March 2018

RUSADA together with MGIMO-University andthe Ministry of Sports conducts a training course“Ethics in Sport” for those responsible for antidoping in regional MSs and for regional university
professors

September 2018

RUSADA together with the RIOU and the Ministryof Sports conducts a training course for those
responsible for anti-doping in the regional MSs andfor regional university professors

September 2018

RUSADA, together with the RIOU, the Ministry ofSports and ROC, held an International Conference“The Future of Clean Sports: Current Issues,
Challenges, Solutions”.

December 2018

Sports Ministry initiated establishing the position ofanti-doping coordinators as in-staff employees ineach regional Sports Ministry and through the
Deputy Prime Minister this activity was
implemented in the regions.

May 2019

The Administrative Code, Article 6.18, is amended
to make an athlete liable for intentional violation ofanti-doping rules

September 2019 – RUSADA, together with the Ministry of Sports andMoscow and Moscow the Ministry of Internal Affairs, held the first of aregionnumber of educational events, an anti-doping
January 2020 – Saint- seminar for representatives of law enforcement
Petersburg
and agencies of the Russian Federation
Leningrad region
February 2020 – Kazan In the structure of law enforcement agencies has
and Tatarstan Republic been allocated a unit working with ADR violations
2017-2019

The Ministry of Sports, together with RUSADA andon the basis of the professional standard “AntiDoping Support Specialist”, approved in February
2018, formed the personnel and conducted
professional training for those responsible for antidoping support in national federations and regionalMSs
23

December 2020

RusAF introduces a provision according to which
to include an athlete and a coach in the technicalapplication for the competition, it is enough toprovide an up-to-date certificate of the
RUSADA/WADA/ European Athletics AD
online course completion

At the request of the Russian Athletics Federation in 2016-2020 were
held 18 information and educational events, including 10 seminars and
8 Outreach programs. This number does not include educational
activities conducted by the RusAF anti-doping coordinator.
The Russian Athletics Federation is an integral part of the Russian
sports system. Changes in one part of the system inevitably lead tochanges in other parts of the system.
The above list of the key educational events and changes in thelegislation of the Russian Federation allows us to say that in 4 years on
the territory of the Russian Federation has been created a system ofcountering doping in sports, developed both geographically and at thelevel of structures and departments. This is not enough to talk about
fundamental cultural changes in the largest sports federation, but it isenough to significantly hinder the use of previous doping practices on
the one hand, and on the other – to strengthen and develop the alreadyestablished anti-doping worldview.
9. THE IMMEDIATE ACTIONS TO BE UNDERTAKEN GOVERNANCE
9.1.

RusAF is bound by and complies with the World Athletics Integrity Codein the relations with World Athletics (any interaction with members of theTaskforce and/or the international experts appointed by World Athletics).

9.2.

RusAF working together with the International Experts, arrange and carryout in-depth independent audit procedures in order to determine thefinancial and operational status of RusAF. An analysis of the fiscal
requirements to achieve the strategic change of RusAF and Russian
athletics will be undertaken by RusAF and the International Experts, withresults presented by the Reinstatement Commission to the Ministry ofSport and other stakeholders for consideration.
Deadline: 1 September 2021.

9.3.

RusAF, working together with the International Experts, prepared a draft
for consideration by the Taskforce of the Strategy Plan for Developmentof Russian Athletics Federation in the Period 2021 - 2024, addressing allnecessary aspects including (without limitation) governance, financing,training and coaching of athletes, and anti-doping issues. It will also
exercise good faith influencing efforts to effectuate and measure change24

in the regions including developing and cascading model regulations
training and engagement materials to promote ethicality in Athletics, andevaluate their impact.
Deadline: 1 August 2021.
9.4.

RusAF, working together with the International Experts, shall revise
internal RusAF regulations, policies, procedures and other documents andto prepare a package of updated RusAF regulations in order to ensure
effective and transparent governance of the Federation.
Deadline 1 August 2021.

9.5.

RusAF and the Reinstatement Commission, working together with theInternational Experts, shall establish an independent Board of Trustees(the composition and members of which must be agreed by theTaskforce), the role of which will be to oversee RusAF’s strategic
direction, and to secure sufficient funding for the Federation to achieve
its objectives.
Deadline 1 June 2021.

9.6.

RusAF and the Reinstatement Commission, working together with theInternational Experts, shall strengthen the role and obligations of theRusAF Athletes' Commission, and harness its support for change in
Russian athletics. The representative of the RusAF Athletes' Commission
shall receive ex-officio quota place with full voting rights on the RusAF
Presidium and be otherwise proactively involved in RusAF's anti-doping
and good governance activities.

9.7.

RusAF will require all regional federations to establish their own Athlete
Commissions (or representatives where the regional Federation is of thesmallest size and capacity) with a mandate to empower athletes generally,
and in particular to pursue the objectives set out in the IOC Athlete
Declaration and the WADA Bill of Rights.
Deadline: The amendments need to be done once all the COVID restrictions are
eliminated (according to Russian laws the Congress which can make such amendments
cannot be held virtually).
Next RUSAF Conference before the end of 2021.

9.8.

RusAF, working together with the International Experts, shall introduce amechanism for suspension the membership of regional federations in theevent of systemic and/or systematic anti-doping rule violations byadministrators, coaches or athletes, or other lapses in the regional
federations' compliance with their respective anti-doping obligations.
Deadline 1 April 2021.

25

9.9.

RusAF, working together with the International Experts, shall put in place
an effective risk-based vetting procedure for its employees and otherrelevant parties. The requirements for certification of compliance with the
Ethics Code by employees and other stakeholders will be developed.
Deadline: 1 April 2021.

9.10. RusAF, working together with the International Experts, shall develop amodel package of regulatory documents for mandatory implementation
by regional athletics federations on the basis of the developed package of
RusAF regulatory documents, to control the activities of the regional
athletics federations in terms of governance and anti-doping.
Any RusAF regional federation will be suspended from membership(according to the RusAF Charter para 4.11 - See Annex C) and as a result
their athletes, coaches and officials will lose a right to participate in the
RusAF competitions. Regional Federations can be suspended if there are
the following reasons:●failure to comply with decisions and (or) other acts of the RusAF
governing bodies;●systematic non-payment of membership fees;●

committing actions that discredit RusAF and cause damage to it,
and violate the norms of sports ethics;●

failure to fulfill obligations under agreements with RusAF;●

other cases of non-compliance with the requirements of thisCharter and contradiction of the activities of the RusAF member
to the statutory goals of RusAF.

Deadline: 1 August 2021.
9.11. RusAF, working together with the International Experts, shall put in place
the education system for coaches which will include mandatory modules
on anti-doping, good governance, athlete welfare and management,
understanding regulations and the ethics code, benefits of change inathletics, and pitfalls for resistance to change. The Coaching Council of
the Russian national athletics team, including the Head Coach, shall be coopted into the program for change in Russian athletics and in ensuring the
integrity of the sport in the broadest sense.
Deadline: 1 June 2021.
9.12. RusAF and other stakeholder entities at the Federal and regional levels,
working together with the International Experts, will follow identifiedcoaches and other support personnel and, on the basis of a case-by-caseapproach, manage and eradicate any resistance to change by individuals
and groups.
Deadline 1 April 2021, implementation permanently
26

9.13. Appropriate key communicators will be identified by RusAF, together
with the International Experts, to participate in, and support educationand messaging programs designed to promote clean sport in Russia.
Deadline 1 April 2021.
9.14. RusAF, together with the International Experts, and in conjunction withthe federal Ministry of Sport, shall introduce a Change Management
Program to overhaul arrangements with regional CSPs, to include effective
tools to control the coaches, to have powers to bring cases against those
who continue to use doping and cheating means and methods, and toagree with the relevant persons changes to the current system (including
how funding is allocated) in order to ensure sustained and irreversible
change in the approach of regional CSPs and secure their support forsustainable clean Russian athletics.
Deadline 1 June 2021.
9.15. RusAF, together with the International Experts, and in conjunction withthe federal Ministry of Sport, will analyze and integrate the instructional
programs of anti-doping educational subjects in all specialized higher
education institutions and specialized colleges providing the humanresources of Russian sports which are under the jurisdiction of the federal
Ministry of Sport.
Deadline 1 September 2021.
9.16. RusAF SP is fully costed. The budget tallies up the total resources needed(human resources and financial resources) to achieve all of the KPIs in thetime-frames indicated. The Board of Trustees (or RusAF main sponsors
until the establishment of a Board of Trustees) guarantees the budget for
RusAF. The budget includes the funding for the new headcount of the
Ethics Officer, an in-house lawyer and also for the enhanced RusAF AD
Department (See Annex G) The budget also provisions for funds tosupport the reasonable travel costs of RusAF staff to Russian regions to
support RusAF priorities and also for training and education programmes.
Deadline 1 April 2021.
10. THE ACTIONS TO BE UNDERTAKEN – ANTI-DOPING
10.1. RusAF, working together with the International Experts, shall establish an
independent Anti-Doping Department within the RusAF, sufficiently
funded and resourced, and with necessary over-arching powers, which
would:
1) deal with all anti-doping issues within the competence of RusAF as
the national federation;2) assist the Athletics Integrity Unit ("AIU") and RUSADA in theiranti-doping investigations and other daily anti-doping activities by27

providing support, information, access and resource if requested andall other cooperation that could be needed;
3) resolve all issues related to violations of the RusAF Code of Ethics,
and all other RusAF regulations;4) report directly to the President and directly to the International
Experts; and5) participate in all meetings of the Reinstatement Commission anddeliver reports on the current state of the anti-doping and ethics
activities.
Deadline: 1 June 2021.
10.2. The Anti-Doping Department, working together with the International
Experts, shall develop internal procedures to:1) Develop and maintain a special policy encouraging whistleblowers,
confidential sources, contacts and supporters of the new Russian
athletics to report about anti-doping rule violations, noting thecomplicated and delicate nature of this matter in the historicalcontext of the USSR and Russian realm.
2) Revise and enhance the RusAF Code of Ethics, with mandatorydeclarations from all eligible persons, and a Russian-wide mandatory
education module to be completed by all eligible persons to enable
continued participation in RusAF competitions.
Deadline: 1 June 2021.
10.3. The Anti-Doping Department, working together with the International
Experts, shall develop a ranking system, to be agreed by the Taskforce, of
the regional athletics federations, which would reflect the number of antidoping rule violations, and the quality and number of anti-doping
educational and other events in the territory of each region. The AntiDoping Department shall regularly publish on its website the national
rankings. The system shall include a procedure to suspend or otherwise
limit the activities of regional federations with apparent inconsistencies
and deficiencies, and for the Anti-Doping Department to conduct
monitoring and evaluation audits as required.
Deadline: 1 June 2021.
10.4. RusAF, together with the International Experts, shall develop amonitoring system comprising data on athletes and coaches who areserving anti-doping bans in order to automatically prevent theiraccreditation to RusAF calendar competitions, and to prevent theircontinued coaching and/or training during a period of ineligibility.
Deadline: 1 April 2021.

28

10.5. RusAF shall fund an increased targeted testing program of a larger poolof athletes in accordance with RUSADA’s Test Distribution Plan and incooperation with RUSADA. Apart from RUSADA sample collection,
RusAF shall negotiate additional testing by sample collection companies
and shall ensure that such companies are accredited by WADA, supported
by WA and have unfettered access to RusAF's athletes that is sufficient toenable genuine no advance notice testing.
Deadline: 1 July 2021.
10.6. RusAF, together with the International Experts, in cooperation with
RUSADA shall establish and sustain an extensive plan of educationalseminars and activities in accessible formats, including virtually, at boththe national level and regional level of Russian athletics, including a seriesof seminars devoted to the new WADA Code 2021 and International
Standards.
Deadline: 1 April 2021.
10.7. RusAF, together with the International Experts, shall put in place an
education system in order to prepare regional federation executives andmanagers for Russian athletics Change Management Programs, including
good governance requirements, efforts to recruit young coaches anddevelop clean athletes, and all mandatory anti-doping activities in all
relevant regions of the Russian Federation.
Deadline: 1 April 2021, implementation permanently throughout the year
10.8. To ensure that ADD receives the support to discharge its role effectively
and maintain its independence to protect it from undue influence andconflicts of interests, the following steps will be taken by RusAF:- RusAF Ethics Officer will provide an independent oversight of thedepartment, including conducting quarterly control reviews, acting as anindependent speak up channel for ADD staff and providing input for staff
performance reviews and their deliverables. Ethics Officer will also havefull access to ADD reports and data, including ADD staff salary levels;- ADD staff will have direct access to RusAF oversight bodies, including
Presidium and Board of Trustees, and also to international experts in orderto provide opportunities for them to escalate any problematic issues.
- ADD will also provide a quarterly report to the AIU (with a copy to TF)
for operational purposes, including on status of its independence;- ADD staff will be required to provide semi-annual Conflict of Interest
certifications to ensure that any conflicts of interest get properly disclosed
and mitigated.
11. CONCLUSIONS

29

11.1. The RusAF Reinstatement Commission is fully aware that the collective
community rejection of doping fraud, and the establishment andsustaining of a zero tolerance culture against individuals who choose tocheat in sports, can only be achieved with total change. It will happen only
when the overwhelming majority of athletes and their support personnel,
and all involved in the management and administration of Russian
athletics, decide to change their doping and cheating culture byrecognizing, embracing and implementing the changes required as
proposed in this plan, and adhere to anti-doping rules and regulations intheir entirety as a core obligation.
11.2. The RusAF Reinstatement Commission recognizes that cultural change,
moving from one long-embedded approach to a totally new and radicallydifferent model cannot occur in a matter of months, or even in a coupleof years. All efforts now shall be aimed at long term sustainable culturalchange in Russian athletics by implementing the building blocks of shortand mid-term measures.
11.3. RusAF owes to World Athletics as a member federation under the World
Athletics constitution and rules, and so RusAF Constitution (Charter),rules and regulations are being revised & updated. RusAF is aware that it
can face expulsion, not suspension in case of further non-compliance.
11.4. This adherence must be driven not only by fear of being sanctioned, notonly by fear of causing an irreparable harm to health, but by a true andsincere belief that cheating in sports is wrong and renders individual
achievements worthless, it humiliates the individual and regresses all
Russian athletics, and erodes the integrity of sports and sport’s power toinspire the Russian people. Of particular importance to ingrain is that theRussian system for sports preparation, including the coaching methods
and approaches, can be successful with a different, new, clean model.
Coaches and administrators must be sought and employed who believethis, and wish to show it to be not only true, but the only way ahead.
11.5. Despite the obstacles and impediments, Russian athletics is fully andirrevocably committed to moving in this direction. The goals of the RusAF
Reinstatement Commission, working together with Taskforce and theInternational Experts, are to accelerate and sustain these steps, tostrengthen all efforts in this regard, to overcome resistance, and to curemisbeliefs, deception and fallacy.
11.6. The Plan is the last chance and urgent attempt to address the strategic
requirements for change in Russian athletics in general, and RusAF in
particular within the new reinstatement process.
11.7. Of crucial importance, at this last opportunity for Russian athletics toprove it deserves to remain in membership of World Athletics, and as it
faces expulsion as the ultimate punishment, is that all changes must be
undertaken, implemented and sustained with the full involvement of theInternational Experts and with the knowledge and approval of theTaskforce. World Athletics needs to know, through the reports of the30

International Experts and the Taskforce, that the change in culture is true,
ingrained, sustainable, and irreversible. World Athletics needs to see foritself via its representatives that change is happening. Nothing less will be
acceptable given the failings of the past.
11.8. The RusAF Reinstatement Commission acknowledges the commitmentby the Taskforce and the International Experts to undertake their duties
with the RusAF Reinstatement Commission in a collaborative and fairmanner, with a view to achieving the following shared objective: all parties
wish to see Russian athletes performing at the highest levels, clean andcompetitive, and all levels of Russian athletics enjoying participation in the
sport across the whole country.
11.9. Once the Strategic Plan has been reviewed, and if required adjusted andextended, it will be agreed by all parties. The RusAF Operational
Roadmap, as inseparable part of the SP, (annexed to the SP) is
operationalizing all the strategic areas as described above at sections 6 and7.
11.10. The RusAF/Taskforce Management Roadmap will bring to life the stepby step requirements of change in each Strategic Area, the developmentof phased implementation of change management, steps to be taken,
allocation of responsibilities, and deadlines to be met, aligned tointernational best practice standards.
11.11. The actions and deadlines are subject to further review and modification,subject to the agreement of World Athletics, in the context of thepandemic situation in Russia and restrictions which might be introducedby the public authorities thereof.

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