Their names are Mikhail Yakovlev, Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, Georgii Tibilov… On July 25, these Russian-born athletes will be able to take part in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games despite the ban on Russian athletes competing under a neutral banner from parading on the Seine. A mistake? Not really. They have all changed nationality since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022 in order to escape international sanctions affecting Russian sport.
Anastasia Kirpichnikova chose France, her “second home”where she has lived since 2019. The swimmer, who will aim for a medal in the 400m, 800m and 1,500m in the La Défense Arena pools, has been naturalized French by a decree published in the Official Journal on April 21, 2023. Her naturalization was ratified by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) almost a year later, on March 19, 2024.
Anastasiia Kirpichnikova started swimming at the age of 7 in Asbest, a small town in the Urals, where she was born. Now 23, she began her career in the Russian colours, with whom she won three titles at the European Championships in Kazan, Russia (in the 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle) and a silver medal in the 800m at the World Championships in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) in 2021.
But the war in Ukraine and the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions changed everything. Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, who has been training in Martigues (Bouches-du-Rhône) for five years under the orders of Philippe Lucas, former coach of Laure Manaudou, was deprived of competition for a year and a half. “Mentally it was very hard. I was training without knowing if I could swim competitively even though I knew I could be on the podiums.”she recalls. The swimmer began to consider naturalization as early as 2023.
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With the help of the French Swimming Federation (FFN), a friend and the national police – her employer – she obtained a French passport in a few months..
“The hardest part was passing the French test. But now I can compete for France. It was my dream.”
Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, swimmerto franceinfo
Her family still living in Russia, the athlete acknowledges that her loved ones “miss him” and prefers to sidestep the mention of the war in Ukraine.
The exodus of Russian athletes, which had begun a few years ago and Russia’s ban from the Tokyo Olympics (for accusations of cheating and doping), has accelerated since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. In September 2023, Russian Sports Minister Alexei Morozov, quoted by the Russian agency Tass, estimated that 100 Russian athletes, 55 of whom practice Olympic disciplines, had changed their nationality. A figure that is difficult to verify, since while the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regularly approves changes of nationality, it claims not to have precise figures.
The practice is in any case authorized – according to rule 41 of the Olympic charter, An athlete can represent a country only if he is a national of that nation – and the IOC approves these nationalities on a case-by-case basis. While Russian athletes must neither support the war in Ukraine nor be under contract with the Russian army to operate under a neutral banner, the rules are less clear for defectors, “who do not have to position themselves by changing their nationality, unlike Russian athletes”.
“Without talking about dissent, changing countries is already a form of demonstration of disagreement with the Russian invasion and its consequences.”
Sylvain Dufraisse, sports historian at the University of Nantesto franceinfo
For Lukas Aubin, a geopolitical researcher and specialist in Russia, these athletes “do not express themselves from a political point of view and keep a low profile so as not to be threatened by the Russian authorities”. To evoke this phenomenon, he speaks “muscle exodus” about a “generation of athletes sacrificed on the altar of politics”.
Valeriia Liubimova and her parents have always opposed Vladimir Putin’s policies. So when the Russian army invaded Ukraine, the family, who was on vacation in Turkey, decided not to return to Russia and fled to Georgia. Except that Valeriia Liubimova, 17 at the time, was one of the greatest hopes of BMX freestyle and was preparing for the Olympic Games. The young woman therefore decided to send emails to several federations, including France, to tell her story and discuss her wish to change nationality. “On March 28, 2022, we received a message in English in the mailbox of the French Cycling Federation”says Christophe Manin, the national technical director at the FFC.
“She told us in her email that she dreamed of competing with France in the Olympic Games.”
Christophe Manin, national technical director at the French Cycling Federation.to franceinfo
A little surprised by the request, the manager contacted the president of the FFC, the National Sports Agency and the Ministry of Sports. “It was the beginning of the war, France had positioned itself against Russia, so we couldn’t make any mistakes. Because my boss, ultimately, is President Macron.”admits Christophe Manin. The DTN, who finally had the agreement of his superiors to initiate a naturalization procedure, made contact with the young Russian. He multiplied the video calls with Valeriia Liubimova and her family, exchanged on their life, their “opposition to war” – although he admits that it was difficult to verify their claims – and Valeriia Liubimova’s desire to become French.
After several months of negotiations, the young woman arrived in September 2022 with a visa for an internship at the Pôle France in Montpellier. She was finally naturalized in July 2023, before obtaining the IOC’s agreement for a change of nationality last November. “A nice story”according to Christophe Manin, but no more.
“When Valeriia Liubimova approached us, the BMX coach at the time told me that she might be the best in the world in three or four years. So yes, with Valeriia, we invested in the future, but there is no political act.”
Christophe Manin, national technical director of the French Cycling Federationto franceinfo
Between the criticism from Russia and its adaptation in France, Valeriia Liubimova’s beginnings were not easy. “On the one hand, the Russians were up in arms. On the other, her arrival in the French team didn’t always go well. There was the cultural difference and the competition with the other athletes. She was the girl to beat.”says Christophe Manin about Valeriia Liubimova, who will be Laury Perez’s replacement in BMX freestyle. She should not compete in any event at the Olympics, unless the French number one gets injured.
France, Serbia, Georgia, Kazakhstan… The hundred or so naturalized Russians have mainly opted for Western countries or countries that are familiar to them. Either because they were already training there as Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, or because “These countries have a strong Russian diaspora”explains historian Sylvain Dufraisse. This is particularly the case in Serbia, which welcomed the wrestlers Georgii Tibilov and Alexander Komarov, favorites in their category in Greco-Roman wrestling. Hanna Prakatsen, Olympic rowing vice-champion in Tokyo under a neutral banner, now defends the colours of Uzbekistan.
Israel is also a welcoming land for these athletes: the country maintains links with Russia, in particular “in relation to the question of orthodoxy”according to Lukas Aubin. The track cyclist Mikhail Yakovlev, who is aiming for two medals in keirin and individual sprint at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome, owes his naturalisation to his Jewish grandmother, who lives in Israel.
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A few months after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the athlete representing Russia approached the Israeli authorities. “I went to Israel for the first time in June to discuss the details of the project, and when I returned to Moscow, I started the process at the embassy. The Israeli federation helped me and in two months, it was done.”explains Mikhail Yakovlev. He owns now two passports: one Russian and one Israeli.
The Moscow-born athlete, whose change of nationality was approved by the IOC in November, arrived in a country he did not know and had to learn a language he did not speak.
“Changing countries, climate, preparation, it wasn’t easy. I went from Russia, where I trained in optimal conditions, to a country where cycling was not developed. Here, I train alone, but it’s worth it.”
Mikhail Yakovlev, Israeli cyclistto franceinfo
Mikhail Yakovlev, who wanted to compete in the Olympic Games at all costs (he had not qualified for the Tokyo Olympics), did not see himself staying in Russia anyway. “I have not been back to Russia since and I will not return unless the government changes and the war stops.”assures Mikhail Yakovlev.
On February 24, 2022, the day the war in Ukraine began, he posted an anti-war message on his Instagram account. Mikhail Yakovlev also paid tribute to Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s main political opponent who died in prison in February. His political positioning and his departure to Israel have earned him criticism. “I was told I was a traitor, but II am for peace, so what could I do but leave this country?”