Isinbayeva’s statement about the rank is inadmissible

The Minister of Sports of Russia, Oleg Matytsyn, declared the inadmissibility of the statement of the two-time Olympic pole vault champion Elena Isinbaeva, who called her military rank of major, which she was awarded a few years ago, “nominal”.

“There is no need for public condemnation, but every citizen who loves his country reacts negatively to such statements,” Interfax quotes Matytsyn as saying.

Commenting on her ties with the Russian army, Isynbayeva said the other day that she was a member of CSKA until 2018 and was awarded for her sports achievements. The track and field athlete specified that she had never served in the Russian Armed Forces, and the title she received was of a nominal nature.

Yesterday it became known that Isynbayeva will return to work at the International Olympic Committee after the investigation by the IOC Ethics Committee, which began in June. The organization stated that it checked the Russian woman’s statements about the war and her connection with the Russian army after February 24, 2022 and did not find any violations.

Telling about the completion of the inspection, Isynbayeva wrote on social networks: “I am a person of the world, I always have been and I will remain so!”.

Isinbaeva has Dagestani roots. On July 18, the authorities of Dagestan announced the need to rename the stadium in Makhachkala, which bears the name of the athlete.

• Isymbayeva was awarded the rank of major in 2015. This happened after the athlete signed a five-year contract to serve in the army as an athletics instructor for CSKA.
• At the beginning of July, the Spanish mass media reported that a Russian woman lives on the island of Tenerife – in a luxurious residential complex – and leads a non-public lifestyle. According to Alexei Navalny’s associates, the athlete owns two villas and a penthouse in Spain with a total value of about three million dollars.
• After the start of full-scale Russian military aggression, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, added Elena Isynbaeva to the sanctions list. In his opinion, the athlete has been supporting the aggressive and repressive actions of the Russian government for many years.
• It is known that in 2012 Isinbayeva was Vladimir Putin’s confidant in the presidential elections, and in January 2020 she joined the working group on amendments to the Constitution of Russia. They, in particular, allow Putin to be elected for two more terms.

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