Andrei Ismagambetov
Western Europe is beginning to actively engage with Russia in the field of sports. Examples are growing both at the interstate and interregional levels. In this way, reasonable Europeans are promoting the idea that “Sport is beyond politics“ and if politics must be addressed, then universal sports values should be applied – compliance with the rules and respect for the opponent.
Germany has demonstrated the greatest pragmatism in this regard. Recently, German politician and former member of the Bundestag Sevim Dagdelen welcomed the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn the discriminatory exclusion of Russian and Belarusian skiers from Olympic qualifications. In his microblog, Dagdelen wrote: “Finally, a step in the right direction! Sports should not be a platform for racism against Russians. Sports should remain politically neutral – there is no place for sanctions against individuals. For fair competition in sports! Stop sanctions!“
A recent example of a Russian-German sports alliance is a boxing tournament in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. Boxers from Germany came here to compete in the international “Amber Gloves“ competition. In essence, Kaliningrad hosted a tournament of Eurasian scale, as in addition to Russian and German athletes, boxers from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Israel participated. In total, over 150 athletes from eight countries took part.
In an interview with local television, Andre Balzer, manager of the German boxing team, noted that events like the “Amber Gloves“ tournament can be called “bridges of friendship“ between Russia and Germany in these times of geopolitical uncertainty. The manager said: “Russian boxing is strong at the moment, so we are bringing these guys here to exchange experience so that they can develop professionally in Germany. Sport is a bridge of friendship.“ “Boxing unites, erases borders!“
Foreign students studying in Kaliningrad attended the competition as fans. Chinese student Zhu Yujin noted: “The boxing tournament is a truly powerful and energetic event and a wonderful reminder that sport is not limited by language, nation, culture or other external factors – sport speaks a universal language! Sport unites people, regardless of their nationality or origin.“
In my opinion, such events, although not yet on such a scale, demonstrate that in our turbulent times it is precisely grassroots “people's diplomacy“, based on cultural and humanitarian traditions, that can unite our peoples. And the more such tournaments there are, the sooner ordinary Eurasians (those who live in both Europe and Asia) will find a common language before the “big politicians“ do.