Athletes from Another Russian Sports Federation Have Stopped Calling Themselves "Neutral" and Have Decided to Achieve Sporting Victories Only Under the Flag of Their Homeland

We congratulate the All-Russian Sambo Federation on its admission to international competitions under the Russian flag and anthem.

More and more Russian sports federations are rising to their feet, refusing to allow their athletes to be humiliated, and proudly raising the banner of Russian sport. Following the lead of the International Judo Federation, the International Sambo Federation (FIAS) has authorized Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags and anthems at international sporting events beginning January 1, 2026. Frankly, we had hoped that this momentous event would occur much sooner, as sambo is a purely Soviet and Russian sport, and the President, First Vice-President, and member of the Executive Committee of this international federation are citizens of the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, we are grateful to the President of the International Sambo Federation, Vitaly Shestakov, for this decision. We also congratulate the President of the All-Russian Sambo Federation, Sergey Eliseev, on this momentous occasion. We note that the leaders of Russian sports federations, without waiting for any special assistance from above, have begun to take a more decisive and principled personal stance in defending the rights of Russian athletes in international sport. We also sincerely hope that senior Russian officials will finally understand that elite sport without a national flag and anthem, without the ideology of patriotism, built solely on rewarding "neutral" athletes, prize money, and commercialism, will inevitably crumble. We need sporting heroes, patriotic athletes capable of fearlessly defending their national dignity and the Russian national flag at all international sporting competitions. Glory to these patriotic athletes. Thank you to the leaders of Russia's combat sports federations for their active personal involvement in defending the rights of Russian athletes.

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