| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
 |
| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
|
| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
Russian sports see better days
Major companies, all banks support Olympic panel
By Dave Anderton
Deseret News business writer
Nearly a decade ago, trying to find sponsors for the Russian Olympic team was like imagining American athletes winning a gold medal in a Nordic competition — inconceivable.
Just ask Alexander Kozlovsky, vice president of the Russian Olympic Committee.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the country's economic climate was in the toilet and sponsorships from private businesses were nonexistent.
"Ten years ago, after the disbanding of the Soviet Union, the government was not in a position to assist anybody. The economic situation was very difficult. We had to raise money ourselves, . . . so we had to look to the West, and we raised money mostly through foreign sponsors," Kozlovsky said.
Now the team — which had only three foreign sponsors 10 years ago — boasts 24 sponsors, 22 of those Russian-based businesses.
In fact, Kozlovsky said, the Russian Olympic Committee was able to raise $4.5 million in four months, enough money to cover all expenses of the 164-member team, including coaches, to attend the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
"Now the situation is changing completely, and all the major companies of Russia and all the major banks of Russia are supporting our Olympic committee," Kozlovsky said.
One of the team's newest backers, Russian Aluminium, based in Moscow and the world's second-largest producer of aluminium, signed on as a sponsor in December.
While terms of the sponsorship were not disclosed, the Russian Olympic Committee appears pleased.
"It's one of our most important sponsors, if not the most," Kozlovsky said.
And Russian Aluminium spokeswoman Lekha Rao said the company expects to make a long-term commitment to the team.
"They feel like they want to increase the prestige of Russian athletes on the world stage and bring it back to where it used to be. The Russians used to practically dominate everything," Rao said.
For a country that is still weaving its way toward a new economy, private businesses are now crucial to the growth of Russian sports.
"The professional sport movement is financed by others, not the government," said Alexander Livshits, director of International and Special Projects for Russian Aluminium, through a translator.
Livshits, once the minister of finance and deputy prime minister to former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, said during a visit to Salt Lake City Monday that his nation's economy is much better now.
"We have had four years of sustainable economic growth," Livshits said, adding that Russia recently instituted several reforms, including a flat tax of 13 percent over all personal income.
And Russian Aluminium, which employs 90,000 people worldwide, is considered one of the better-paying companies, offering wages of roughly $1,000 a month.
That may not be much money for a country with an inflation rate of nearly 19 percent last year, but compared to other jobs, it is substantial.
"In Russia it is a very high wage, higher than a salary of a federal minister, higher than the average wage of $250 a month," Livshits said.
And as Russian Aluminium flourishes, so do the opportunities of continued sponsorships to the Russian Olympic Committee in the future.
"I believe that the time of difficulties is coming to an end," Kozlovsky said.
Does that mean athletes are better off now than they were under the old Soviet Union?
"It's difficult to say. From an economic standpoint it was a paradise 20 years ago for those who organized sports. Now we are limited in the resources to prepare athletes. If you lose something, you'll win something on the other end," Kozlovsky said.
E-MAIL: danderton@desnews.com
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February 12, 2002
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