ðóñ
SERGEI MIRONOV. PUBLICATION DIGEST (March 1-7, 2010)
This week the activity of Chairman of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov has been widely discussed in press.
***
It was the worst Russian Olympic performance in a century - with even the decidedly non-mountainous and largely snow-free Netherlands picking up more golds than Team Russia mustered in Vancouver. The national tally of three golds - Nikita Kriyukov in the men's cross-country skiing sprint, Yevgeny Ustyugov in the biathlon 15km mass start and the women's 4 x 6-kilometre biathlon relay team - was augmented with five silvers and seven bronzes, but still fell far short of expectations. "If I were a sports official - and we have two, the Olympic committee chairman and the sports minister - I would hand in my resignation as soon as the Olympic Games end March 1. That is exactly what I expect them to do," Mironov told journalists in Yekaterinburg on Saturday. "Someone should be held responsible."
***
The Federation Council will hold a question-and-answer government session on March 31 to discuss the results of the Vancouver Olympics and the development of the Olympic movement in Russia, First Vice-Speaker Alexander Torshin said at a plenary meeting of the upper house of parliament on Wednesday. Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov is also confident in the need for the dismissals of sport officials. “In the West an official can be found not guilty for some specific situation, but bears responsibility absolutely for all in his agency and resigns,” he said on Wednesday. Alongside, Mironov noted that “the problem cannot be resolved just through dismissals.” He believes that it is necessary to take a range of measures to change the situation in the training of our athletes, primarily taking into account children’s sport schools. “Most parents cannot pay for sport studies of their children,” the Federation Council speaker said.