| Russia at the 2010 Winter Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | RUS |
| NOC | Russian Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| in Vancouver | |
| Competitors | 177[1] in 15 sports |
| Flag bearer | Aleksey Morozov |
| Medals Ranked 11th |
|
| Winter Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
 Soviet Union (1956–1988) Unified Team (1992) Olympic Athletes from Russia (2018) ROC (2022) | |
Russia participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
In summary, the country's participants earned 15 medals: three gold, five silver, and seven bronze. The gold-medal tally of three was the worst ever result for Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union, whilst the total of 15 medals was the country's second lowest score since the 2002 Winter Games. This was seen as a national humiliation considering that Russia was to host the next Winter Games at Sochi.[2]
According to Dr Maxim Titorenko, a Russian psychoanalyst and anthropologist,"the reasons for failures were to a large extent psychological. By receiving advance rewards [from the government] for something they were expected to do in future, the sportsmen lost all psychological incentive for further achievements.”[2] The comparatively poor result generated a "chorus of criticism" in Russia, and President Dmitry Medvedev demanded the resignation of Russian Olympic officials and ordered an audit.[3] Corruption, as well as cronyism and apathy of Russian sports managers, was criticized.[4] It was later learned that Russia's performance at the Olympics followed widespread misspending by sports officials and a dysfunctional bureaucracy, according to government auditors. Russia spent $186 million for the games, including preparations. The audit cited dozens of examples of money being wasted, saying the figure ran into millions of dollars.[3]
By contrast, Russia performed well at the Paralympics, also hosted in Vancouver, the following month. This led the media to highlight the contrast between the achievements of the country's Olympic and Paralympic delegations, despite the greater attention awarded to the Olympics.[5]
With Sochi being the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, a Russian segment was performed at the closing ceremony.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Walker, Shaun (1 March 2010). "Russia's Winter games of discontent". Monocle.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2010.
- ^ a b Nowak, David (5 July 2010). "Auditor: Russia wasted millions on Vancouver Games". Associated Press.
- ^ Schuster, Simon (4 March 2010). "Russia's Olympic flop sparks Soviet nostalgia". Associated Press.
- ^ "Disabled Athletes Show Up Olympics Team". Moscow Times. 18 March 2010.