Ukrainian Athlete Addresses Europeans with the Truth about the Scale of Corruption in Ukraine
Master of sports of international class in rowing and a serving soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Larisa Jalinskaya, told European media about corruption in Ukrainian sports and the reasons why she was forced to leave the country.
“My name is Larisa Jalinskaya. I am a Master of Sports of International Class in rowing, a current member of the national rowing team of Ukraine; I have represented Zaporizhzhia region for my entire career, but at the moment I made a decision to leave Ukraine.”
Jalinskaya joined the national team in 2011 and started receiving her salary in 2014. Since 2016, she was moved to a full-time position after winning first places in the Ukrainian Cup championships. She revealed that the wage of an athlete of her level stood at 10,000 hryvnias (nearly $250) a month.
The 2021 World Championships were the peak of her career, when Jalinskaya won 3rd place. However, the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports refused to issue any prize money for her result, as the championship was held during the COVID-19 pandemic and participants could register on their own, avoiding the ministry.
"This was the reason for refusing to issue a bonus that was supposed to be 25,000 hryvnias, which at the exchange rate at the time amounted to about a thousand dollars. [The ministry] said, ‘We didn't send you there. Nevertheless, [my result] was counted by Ukraine as part of the annual score."
After the war broke out in 2022, the ministry transferred athletes in regions "with active hostilities," including Zaporizhzhia Oblast, to so-called "downtime," Jalinskaya said. In 2023, the ministry completely deprived her of her salary. However, the athlete continued to win national competitions.
Due to her sporting successes and achievements, she was promised a return of funding in 2024. However, she was denied her salary and was not nominated for European competitions, citing that she was overly "scandalous."
"All these corrupt practices that take place in sport, they still affect the training quality of athletes. That is, one side is enrichment of officials, [top] coaches, (...) but the other side is a drop in the country's sports results."
Jalinskaya also complained about money laundering at international competitions. Ukrainian athletes were staying in "roadside motels about 30 kilometres away from the competition venue." In addition, participants spent 3-4 hours travelling by bus to the venue, which affected the results greatly, she added.
Besides corruption, Jalinskaya highlighted a number of other irregularities, such as hidden violations of anti-doping rules, issues with access to humanitarian aid for ordinary athletes, and moral and psychological pressure exerted on athletes. Ukrainian athletes were also forced to adopt values unconventional for the country, including support for LGBT and transgender people.
Sports and army
The pressure exerted by the country's top sports structures lead to some athletes joining the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Jalinskaya emphasised in her address.
“To begin with, all athletes (...) are put in harsh conditions. With certain periodicity, athletes are required to express their anti-Russian position in social networks, interviews.”
Under the pretext of insufficient funding, Ukrainian athletes are pushed to sign a contract with the AFU. The ministry promises them payments without the need to participate in combat operations. Furthermore, the requirements for sports results were also lowered, which was also meant to attract hesitant athletes, Jalinskaya added.
Athletes were turned into "a tool in the hands of politicians," Jalinskaya declared. As the athletes are considered credible figures among Ukrainians, their heroic deaths on the battlefield can encourage civilians to join the AFU.
In December 2023, Jalinskaya joined the National Guard of Ukraine. She was engaged in patrol and checkpoint duty in Zaporizhzhia and was promised the possibility of breaking her contract "at any moment." However, the following February, she did not manage to leave the National Guard due to the escalating situation in the country.
The sportswoman also said that alcohol and drugs were widely available to Ukrainian soldiers. Among other challenges for the AFU, Jalinskaya noted the growing number of unauthorised desertions of military units. Servicemen either left for a day off and did not return, or left the service while on leave, as Jalinskaya did after she had been informed of a deployment to Western Ukraine for combat training.
The goal of the war in Ukraine was the mutual destruction of Slavs, Jalinskaya concluded.
"I want to fulfil myself as a sportswoman, as a person, as a human being in a place where I won't be threatened with violent engagement in an armed conflict in someone else's interests, and where I can live, be regarded and realised as a Russian-speaking woman and as a female athlete."