What problems has Russian biathlon faced due to isolation?

Russian biathlon is experiencing difficult times due to international isolation. The number of sponsors has declined, biathlon has become less accessible to amateurs, and professional results are declining. For more details, see RBC Sport.

On January 3 and 4, the Race of Champions will take place in Ryazan—the Russian equivalent of the biathlon Christmas Race in Gelsenkirchen. Its program includes a unique relay race, with each team consisting of two skiers and two biathletes, who alternate between the two over eight stages.

The total prize fund is ₽12 million. Medalists will receive record prize money, exceeding the payouts for winners of national tournaments and even the World Cup.

On the eve of the tournament, RBC Sport spoke with Sergey Kolesnikov, managing partner of Technonicol, the competition organizer and one of the sponsors of the Russian Biathlon Union. He discussed the challenges Russian biathlon has faced in recent years and assessed the future prospects.

Sergey Kolesnikov (Photo: Technonicol)

Lack of ammunition and equipment problems

"There are bullets, but they've become incredibly expensive. Their price has quadrupled. I'm also a biathlete and still compete in amateur competitions. So, of course, I buy bullets for myself, too," Kolesnikov said. "There are no cheap, high-quality bullets. Naturally, this limits my options. Most likely, athletes are doing the same as me. We shoot cheap ones in training, but for competitions, we take the expensive ones. When the sanctions are lifted, I think the problem will be solved."

Leading Russian biathletes also complain about the shortage of high-quality ammunition, saying it's negatively impacting their training and results. After the mass start at the 2024 International Club Biathlon League Cup , where he missed eight shots and finished 23rd, 2017 World Champion Anton Babikov stated that his misses were due to the quality of the ammunition. Two-time Olympic medalist Alexander Loginov also echoed this sentiment: "There's a shortage. While we could shoot about 15-20 rounds before the season, now we're lucky if we find three or four rounds."

In October 2023, the head of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU), Viktor Maigurov, noted that domestic manufacturers could only produce 300,000 rounds of ammunition against the federation's request for 1.5 million, while imported ammunition had become significantly more expensive and was also very difficult to deliver to Russia.

According to Kolesnikov, the annual cost of ammunition for one athlete has increased by ₽200 thousand.

"An athlete needs to fire between 8,000 and 10,000 rounds of ammunition per year. So, if a round's price goes up from 10 to 30 rubles, imagine: 20 rubles multiplied by 10,000—that's an extra 200,000 rubles needed to be spent on the athlete. Either the athlete has to raise this money , or someone from the federation has to pay for it. So, it's simply a problem that turns into money," Kolesnikov said.

"If you consider that in addition to the national team members, there are also candidates, first-class athletes, and athletes who are only supposed to shoot, there are about a thousand of them. Multiply that by 200,000, and it turns out that this workload has increased by 200 million rubles nationwide. As you can see, given my core business, I translate everything into money. That's just the way I think. Everything is solvable, it just costs money," he added.

Since 2022, TS-Sport has been outfitting the Russian biathlon team. Russian national team coach Yuri Kaminsky reported that many biathletes are dissatisfied with the equipment. "As far as I know, the guys change their suits frequently; the jackets are cold. Compared to what we had before, this one is worse. They gave us this, and we wear it," he noted.

Kolesnikov also expressed the opinion that the RBU should change its equipment supplier.

"I personally bought uniforms for amateur athletes in the Ulyanovsk region and for schoolchildren from the village of Mataki, where my parents lived . We found a Russian company that makes suits from high-quality imported materials. We're also currently buying uniforms for ourselves and for students at the Ulyanovsk Biathlon School," he concluded.

Kolesnikov noted that sponsors are not directly involved in resolving equipment issues.

"Usually, a sponsorship contract specifies how much money the Russian Biathlon Union or another federation wants to receive and what they can do in return. Then, accordingly, how they spend the money and what they plan is decided internally. We don't participate in decision-making and don't communicate with the executive bodies. We simply learn about these issues literally from the press or from athletes' performances. I'm sure there will be some feedback from Alexander Pak (executive director of the RBU). He will respond and make some adjustments," he noted.

Reduction of funding from bookmakers

In mid-2025, the system for distributing targeted deductions from bookmakers among federations changed. Previously, bookmakers received funds directly through the Unified Gambling Regulator. The amount depended on the volume of bets on a particular sport—the federations received a share of the bet/winnings spread and a percentage of revenue.

However, the situation has now changed. Federations now directly receive only a share of the betting revenue, which amounts to just 15% of the total revenue. The remaining funds will be redistributed through a competitive process by the Russian Sports Fund, created for this purpose. As a result, funding from targeted allocations has been reduced severalfold in a number of federations.

Kolesnikov explained that before the changes to the bookmaker distribution system, funding for the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) had increased by one and a half times.

"At the beginning of the year, Viktor Maigurov was pleased that we'd increased the contract by 50%—all told, this created a quite respectable budget. But he didn't expect that the bookmakers' money would be transferred to the fund instead of the federation's. And, naturally, a large gap opened up in the budget."

According to him, Technonicol and Alfa-Bank (the RBU's title sponsor) will not be able to "cover the gap" in RBU funding.

"I signed a contract with the RBU at the beginning of last year, before these events. We haven't made any adjustments in recent months. So, these events with the foundation haven't affected our contract in any way. After the foundation 'froze' the funds, we didn't change the contract: we didn't increase or decrease it. But in any case, we, the sponsors, can't close this gap. I'm sure the money involved is very significant," he added.

At the end of September, Maigurov announced a nearly 2,000-fold reduction in funding for the Russian Biathlon Union from bookmakers. "Is there a difference—80 million rubles or 43,000 rubles?" he remarked.

According to Kolesnikov, these changes affect many aspects of the RBU's work, including some that are not so obvious.

"Naturally, this affects prize money payments. I think it also affects the RBU's ability to conduct legal work with the IOC, to wage legal battles—that also requires money," he noted. "Obviously, this has significantly undermined the ability to protect the legal interests of biathletes in Russia. I can't say for sure, but I think so, because I haven't seen lawyers working for free. Such cases are exceptions."

Kolesnikov added that bookmakers are "bearing their burden": "They increase their contributions every year. They used to do it directly, but now they're paying it into a fund. The money accumulates, bookmakers actually pay, and keep paying, and the recipients of these funds don't see it."

When asked whether there are plans to increase funding for the RBU, Kolesnikov replied: "If everyone realizes that this is how the issue can be resolved, any business will go bankrupt."

"We don't pay because we want to or don't want to. We consider our capabilities. You, too, look at your family budget and see how much you can spend per month. We live the same way. A grain of sand in the sea of ​​Russia," Kolesnikov emphasized.

Sponsors leaving and results falling

Since 2022, the number of RBU sponsors has significantly decreased. Not only foreign companies, but also Russian ones like Gazprom, have refused to cooperate.

Kolesnikov expressed confidence that sponsor interest in biathlon will grow after its return to the international arena: "I think we'll be back in the coming years. After that, spectator interest and sponsor support will grow again. And a biathlon renaissance will begin in Russia."

Photo: Technonicol

An RBC Sport source noted that international isolation has also led to a noticeable decline in competition in Russian biathlon.

"Of course, as an athlete and as an observer, I see that the level of competition has decreased since the suspension, and I think the level of training of Russian athletes has also dropped a bit compared to what we knew. If before we were running, say, in the top 20, then now we'll probably be in the third ten," Kolesnikov said. "Of course, this is my guess, but competitions and participation in international competitions are necessary to be among the top six best teams in the world."

Are you ready to lead the RBU?

When asked whether he himself might head the RBU in the future, Kolesnikov admitted that he had already had "cautious conversations" on this topic. 

"But I declined because serving as president of any federation requires personal commitment, time, and immersion in the federation's work. I'm already running low on time, and if I have any left, I'd like to spend it on my family or biathlon," Kolesnikov said.

He noted that he was ready to help the RBU with funding, but not to participate directly in the federation's work.

"Plus, any organization—commercial or public—has a lot in common when it comes to administration. Honestly, I don't want a bigger workload. A lot of time and energy has to be devoted to business. So, no. I'm ready to help the RBU with money, I'm ready to organize the Race of Champions, and I'm ready to participate in stages of the Russian Cup, and if possible, the World Cup. I like that. But participating in the federation's work itself is a bit excessive; it's not a part of that," he concluded.