Russia

Extreme Sailing Series organisers have announced the addition of new events in Saint Petersburg and Sydney as they revealed details of their “most ambitious” series to date.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the president and chief executive of the local organising committee for the 2014 winter Olympics, has marked the one-month countdown to the start of the Games by declaring Sochi to be ready and “fully prepared” to welcome the sporting world.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has opted to lift a ban on public protests during the forthcoming winter Olympic Games in Sochi, staging an about-turn on a decree signed last year that outlawed any form of demonstrations.

Russian Grand Prix organisers have announced the appointment of Abu Dhabi GP mastermind Richard Cregan to oversee preparations for the country’s inaugural Formula One race in Sochi this year.

Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov has revealed that there are no plans to introduce extra security measures in Sochi for the 2014 winter Olympic Games despite apparent terrorist attacks in Volgograd over recent days.

Russian weather experts have revealed that they have no fears over a shortage of snow for the forthcoming winter Olympics, but believe Sochi’s event could be hit by avalanches and poor visibility.

The Sochi 2014 organising committee has opened the final phase of the ticketing programme for next year’s winter Olympic Games.

SportAccord president Marius Vizer has urged politicians, athletes and the media to support Russia as it gears up for the winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

The Russian Premier League has launched a “closed competition” to draw up a development strategy for the top division of Russian football.

The organising committee of the Sochi 2014 winter Olympic Games has confirmed to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that at least one specific protest zone will be set up for demonstrators during the event.

Russian state-owned energy giants Gazprom and the Federal Grid Company will assume responsibility for several venues for the 2014 winter Olympic Games in Sochi, according to the Kommersant newspaper.

Russia will stage the next two editions of the Fencing World Championships after the International Fencing Federation (FIE) awarded the hosting rights for the 2014 and 2015 events to Kazan and Moscow respectively.

Russian football could be overhauled, following a new bill banning state-owned companies from funding professional teams was introduced to Russia’s lower house of parliament.

The Russian International Olympic University (RIOU) has opened its application process for the second year of its Master of Sport Administration (MSA) course.

The proposed Unified Football League (UFL) for Russian and Ukrainian clubs has been met with further criticism after Russian Football Union (RFU) president Nikolai Tolstykh stated the funds earmarked for the project would be better directed elsewhere.

Russian Premier League football club Spartak Moscow is seeking to recover $450,000 (15 million rubles) in compensation from a football fan who waved a swastika flag at its game.