"Every provision should be made and a state [doping] control mechanism established, and we should act vigorously. If necessary, let's also discuss moves to toughen penalties," Putin said at a meeting of the presidential council on sports development and arrangements for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Two weeks ago three Russian biathlon racers tested positive for the Russian version of the banned substance Erythropoietin (EPO) at the Biathlon World Championship in South Korea's Pyeongchang. The athletes were all disqualified and forced to leave the country.
"I request the Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy to involve the sporting public and continue a thorough analysis of the current situation and to draw practical conclusions," Putin said.
Last year with only several days before the opening of the 2008 Olympics in China, seven Russian women athletes were disqualified from the Games after they were ruled to have switched urine samples before tests for performance-enhancing drugs.
