“If our colleagues in WADA and other international organizations had taken an unbiased look at this situation, Russia could have been their major partner … But currently the trend relies in turning the blind eye to everyone by making Russia the center of a world doping scandal,” Mutko said.
On Friday, the documentary film on the Russian doping scandal by German ARD broadcaster premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States.
Following the release of the first film, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) launched an investigation into the allegations of doping abuse in Russian sports. In November 2015, WADA's Independent Commission issued a report accusing Russia of numerous breaches of global anti-doping regulations.
WADA urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to consider a blanket ban on the entire Russian Olympic team. The IOC instead let individual sports federations act on the issue.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) banned Russian athletes from taking part in international competitions including the 2016 Summer Olympics. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) later banned all Russian Paralympic athletes from the 2016 Summer Paralympics and the 2018 Winter Games.
On December 9, 2016, the WADA independent commission issued the second part of the report on alleged Russian doping abuse, revealing manipulations by athletes in 30 sporting disciplines.
On January 10, the leaders from 19 National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) urged in a joint statement to ban Russia from competing and hosting any international sports events over "institutionalized doping violations" in Russian sports.