Russia was originally scheduled to compete during the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in what would have been its sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Paralympics as an independent nation. Russia had qualified athletes in ten sports.

Quick Facts Russia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, IPC code ...

Russia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
IPC code	RUS
NPC	Russian Paralympic Committee
Website	www.paralymp.ru (in Russian)
Summer Paralympics appearances (overview)
1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016–2020 2024
Other related appearances
Soviet Union (1988)  Unified Team (1992)  RPC (2020)

Close

On 18 July 2016, an independent investigation commissioned by World Anti-Doping Agency concluded that it was shown "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the RUSADA, the Ministry of Sport, the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Centre of Sports Preparation of the National Teams of Russia had "operated for the protection of doped Russian athletes" within a "state-directed failsafe system" using "the disappearing positive [test] methodology." According to the McLaren Report, the Disappearing Positive Methodology operated from "at least late 2011 to August 2015." It was used on 643 positive samples, a number that the authors consider "only a minimum" due to limited access to Russian records.^[1]

On 7 August 2016, the International Paralympic Committee announced that it had voted unanimously to ban the entire Russian Paralympic team from competing in the 2016 Summer Paralympics, in the wake of a larger scandal that exposed the participation of Russian Olympic and Paralympic athletes in a state-sponsored doping program. The Russian Paralympic Committee appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, but both bodies upheld the IPC's decision.^[2] IPC president Philip Craven stated that Russia's actions had demonstrated a failure in its obligations to comply with established anti-doping protocols.^[3]

On 9 December 2016, Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren published the second part of his independent report. The investigation found that from 2011 to 2015, more than 1,000 Russian competitors in various sports (including summer, winter, and Paralympic sports) benefited from the cover-up.^[4][5][6] Emails indicate that they included five blind powerlifters, who may have been given drugs without their knowledge, and a fifteen-year-old.^[7]

Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories: amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.^[8][9] Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities, other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.^[10]

On 18 July 2016, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) published a 97-page report by Canadian attorney Richard McLaren, covering significant state-sponsored doping in Russia. It found that Russia's Ministry of Sport and Federal Security Service (FSB) had operated a "state-dictated" system to implement an extensive doping program, which included the use of a "disappearing positive methodology" (DPM) – the process of swapping out positive urine samples for clean ones in order to evade detection.^[11] The report detailed 27 positive samples tied to Paralympic sports, while the IPC found forensic evidence that the DPM had been used during the 2014 Winter Paralympics.^{[12][13][14][15]}

On 7 August 2016, following the start of the 2016 Summer Olympics, the governing board of the International Paralympic Committee voted unanimously to suspend the Russian Paralympic Committee and ban the entire Russian Paralympic team from participating in the 2016 Summer Paralympics. IPC president Philip Craven cited Russia's "[inability] to ensure compliance with and enforcement of the IPC anti-doping code and the world anti-doping code within their own national jurisdiction", meaning that the country could not "fulfil its fundamental obligation as an IPC member".^[3][15][16] On 15 August 2016, the RPC filed a request for an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).^[17] On 23 August 2016, the CAS upheld the IPC's decision. In a statement, Craven considered the decision to be a "sad day" and a "new beginning" for the Paralympic movement, explaining that the ban would be a "catalyst for change" in the country, and stated that Russia was welcome to return to the Paralympics once it is capable of "fulfilling its obligations to ensure fair competition for all".

The decision to issue a blanket ban contrasts the treatment of Russia's Olympic team, whose athletes were allowed to compete if they were individually cleared by their sport's respective governing body and an International Olympic Committee panel. The IOC's actions were criticized for ignoring WADA's recommendation of a blanket ban. 278 of the 389 members of the team were cleared to compete: the remaining 111 were barred from participating, which included all but one member of the Russian athletics team (Darya Klishina) and the entire Russian weightlifting team due to blanket bans issued by the International Association of Athletics Federations and International Weightlifting Federation.^[18][19][20]

Reactions in Russia were overwhelmingly negative. Some Russians described the allegations as an anti-Russian plot while others stated that Russia was "just doing what the rest of the world does". Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had "never supported any violations in sport, we have never supported it at the state level, and we will never support this" and that the allegations were part of an "anti-Russia policy" by the West. Aleksei Pushkov, chairman of Russia's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said that the IAAF's decision to uphold its ban was "an act of political revenge against Russia for its independent foreign policy." A member of Russia's parliament, Vadim Dengin, stated, "The entire doping scandal is a pure falsification, invented to discredit and humiliate Russia."After the Court of Arbitration for Sport turned down an appeal by Russian athletes, pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva wrote, "Let all those pseudo clean foreign athletes breathe a sigh of relief and win their pseudo gold medals in our absence. They always did fear strength." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the ruling a "crime against sport". A poll by the Levada Center found that 14% of Russians believed that the country's athletes had doped in Sochi, 71% did not believe WADA's reports, and 15% decided not to answer.

On 30 August 2016, the Russian Paralympic Committee announced that at least 100 members of the banned team had filed for appeals from the IPC; the Committee confirmed it had received these letters, and stated that discussions were "ongoing".^[21] The next day, following a request for an appeal by the RPC, the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland also upheld the CAS's decision.^[2] On 1 September 2016, the IPC stated that Russian athletes would not be allowed to compete using a neutral flag.^[22]

During the entry of Belarus at the opening ceremony's parade of nations, Andrey Fomochkin—a member of the country's Ministry of Sport, was seen holding a Russian flag as a display of solidarity to its neighbour. The flag was quickly confiscated by officials; after he was identified, Fomochkin's accreditation was revoked by the IPC for violating policies which forbid political protests and gestures. The IPC also warned that it would closely monitor medal presentations involving Belarusian athletes to ensure they do not display political gestures.^[23][24] Fomochkin's actions were praised by Belarusians (including President Alexander Lukashenko), as well as Maria Zakharova—a member of Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs; she stated to a news agency that Fomochkin had "[shown] solidarity with people who were disgracefully treated in an inhumane way in not being allowed to compete at the Paralympics".^[23][24][25]