This is not a joke. In Russia, machine guns were awarded for podium finishes in competitions

Icespeedway is a type of speedway very popular in Russia. For many years, players from this country dominated in the international arena. All this, of course, took place until Russia brutally attacked Ukraine. From March 2022, Sborna’s representatives are no longer visible in competition with speedway riders of other nations. However, this does not mean that they complain about boredom. They take part in tournaments on the national arena, where the prizes can be surprising.

Rifles for medalists of the Russian championships

The last individual championship in Russia took place in Vyatsky Polyany. Nikita Bogdanov won. Behind him were other riders previously known from the fight for the world championship – Dinar Walejew and Dmitry Koltakov. All three of them received machine guns as a reward. And here one more fact attracts attention. A small child handed the weapons. Everything was published on YouTube.

Machine guns in themselves are a controversial award for the best competitors in such prestigious awards, but when we combine it with the fact that there is an ongoing war in Ukraine caused by Russia, we are dealing with a real scandal. The winners’ decoration is visible in the video below (from 59:00).

This is how the Russians explain it

As reported by the speedwaynews.pl portal, Russian citizens emphasize on foreign speedway forums that the awards received by the medalists of the national championship are related to the sponsor. In Viatské Poljany, where the competition was held, there is a weapons factory that provided rifles to the three competitors as part of sponsorship.

This is not the first scandalous situation in the country ruled by Vladimir Putin. Some time ago, during the staff training camp in Balakovo, the number “2” was changed to the letter “Z”, which symbolizes the war in Ukraine. Such a mark could be seen on many Russian tanks.