{"id":4012,"date":"2020-12-28T06:09:17","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T06:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=143879"},"modified":"2020-12-28T06:09:17","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T06:09:17","slug":"doping-whistle-blowers-have-no-plans-to-return-to-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/28\/doping-whistle-blowers-have-no-plans-to-return-to-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Doping Whistle-Blowers Have No Plans To Return To Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Russian couple who played a major role in exposing the nation\u2019s sports doping scandal said in an interview published on December 27 that they no longer consider Russia their home and have no plans to return to the country.<\/p>\n
Vitaly and Yulia Stepanov live in the United States in an undisclosed location with their 7-year-old son and are waiting for an interview as part of their application for asylum, they told the German news agency dpa.<\/p>\n
Russia, Vitaly Stepanov said, “is a place where we were born. We have no plans to go back to Russia.”<\/p>\n
The couple fled Russia in 2014, initially landing in Germany, days before the screening of a documentary in which they detailed Russia’s state-sponsored doping program.<\/p>\n
Stepanov said the family applied for asylum in the United States in 2016 and have been living a typical middle-class American life.<\/p>\n
“Nobody really knows who we are,” he said in the telephone interview. “We don’t have many friends, but we do have friends that we appreciate and we are proud that they are part of our life.”<\/p>\n
And he said he has no regrets about doing what they did six years ago.<\/p>\n
“The truth came out and the relevant organizations were forced to deal with it. We are glad,” he said, “and in general I believe the anti-doping movement is stronger.”<\/p>\n
The doping was exposed after Yulia Stepanova, a former top runner on Russia\u2019s national team, made secret recordings of coaches and athletes. A German television documentary reported it largely based on the Stepanovs\u2019 evidence.<\/p>\n