The opening ceremony of the new Anti-Doping Centre federal state unitary enterprise in Moscow was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak and Minister of Sport Vitaly Mutko, who were shown around the facility.
Speaking with journalists, Kozak emphasised the importance of the centre, as combating doping is a priority task. He said this was the only facility built under the Olympic programme outside Sochi. In 2010, Russia adopted an anti-doping programme for the Olympic Games and for all competitions on the national and international levels. It carried out a series of events and built the centre, which has become Russia's only WADA-accredited facility. It is capable of conducting 25,000 to 30,000 tests a year.
In his turn, Mr Mutko said that in the past four years Russia had covered a lot of ground in combating doping. “We have established all required institutions as well as the RUSADA anti-doping organisation, which is working to combat doping and promote anti-doping programmes,” he said, adding that in terms of equipment, the centre’s laboratory is the second best in the world.
