The ski equipment of the Russian skier speaks volumes.
Cross-country skier Alexander Bolshunov is bulging in the taken this season in pictures With Rossignol’s top skis.
It should not be possible, as the EU has imposed an export ban on many products.
– Before the war, there was a collection that Bolšunov now skis with. He received those skis before the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, says Rossignol’s Finnish sales and equipment specialist Tom Jakobsenwho has not had a direct customer relationship with Bolšunov during his working career.
An observant reader of Iltalehti noticed from the latest pictures that the Russian skier is wearing the Rossignol skis that came into use this season. The same observation was made by a ski expert interviewed by Iltalehti. He stated that “Bolšunov will surely ski on fresh Rossignol skis”.
– According to my information, Rossignol has not delivered new skis to Bolšunov since the start of the war. He competes with equipment that is barely three years old, says Jakobsen.
The EU imposed the first economic sanctions on Russia in February-March 2022, when Vladimir Putin started his arbitrary war of aggression in Ukraine.
– I think that both Bolšunov and the top Russian skiers competing with other brands were allowed to keep some kind of pile of skis after the war started. At the time, it was thought that they would come back quite soon, Jakobsen commented.
Bulvaani help
Aleksandr Bolšunov belongs to the French ski team. Picture of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2022. PDO
Sports equipment is not specifically mentioned in the EU sanctions list, but according to a Finnish official interviewed for this story, sports equipment is among the prohibited export products.
Circumventing EU sanctions is not rocket science, as the trade is done with the help of bulvan companies. It means that the goods are first sold from the EU to, for example, Turkey or Kazakhstan.
The EU is trying to fix leaks with a regulation that came into force in December 2023. When products are sold from the EU to a third country, their re-export for use in Russia must be prohibited by contract.