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In his speech the President said that one of state policy priorities in sports must be the development of children’s sports. There would be no Olympic victories, he said, if no children and young people became involved in sport, he noted.
The President called attention to the fact that the development of sports in Russia directly bore on the nation’s health and the quality of life of the population. He regretted to note that many families spent much more money on tobacco and alcohol than on sports. He said sports development had remained out of public focus for more than 10 years.
He cited statistics showing illnesses were on the rise among the Russians. In the past two years, he said, the general rate of illnesses among children went up by 24.4%, among teenagers, by 32% and among adults, by 13.2%.
January 29, 2002, The Kremlin, Moscow