Russian athletes who were banned from competing at Rio 2016 will be given bonuses by the Foundation for the Support of Russian Olympians because they would have made a "significant contribution" to the nation's medal count had they been allowed to represent the country at the Games, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced today.
Medvedev revealed that the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) would be given the funds by the Foundation to distribute to those who were barred from taking part at the Olympics as a result of the ongoing doping scandal hanging over the country.
He again criticised the decision to ban swathes of Russians from the Games as "unfair" and heralded those who were cleared to compete as succeeding in "extremely complicated circumstances" and while under "unprecedented pressure".
The Prime Minister then handed medallists keys to brand-new off-road BMW cars.
Gold medallists were given luxury BMX X6s, while those who earned silver were handed X5s and athletes who won bronze walked away with X3s.
"This is so superb that you took our country to the fourth place in the overall medal standings having repeated the result of the [2012] Olympic Games in London," Medvedev said.
"Moreover, you have achieved this result under extremely complicated circumstances and amid an unprecedented pressure, which was exerted on our national team, on our whole sports society and on our country on the whole.
"No matter how hard some people tried, but they failed to foil the Olympics for Russia and you have managed to prove that our victories have nothing to do with doping or other sins, which some people periodically attempt to attribute to us."